Pragmatechnik is one of the oldest companies on the moonshine still market with an extraordinary approach to business and an artistic presentation of its products.
What could be simpler than the Petrovich distiller? This is a small 150 mm piece of 16 mm stainless pipe, into which a steam inlet fitting is inserted on one side, the other side is welded, and the fitting is inserted from the side. Plus two pieces of hose – silicone at the inlet and PVC at the outlet. Also included is a beautiful box and chemical additives to create 300 liters of a surrogate similar in color and taste to cognac.
Of course, for work, you will need a small saucepan and a bucket separately to cool the Petrovich during operation. You can get by with your own inventory from kitchen stocks, or purchase a special kit from Pragmatrade or company dealers. The result will be something similar to a flying saucer (see photo).
According to the manufacturer, the miracle machine is capable of producing 1000 ml of moonshine per hour. In practice, this is very doubtful, even if the moonshine at the exit is very hot. But the price of a distiller at the level of two bottles of good vodka is captivating, and even flavors are included! And the box allows you to use the Petrovich moonshine as a gift. In general, the stars aligned and the distiller began to sell.
Next came his modified modification – “Bezzabot”, which differs from “Petrovich” only in the presence of an electric boiler inserted into the lid of the jar.
Note that the distiller has become 2 times longer, and the claimed performance is 2,5 times less.
Naturally, the modification is already more expensive, but also in a more beautiful package. Yes, and the range of flavors has become wider. You take poorly refined sugar moonshine, add a couple of drops from the set, and that’s it – brandy, rum, gin, tequila or whiskey are ready!
Most importantly, the manufacturer honestly described the technical characteristics of the device.
The next step towards perfection and expansion of the sales market was the Marusya 2 model, which marked the return of the promise of productivity up to 1000 ml / h and a short distiller of 150 ml. In fact, it turned out the same “Petrovich” with a set of a young chemist in addition.
But “Marusya 23” has already acquired a capacity of 3 liters, however, more like a can of paint than a distillation cube. Yes, and the tank is made of tinned tin, which enhances the impression.
The instruction speaks quite eloquently about the strength of this distillation cube – it does not recommend lifting the container by the handle if 2,5 liters of mash are poured inside.
What are the methods of “Petrovich” and “Marusya”
First and foremost, due to the design features, these distillers produce moonshine of very low quality. The submersible refrigerator is located in the bucket so that moonshine does not flow freely into the receiving container, but accumulates and creates excess pressure in the cube.
As a result, the boiling point drops, vaporization slows down, but energy is accumulated. At some point, the plug is pushed into the selection, the pressure drops sharply and an explosive boil occurs. Steam, along with splashes and foam, is sent to the refrigerator and then to the selection. The output after the first distillation is a classic rustic haze.
The productivity of the apparatus, based on the size of the refrigerator, will not exceed 400 ml/hour during the first distillation, and 300-320 ml/hour during the second. Moonshine will come out hot. Such performance will turn any enthusiast into a masochist or a person who is absolutely indifferent to distilling.
As for the lowest price for these devices, it is several times cheaper to make an immersion cooler using a bellows hose a couple of meters long. Having rolled it up in the form of a coil and immersed it in a bucket of water, it is really possible to get several times higher productivity – about 1,5-2 l / h.
And if you add a little imagination and a piece of a sewer pipe, then you can make a flow coil. In terms of its utilization capacity, it will block almost any heating power available in the kitchen. According to one of our colleagues, who assembled such a structure for his own needs, the cost was 697 rubles. So the last trump card of “Petrovich” is beaten.
In fact, the entire line of “Petrovich” – “Marusya” is just a souvenir product. You can indulge, but drink the resulting product – perhaps from complete hopelessness.
But there is another aspect, carefully disguised. Receiving low-quality moonshine and the presence of a cognac set as a gift, the buyer begins to use it. This does not improve the quality of the drink – it does not make cognac out of a bad distillate, but it gives a more pleasant color and taste, masks the stench of fusel oil, prompting further experiments.
Together with a trial set of fragrances, “Petrovich” costs about 1200 rubles, “Marusya” and other models less than 1500 rubles, and any of the numerous sets of chemistry – 700-750 rubles. Here is the solution. Cheap devices that produce low-quality moonshine predetermine the demand for already quite expensive flavors.
This is how mini moonshine stills, mini BK and RK appear. Hence the opinion imposed on buyers that all devices for monitoring and controlling the quality of a product are unnecessary excesses that can be replaced by additives.
conclusions
- On moonshine stills “Petrovich” and “Marusya” from Pragmatechnik you can get only very low quality distillate, which is dangerous to drink. It is advisable to buy such products only as souvenirs.
- The flavorings included in the kit only mask the taste and smell of harmful substances, but do not improve the quality.
- Due to the design features, the modernization of these distillers is not possible.
Reviewed by IgorGor.