Contents
The universal system “Bulat” is produced at its own facilities by the company “Rectify” in St. Petersburg. The company has been operating since 2013. In this review, we will try to objectively understand the capabilities of the Bulat apparatus, which can be purchased both as a set with a cube and separately.
Stills
For the Bulat column, the manufacturer recommends cubes starting from 20 liters. They can be based on containers of own production from AISI 304 steel or LuxStahl from AISI 201.
In the minimum configuration, 20 liter cubes are equipped with a reinforced 3 mm lid with a food grade silicone seal and a fixing collar. A blast valve and a tube for placing a thermometer / pressure gauge are mounted in the cover. To this cube, you can additionally purchase a digital thermometer and a false bottom.
Starting with a volume of 25 liters, all pots are equipped with a drain cock, and for 37 liters and above, it is possible to equip them with a clamp under the heating element. As an additional option, it becomes possible to purchase a malt hopper, which will be appreciated by brewers.
In the maximum configuration, cubes from 37 liters and above can additionally be equipped with legs for adjusting the verticality of the column, a liquid level indicator, insulation and a block heating element with a triac power controller.
The range of cubes from “Rectify” is not limited to the mentioned models – those who wish can purchase steam-water boilers with a capacity of 60 to 450 liters, quadro-cubes for working on gas from 30 to 60 liters (for 2 or 4 burners) or containers made from beer kegs for 30 or 50 liters.
Cubes are equipped with heating elements with a control unit. There are 2 options with a total power of 3,75 kW (3 elements of 1,25 kW) and 4,5 kW (3 elements of 1.5 kW). The control unit in both cases has the ability to separately turn on the first and second element, while the third is controlled by a triac power controller. The digital display shows 4 parameters: voltage, current, current power and electricity consumption.
The only question that arises for such a configuration: why is there no option for a standard apartment with 16A sockets and appropriate wiring? After all, 3,5 kW is its passport limit, but in reality even 3 kW in old apartments will be connected only by kamikaze.
Among the shortcomings, it is worth noting the absence of a thermometer in the liquid zone, as well as the use of AISI 430 for cubes of our own production for induction heating.
The advantages of cubes based on Rectify’s own production tanks are the material from which they are made – AISI 304, the correct blast valve, workmanship and thoughtful design. It should be noted a wide price range, sharpening of various modifications of cubes for specific tasks.
Column “Bulat”
The column is offered separately from the cubes and does not become more expensive. It is produced in three modifications: with a jacket reflux condenser, a shell-and-tube reflux condenser and a shell-and-tube reflux condenser with a removable spout. The most universal of them, of course, is the last option.
The composition of the 2” column is already familiar: a 50 cm long side, a shell-and-tube cooler and a reflux condenser, a drain spout, a pair of 90-degree bends, one of which has a thermometer sleeve mounted, and the other a liquid sampling unit. All on clamp connections.
It is not possible to find out about the size of the nodes on the official website of Rectify, the manufacturer ignores the provision of data by which the buyer will be able to independently evaluate the products. Therefore, we will use data from the owners of the devices.
Tsarga
50 cm long, filled with OLTC enough to produce moonshine with a strength of up to 92%. To further improve the quality of cleaning, the manufacturer speaks without deceit about the need to use additional drawers with a spiral prismatic nozzle.
An increase in the height of the packed part to 1700 mm and the use of liquid extraction will make it possible to turn the apparatus into a full-fledged distillation column. We can agree with this.
Refrigerator
With 7 steam pipes 12 x 1 mm, a working length of 38 cm, it will cope with a power of 4,5 kW with a good margin. Productivity during the distillation of mash will be up to 9 l / h. The 5 kW and 10 l / h declared by the manufacturer are doubtful.
Dephlegmator
With 3 baffles and 7 steam pipes 12 x 1 mm working length of 21 cm (overall length 26 cm) even too powerful for the working capacities of the column. If necessary, it can be used as a condenser for liquid sampling. Even with an on-load tap-changer, the steam velocity in the dephlegmator tubes does not exceed 3 m/s. And with SPN, the steam speed is not higher than 2,5 m / s.
In the cheapest modification of Bulat, a shirt reflux condenser is installed. The steam pipe with a gap of 1 mm is welded into the drawer side. To avoid steam overshoot and increase the efficiency of the reflux condenser, the manufacturer recommends filling it with OLTC completely, together with the entire column. In this case, the length of the reflux condenser of 30 cm is enough to fully utilize the working capacity of the column.
Fittings
The cooling water supply and drain connections are ½ inch threaded connections. This is a reliable solution, however, allowing supporters of hoses and clamps to purchase fitting-ruff adapters and indulge in dancing with tambourines, as well as adrenaline in anticipation of pressure surges and their breakdown.
product spout
The correct design, providing for the use of the spout in the “potstill” mode.
Withdrawal with liquid extraction
A detail of mash columns and column-type moonshine stills that has already become familiar. In the vast majority of cases, it is intended to somehow cope with miscalculations in the design of the dephlegmator and organize an acceptable selection of “heads”. But not this time, everything is in order with the reflux condenser, and it is possible to select the “heads” in pairs. Therefore, it is pointless to provide an aftercooler and a needle valve for adjusting the extraction rate in the basic configuration.
Truly liquid selection becomes necessary for Bulat only during rectification. But this requires additional tsargi and SPN. The manufacturer recommends taking them in a ready-made set – in the form of an upper tsarga from RK-51 850 mm high with an alcohol refrigerator. This side is insulated and covered with SPN, 20 cm from the edge it has a sealed sleeve for a temperature sensor from a tube of 8 x 1 mm. An aftercooler is tightly welded to the tsarga. The operating power of the apparatus with an additional drawer is up to 2 kW and, at a withdrawal rate of 1,5-2 l/h, ensures the production of 95-96% alcohol.
In general, the column is made competently and with good quality of welding and seam processing.
Additional accessories
Of the additional components, I want to highlight a few nodes.
Steam selection unit
A small and inexpensive detail allows the owner of the BC to try to work with steam extraction to a dephlegmator, which makes Bulat a universal system that allows you to implement all three process control schemes: CM, LM and VM.
Tray cap column
The tray column manufactured by Rectify differs from the closest analogues by the presence of 3 caps on each tray. This makes it stable over a wide operating power range, literally from 0,5 to 4,5 kW.
With an internal diameter of 80 mm, this is a good indicator that distinguishes the column from competitors. The Chinese analogues look very similar to this column, but they were not even close in terms of working qualities.
conclusions
- “Bulat” is a well-designed and well-executed column-type moonshine still that meets the specifications declared by the manufacturer.
- The purchase of additional components allows you to modify the column, having received any degree of purification, up to alcohol, and a process control scheme: CM, LM and VM.
- Rectify does not provide an opportunity to equip the device with heating elements with a power below 3,75 kW, which causes inconvenience, especially for old apartments.
- The shortcomings noted during the review do not spoil the overall picture, so we can recommend the BRK “Bulat” from “Rectifay” for purchase.
Reviewed by IgorGor.