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For the production of strong alcohol, home distillers use all kinds of devices, made on their own or purchased in a store. They can have different dimensions, equipment, performance, etc.
The traditional moonshine still is a device for distilling mash and consists of three main elements: a distillation cube, a coil and a steamer. Let us dwell briefly on each detail in order to better understand the principle of operation of the entire system.
Distillation cube
The largest part of the apparatus in which the mash is heated. Be sure to be equipped with a removable, tight-fitting (sealed) lid.
The volume of the tank can be different: from 5 to 100 liters.
Home distillers prefer medium-sized containers – 20-30 liters. Too small ones give a small yield of the product, too large ones are difficult to maintain and require significant costs. Used household and food containers are often used as a distillation cube: pressure cookers, cans, pots, beer kegs, enameled buckets, etc.
The material of execution can be different: usually metal, but there are other options, for example, glass. Food grade stainless steel or copper is preferred.
It is better not to use aluminum and other available metals, as they can affect the quality of the product and quickly fail. Enamelware also does not last long.
It is good if the distillation cube has a wide mouth and is equipped with a thermometer: the first simplifies the maintenance of the container, the second is necessary to control the distillation process.
The tank can be heated on an open fire, induction stove or from the electrical network using heating elements. From the distillation cube, alcohol-containing vapors rise through the tube and enter the next structural element – a steamer.
Sukhoparnik
It is a sealed container made of glass or metal, which filters out some of the harmful impurities from alcohol vapors.
Based on the purpose, the device is also called a sump. Place it between the distillation cube and the refrigerator, connecting to them using silicone hoses or metal tubes.
At home, the most commonly used dryer is a glass jar.
The principle of operation of the sump is a sharp decrease in pressure and temperature inside the vessel. As a result, the vapors condense: some of them (a certain percentage of fusel oils and water) remain at the bottom of the tank, the rest return to the gaseous state and move on.
It is good if the device is equipped with a tap for draining impurities, which makes it easier to remove them.
Dryer functions:
Strengthening the distillate.
Rough cleaning of fusel oils.
Protection against ingress of foam and drops of mash (spray) into the final product during strong heating.
Aromatization of alcohol during the distillation process (for this, pieces of fruit or zest are placed in a jar).
Some moonshiners do without a steamer or replace it with a more advanced intermediate cleaning option – a reflux condenser. This device works on the principle of a refrigerator and traps some of the harmful impurities, returning them back to the distillation tank.
One of the versions of this element is the bubbler. Its difference from a sukhoparnik is that there is a liquid inside the jar, in which some of the toxic substances settle. In this case, the tube coming from the tank is immersed deep into the water.
The choice of one or another design remains with the owner of the device. Vzboltai believes that the best option is to connect a reflux condenser, which filters out impurities more efficiently, but it is better to install a steamer or bubbler than not to use intermediate cleaning at all.
With regard to the presence of several settling tanks, this solution is considered inappropriate in terms of improving the purity of the product. The only “plus” of such a system is to increase the strength of moonshine.
Coil
After intermediate purification, the alcohol-containing vapors are transferred to the refrigerator, where they are condensed and converted into the final product. This is the most important element of the moonshine still. The main part of the cooling compartment is a coil, which is a tube twisted in a spiral. It is of two types:
Classic
In this case, alcohol vapors move inside the coil, and the cooler (water, ice, snow) is outside, for example, in a bucket. This option does not require a continuous supply of fluid, therefore it is not tied to the water supply. Air cooling can be used as an alternative, but is less efficient.
Reverse
This type of device is otherwise called a Dimroth refrigerator. In this case, there is a cooler inside the coil – running water, and alcohol vapors move along its contour inside a special reservoir and condense on the tube. The liquid in such a refrigerator is fed from the bottom, and removed from the top, so that it moves towards the steam and creates a countercurrent.
Also, the coils differ in their location in space. They can be placed horizontally, vertically or at an angle. For classic options, a vertical arrangement is preferable, so that moonshine naturally flows under its own weight into a receiving container.
The refrigerator can be bought ready-made or made independently. The material for the manufacture is used different:
Copper
It has optimal thermal conductivity, is easy to process, improves the quality of moonshine. However, it requires high-quality cleaning with citric acid or vinegar and is more expensive than other options.
Aluminum
Affordable, cheap, easy to use, but negatively impacts product performance.
Stainless steel
More accessible than copper, but conducts heat worse. Difficult to handle but easy to use. Doesn’t affect the quality of alcohol.
Glass
Fragile, has poor thermal conductivity, does not lend itself to home processing. Of the “pluses”: affordable cost, inertness to alcohol.
As for the other parameters of the tube, the following are optimal: length (in the expanded state) – 1,5 – 2 m, thickness – about 1 mm, inner diameter – about 1 cm.
You can completely make a moonshine on your own, buy individual elements and assemble them into a single design, or purchase a ready-made factory device.
Relevance: 17.02.2019
Tags: Vodka, mash, moonshine, Moonshine stills and accessories