Many are interested in how to make a moonshine. Such a device does not require large cash costs. It is quite possible to make it at home for a person who is familiar with the bench tool. Home moonshine still includes trimming stainless steel pipes. Such elements are connected to each other according to certain rules by ordinary soldering or welding. Some people even organize a whole home distillery.
For the operation of the moonshine still, any room in which electricity is supplied to 220 V and running water for cooling is suitable. In addition, they resort to heating by gas, a cooking stove or hot steam.
The advantages of a home distillery
The moonshine still does not need special adjustment or calibration, as complex systems require. For normal operation, it is enough to keep the distillery clean. Products obtained at home are of good quality and are not inferior to factory ones.
How to make a moonshine do-it-yourself
Let's look at what a design is. The home distillery functions very simply: the mash is heated and the vapors are cooled. Distillation involves dropping drops. The future moonshine falls into the receiving tank.
Let's look at how to make a moonshine at home. First, a fermentation tank is taken. It can act as a vessel for driving. You can take a 20 liter plastic canister for water. As a container for fermentation, you can use any jar or bucket. The main condition is that the vessel is suitable for storing food and is tightly closed by a lid.
Next, you need to make a water seal. This device allows carbon dioxide, which is produced by yeast, to go outside, but not allow air to enter the fermentation tank. A water lock can be made from a dropper, removing all unnecessary components, or take a piece of hose and two plastic ties. Holes are made in the lids of the containers and filled with glue. Better use sealant for aquariums. It is not toxic.
The coil is considered one of the most important parts of such a device as a home moonshine. Its design and selection of material should be approached with all seriousness.
What is the coil for?
The coil serves to cool the vapors that are released when the mash is heated, and turn them into moonshine. The better the design of the device, the more quickly we will get the right amount of alcohol. The coil for a moonshine still can be made of copper, twisted in the form of a spiral (based on a tube of iron or on a pin). The tube should be filled with sand so that dents do not form on the walls.
Production material
This aspect is considered very important. From what material the coil is made of, depends on the quality of the resulting alcohol and its safety. The base of the device must not enter into a chemical reaction with the product. The metal must have a sufficient level of thermal conductivity so that the vapors of the alcohol condense.
Taking into account all the nuances, you can make a coil for moonshine with your own hands from copper, aluminum or stainless steel. Glass is a very suitable material, but in this case it will be much easier to buy a finished device. The highest level of thermal conductivity has a copper coil.
But many experts in the field of home brewing believe that copper has toxicity. This is far from the case. For example, for many centuries, French moonshiners have distilled alcohol in alambiks (special distillers made of copper). Cases of poisoning are not recorded.
Second place in terms of thermal conductivity is aluminum. But it is inferior to copper 1.6 times. The only advantage of aluminum is the low cost of metal and ease of processing. The copper tube coil has the highest efficiency. Many parts of the moonshine still are made of copper, and this is no accident. Such material acts as a catalyst and reduces undesirable compounds. This explains the fact that copper parts are used in large enterprises for the production of alcohol.
The stainless steel coil for the moonshine still is much inferior to the copper counterpart (about 4 times). In addition, the exact manufacturer of stainless steel is not always known. In this case, a food-grade metal is required that can withstand high temperatures and does not react with alcohol.
Coil Dimensions
The longer the tube, the greater the area in contact of the vapor with water (better cooling occurs). At the same time, the level of hydraulic resistance increases (the level of distillation of moonshine decreases). The most optimal length of the coil in the moonshine (tubes before the start of turns) is 2 meters.
The larger the cross-section (an indicator of the inner diameter) of the tube, the larger the contact area and the lower the resistance level. The diameter of the coil should be 8-12 mm.
Small wall thickness increases the level of thermal conductivity, improves condensation. Very thin tubes are difficult to handle and operate. They are very fragile. In addition, when two media come into contact (alcohol and steam), the level of thermal conductivity decreases markedly regardless of the size and material of the wall. A good indicator of the thickness of the tube is 0.9-1.1 mm.
Coil Location
The coil can take a vertical position, as well as horizontal or inclined. In a moonshine still, the best solution would be a vertical arrangement of the device. It ensures that condensate drains by gravity and does not impede the movement of steam. The vertical circuit coils are ascending (steam goes from bottom to top) and descending (from top to bottom). For a minimum level of resistance, steam is supplied from above.
Cooling system
The coils are cooled by water, ice or air. The last two methods are less effective and require complex designs. Therefore, we will not talk about them in the article.
The water-based cooling system is open and closed. The first is based on running water. Closed structures work when filling the tank with the right amount of fluid.
Closed system
The design of the closed system is unified. But her degree of cooling is worse. It happens that when you exit the moonshine is not cold enough, and after a few hours distillation - even hot.
Open system
In open systems, water circulation provides better cooling. Moonshine at the exit is cold. Moreover, in flow-type constructions, a smaller reservoir is used. The device has compact dimensions.
Water must be correctly supplied from below and discharged from above. In order for the cooling level to be normal, the liquid must move against the current of moonshine, otherwise the lower part of the coil will not cool completely. This scheme of work is called "counterflow mode."
How is the coil made
In order to make a coil for the moonshine still with your own hands, you will need a tube of copper, brass, aluminum or stainless steel. Its length should be 2 meters, and the cross section 8-12 mm. The wall thickness should be a wound of 0.9-1.1 mm.
It is recommended that you prepare the case in advance for installation. The diameter of the tube winding depends on its size. For example, you can take a sewer pipe made of plastic, the diameter of which is 75-80 mm. For high cooling efficiency, the coil must occupy no less than 20% of the tank volume.
Work sequence
So, how to make a coil for moonshine do-it-yourself? This process includes the following steps:
- Fill the tube tightly with dry bulk material. For example, you can use river sand or soda. This will protect the metal from flattening while curling. The extreme method is filling the tube with water and then freezing it.
- Pegs of wood are stuffed at the ends of the tube. An alternative is tight clamping or soldering. It is recommended to weld a nut on one end.
- A smooth object with an even rounded cross section of the required diameter (approximately 35 mm) is wound on the tube. The pitch between the turns should be 12 mm.
- The ends of the coil should be emptied, pour sand and rinse the tube with running water.
- On the cooling case, pipes are installed that provide water supply and drainage.
- The coil is placed in the housing, plugs are installed on the top and bottom, all connections are hermetically sealed using superglue or in another way.
How to clean the coil?
Over time, the surface of copper oxidizes. Sulfur sticks to the walls. The result is a black coating. To clean the walls, you need one tablespoon of citric acid. It is bred in a liter of warm water. The coil is immersed in the resulting liquid and left for 20 minutes. In case of incomplete cleaning, dilute one teaspoon of soda in a liter of water, leave the coil in the resulting liquid overnight.