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When I go to the moonshine equipment store, every time my eyes run wide from the assortment of all kinds of lotions presented. The desire of the seller to sell everything that is bad is understandable to me, as a buyer, but there is no certainty that the purchase will be useful to me.
Those who are engaged in moonshining know that the cost of all devices is by no means cheap. One of my biggest disappointments was the dryer.
Since my column is collapsible, I can do various manipulations with it, adding what I need and removing what I don’t need. After buying a dry steamer (reflux condenser), I immediately installed a nozzle and began to experiment with it.
My opinion is that a dry steamer is a waste of money, and I am ready to argue my position.
Dephlegmator directivity
Sukhoparnik is needed only for those lovers of home brewing who indulge in pervach. Too lazy to re-distill your product leads to the fact that people consume crude distillate, which leaves much to be desired, the level of purification.
The first fraction contains a lot of esters and fusel oils, which do not give the most pleasant aroma, reminiscent of the smell of acetone.
The sukhoparnik really allows you to clean the product deeper during the first distillation. Moreover, open dephlegmators demonstrate this clearly. Liquid accumulates in the container, which is very similar in smell to nail polish remover.
A visual demonstration of the principle of operation of the simplest dephlegmator
Also, a dry steamer can be useful for those who have a low or short column, which leads to the entry of mash into the final product.
The reflux condenser will serve as a kind of buffer, protecting the distillate. This is especially true for those who like to accidentally overheat their mash and cause it to boil.
Aromatic properties
Another purpose of the steamer is the forced saturation of the drink with natural flavors. Any natural source of aromas (zest, needles, nuts) is put into the flask, and in the process of distillation, alcohol vapors are saturated with this smell.
This is all good, but do not forget that smelly fusel oils also accumulate in the same flask, so I would not seriously consider this purpose of the device. To saturate the product with aromas, a gin basket is used, which gives a much better result.
But let’s sum up what the moonshiner gets during the first distillation of the drink through a column with a dry steamer, with a filler laid inside.
This will be a product of dubious quality, insufficient degree of purification, while the natural stench of “pervak” will be diluted with other foreign aromas. After drinking such a “noble” drink, the head will certainly not say “thank you” in the morning, the morning itself will be difficult.
The pointlessness of the device
Now look. A good sukhoparnik, made of stainless steel, and not from half-liter jars, the tightness of which leaves much to be desired, costs about 3 rubles.
Fans of “Pervak” obviously will not spend that kind of money and bother with installing equipment. The target audience, based on the cost, consists of moonshiners who know a lot about good drinks.
A steamer is just a toy that will never allow you to get a top quality product.
No adequate distiller will ever stop at a single distillation. This is taboo. At least double, and even triple distillation is able to adequately purify the rectified. The sukhoparnik will be absolutely useless here. Not to say that it will somehow harm, but it certainly will not benefit from it.
If someone managed to purchase a column in which the dry steamer was initially embedded, then you should not worry. This will not affect the quality of the product, I only lead to the fact that buying this device separately for several thousand rubles is a dubious pleasure.
Bubbler – a little trick moonshiner
In addition to the steamer, you can often find such a device as a bubbler on sale. In terms of cost, it is comparable to a reflux condenser and also serves for additional accelerated cleaning, but does it in a slightly different way.
But in defense of this device, I can say a lot. Heavy vapors saturated with resins, fermentation products, fusel oils and methanol settle and enter the bubbler tanks through the tubes.
The more “dirt” managed to be selected, the more efficient the cleaning is, because the liquid in the tank becomes larger, and it is easier for it to trap vapors.
Someone uses a bubbler paired with a steamer, someone puts several bubblers in a row. Lately I don’t use any of this equipment at all.
I am a supporter of multiple distillation, and in this case, that the steamer, that the bubbler, lose their meaning. So why reinvent the wheel if you can simply overtake the product three times and get a high quality drink as a result? What attachments do you use?