Contents
Moonshine stills “Dobrynya” are made in Chelyabinsk in two modifications: “Standard” and “Progress”. In this review, we will look at the characteristics, pros and cons of these products.
Stills
Both models are completed with 12 liter cubes of austenitic stainless steel 12X18H10T (GOST 5632-72) 2 mm thick. The cubes are welded with argon welding and, according to dealers, are able to withstand pressures up to 25 atmospheres. Heating is provided on gas or electric stoves.
The use of induction heating is not possible.
The cubes are equipped with a bimetallic thermometer with an accuracy class of 2,5 and a scale in 2 degree increments. It will be possible to see a hot or cold tank, but you will still have to navigate with a fractional distillation using an alcohol meter.
There is no safety valve, which, for safety reasons, would not be superfluous at all, given the thin tubes of the steam pipes.
“Standard” is equipped with a cube with a very narrow neck – 35 mm, and “Progress” just with a narrow one – 75 mm. Diameter 22 cm, height – 50 cm.
It is clear that washing such cubes is very problematic.
The manufacturer claims that a man’s hand can easily crawl into the cube. For example: the inner diameter of the neck of a three-liter jar is 75 mm. Anyone who tried to get a cucumber out of it will understand everything without further explanation.
The maximum allowable power of heating a cube with mash without violent and uncontrolled foaming is not more than 1,5-1,6 kW, which is quite achievable on a conventional gas stove. No power reserve!
General characteristics
Moonshine stills “Dobrynya” are a classic double steamer-refrigerator. The “Standard” model has a non-separable dry steamer and a rather weak refrigerator, which can barely cope with distillation at a speed of up to 0,8-1 l / h.
“Progress” received a collapsible steamer with a capacity of 0,5 liters and an elongated coil in the refrigerator. This allows, according to the manufacturer, to finally produce cool distillate at a rate of up to 1,3 l / h.
Regardless of the model, the Dobrynya apparatus is packed in a rather modest box complete with two 2-meter hoses, a household alcohol meter, a couple of clamps and a recipe book. Then it goes to an innocent buyer.
Machine Related Problems
Refrigerator
The horizontally positioned refrigerator immediately catches the eye. This is a gross mistake. Even a coil at an angle of 45 degrees can deliver a lot of unpleasant moments.
Firstly, it is a guarantee of unstable operation of the apparatus with mash spitting into the steamer during the entire distillation.
Secondly, to minimize the release of mash into the steamer, you have to considerably underestimate the possible heating power, slowly and depressingly overtaking the mash, welding a lot of unnecessary impurities along the way.
Thirdly, the unreasonably high water consumption associated with the need to contain the increased volume of alcohol vapors immediately after the abrupt release of the coil tubes from condensate.
We expect the result – a low-quality moonshine of increased stink, maximally saturated with impurities. Thanks to the steamer, even transparent is possible, but you should not rely on the purity of the drink. Strong doesn’t mean clean.
The coil must be installed vertically so that condensate does not have a chance to accumulate in its coils and flows freely into the extraction. This allows you to significantly increase the productivity of the device and reduce water consumption, of course, if the coil is long enough.
Small diameter and thickness of steam pipes
First of all, there is a high probability of clogging the tubes when distilling unfiltered wine materials or thick mash. Especially if you take into account the recommendations of the manufacturer: “The wide mouth with a strong stainless steel lid allows you to use the whole fruit!”.
In the absence of a safety valve and a strong screw cap, following this recommendation is fraught with the risk of an explosion. If the cube can withstand up to 25 atmospheres, as the manufacturer claims, then the consequences of the explosion will be devastating. This is not about broken dishes and glass, but about the demolition of inter-apartment partitions.
Due to the characteristics of the cube and the horizontal coil, blockage of the pipeline with foam is also possible. In general, you should not leave the Dobrynya apparatus unattended.
In addition, thin-walled tubes break extremely easily after not very long operation, especially at the point of attachment to the cube or docking with the bodies of the steamer and refrigerator.
Non-demountable dry steamer of “Standard”
It does not allow to drain the accumulated phlegm after the selection of “heads”. This reduces the quality of the drink. The capacity of a dry steamer of 0,5 liters is enough to overtake the contents of a 12 liter cube at low power without overflowing it. But when installing the device on cubes with a larger capacity, you need to be on your guard.
Collapsible dry steamer “Progress”
It does not have a container for flavors, which is unsafe in combination with small diameter steam pipes and the absence of a reflux drain valve.
Advantages
There are still advantages to the Dobrynya apparatus: low price and compactness. Well, you can still make moonshine on it, albeit poor cleaning.
conclusions
All devices built according to this scheme have significant drawbacks already at the design stage. The sole purpose of their creation is to satisfy demand. Such products are at the lowest level of safety, progressive design, product quality and reliability. Their revision and modernization is impossible.
Household distillers of this class, as a rule, are bought by beginners who do not have an experienced moonshiner friend nearby. This market, though not very wide, but exists. Therefore, manufacturers do not forget to present models similar to Dobrynya in their product range. For example, “Magarych Premium BKZHR12” of the Chelyabinsk Household Goods Plant or “Gorilych Premium Export” of the Chelyabinsk Distillation Apparatus Plant with the same 12 liter tank and a narrow (42 mm) or wide (80 mm) neck.
The logic of the manufacturer is simple: if the buyer has 4,5 thousand rubles, and he wants to get a moonshine, we must offer him several options to choose from. Well, the characteristics and quality are secondary factors. The main thing is that the money does not go to a competitor. And it is difficult to blame the manufacturers for this, since they offer devices for beginners for the same price, but with the correct layout of nodes.
For example, “Gorilych Premium” with a 12 liter tank and a narrow neck of 35 mm, in which there is a drain from the steamer and the coil is correctly located.
When choosing a device, do not hesitate to consult experienced friends or specialized forums. In any price range, you can find distillers built according to the right schemes so as not to buy a headache.
Reviewed by IgorGor.