Details on how to use the film column. Do-it-yourself strengthening column: what and how to do it correctly. Step-by-step instructions for making a reinforcing column

The evolution from grandma’s coil to home distillation columns followed bizarre paths, producing many dead-end branches and “monsters,” but sometimes useful hybrid designs were developed. One of these devices was mash column(BC), whose popularity among home distillers is growing every year. However, such a device requires an understanding of the theoretical foundations and proper operation, otherwise the result will be disappointing.

The history of the appearance of the mash column

What was wrong with the good old coil? Firstly, low performance. Secondly, even with fractional distillation, the distillate contains a significant amount of harmful impurities. A rectification column (RC) copes with these disadvantages, but has its own problems: expensive equipment; after rectification, the drink does not contain the smell of the original raw material, and a distiller is still needed for the first distillation.

The advent of once-through and shell-and-tube refrigerators solved the productivity problem. These cooler designs made it possible to relatively quickly distill the mash into raw alcohol, and to overcome splash entrainment, an empty pipe was added to the design. This is how the new generation distiller acquired its finished form.

Example once-through refrigerator

Example of a shell-and-tube refrigerator

The pipe served as a steam trap - preventing splashes from the cube, which are formed in wild phlegm, from entering the selection. Such a distiller easily coped with any heating power available in everyday life. There's also a slight product boost to reinforce what was previously thought. useful property– a reflux condenser was used, which gave rise to a whole family of distillers with strengthening, related by the common name: “mashing column”.

Attention! The continuous mash column (CBC), despite the similar name, has a completely different purpose and principle of operation.

Film mash column

The main one was the BC scheme with jacket reflux condenser shown in the figure.

Example film column assembled

Available materials, ease of manufacture and strengthening of moonshine up to 90-91% contributed to the growing popularity of this scheme. Based on operating experience, the basic requirements were formulated.

A film mash column was considered good if:

the diameter was 25-28 mm, and the height was from 30 to 50 times the internal diameter;
there was a sufficiently powerful and well-controlled reflux condenser capable of extinguishing the operating heating power;
there was precise regulation of the flow of cooling water to the reflux condenser using a needle valve;
a separate water supply to the refrigerator and reflux condenser has been implemented;
a thermometer is installed above the reflux condenser in the steam pipe;
there was a sufficiently efficient refrigerator to operate at full heating power in both the second and first stages.

Working with the film column was not easy and required constant attention from the owner. During the first distillation, the reflux condenser was not turned on so as not to increase the boiling time of the mash, but during the second distillation the reflux condenser was already working, making it possible to select the “heads” drop by drop and strengthen the “body” to 90%. True, it was not always possible to achieve the intended goals with the help of a reflux condenser, then heat regulation was used, which eventually became the main one for the BC. However, the product obtained as a result of distillation on film BC seemed to enthusiasts to be significantly better than moonshine after fractional distillation in a conventional apparatus.

The euphoria can be explained by the fact that the high strength masks the unpleasant odor of the drink. True, after diluting with water to 40-45%, all the shortcomings of the distillate became fully apparent after a couple of days. Users consoled themselves with the fact that they were not striving to obtain alcohol, but wanted to drink well-purified moonshine with the aromas of the raw materials.

Disadvantages of a film column

"Strong does not mean pure"- this simple thought did not immediately take possession of the minds of moonshiners, but there were sensible skeptics who gave the product for analysis. The results were amazing: laboratory testing showed that purification of impurities using this equipment is a myth.

Moreover, if the film column somehow made it possible to select the “heads,” then there were almost more fusels in the selection than in the original raw material. This made us think and understand how harmful impurities get into selection, then determine the reasons and try to overcome them.

1. Sensitivity to water pressure. Even a slight decrease in the water flow in the reflux condenser is enough for all the intermediate harmful impurities accumulated in the pipe to instantly slip into the selection. It is enough to open the tap in the bathroom or flush the toilet so that the water pressure in the system drops, and the drip-by-drop selection of “heads” turns into a vigorous stream.

Improvement proposals poured in as if from a cornucopia: stabilization with the help of pressure regulators, water supply through an intermediate tank under the ceiling or an aquarium pump, autonomous cooling systems, etc. In general, very useful things and applicable not only for BC.

It seemed that the problem had been solved, but in addition to stabilizing the flow of supplied water, it was also necessary to control the reflux ratio with its help, and this is very inconvenient due to the high inertia of the system.

2. Low holding and separating capacity. Trying to place coils or a couple of sponges in the column improved the situation a little, but not enough to solve the cleaning problem as a whole. As a result, the “heads” were selected carelessly, and even despite the drop-by-drop selection, the necessary esters responsible for the aroma were also removed along with harmful substances.

Due to the impossibility of concentrating the “heads” in the selection zone in large quantities due to the practically absent retention capacity, it was necessary to select them in excess, losing a significant part of the alcohol. The transition to the selection of the “body” by increasing the heating power instantly sent the intermediate impurities accumulated in the pipe into the selection.

The situation was further aggravated by the fact that when selecting the “body,” the division dropped to 2-3 plates and could not detain the fusel fish. When the temperature in the cube approached 90-92 °C, if they did not switch to the selection of “tails” in time, the remains of the fusel fish flew into the receiving container, leaving only water in the “tails”.

Even in the best samples of moonshine produced on film columns, the content of fusel oils is at least 1-2 thousand mg per liter, more often it is much higher. Due to the design features of the film BC, the distillate turns out to be unbalanced - with a clear imbalance chemical composition towards the fusel.

The emergence of the modern mash column

The solution to the problem of clearing fusel oils came quickly - you need to fill the drawer with a nozzle. As a result, the BC turned into a mini RC ( distillation column) with the same rules and equipment requirements. The only differences remain in the versatility of the design, which allows the use of BC for distilling mash. Traditional BC steam extraction is also used, although many distillers appreciated the convenience of liquid extraction and installed it on their columns, while others began experiments with steam extraction before the reflux condenser.

Example of a mash column

After this, the BC, in the classic form of a film column with steam extraction above the reflux condenser, solemnly marched to the museum of the history of moonshine, where it took pride of place. You can object: “It’s completely for sale!” The answer is simple: you never know the number of dealers and collectors of antiques who sell and bribe not only outdated items, but also their fakes.

Requirements for a good mash column

In most cases, a modern BC has a column with a diameter of 40-50 mm and a height of 75 to 100 cm, as well as a cube of 20-30 liters, liquid selection and automation. In general, this complies with the standards and requirements for the Republic of Kazakhstan, but the main thing remains for the mash column: the versatility of the design and the desire to obtain a well-purified distillate with the taste and aroma of the original raw material, which can be drunk immediately without long-term correction-aging in oak barrels.

However, during operation, ordinary users encountered a problem: using standard rectification technologies when distilling mash, they did not receive the expected well-purified and fortified distillate, but rather dirty alcohol, which was half-contemptuously called NDRF - under-rectified. It seemed that the evolution of the development of mash columns had reached a dead end.

Then BC fans began experiments on the use of low reflux ratios when distilling raw alcohol. Everything fell into place. Smaller volumes of still bulk and short drawers, which prevent the production of pure alcohol at the distillate, have become a strong point for the production of distillate. The high drawer of the RK has a separating ability that is excessive for the distillate, cutting off not only the excess, but also the useful.

The low frame of the BC made it possible to implement a technology for a balanced reduction in the concentration of all impurities in the product while removing some that are definitely not needed. This was also facilitated by the use of larger nozzles. So, for a 50 mm BC, an SPN of 4 x 4 x 0.28 is used instead of 3.5 x 3.5 x 0.25 in the BC. For certain tasks, dish-shaped columns and copper rings as nozzles have proven themselves to be effective, but this is a topic for a separate article.

How to work on a mash column correctly

Beginners often complain that despite all their efforts, they end up with pure alcohol in the mash column, and not delicious drink. There is no universal technology, since many of the nuances of distillation depend on the design of the apparatus, but by following the basic rules, you can make an aromatic and well-purified distillate using BC.

1. BK and RK are devices that implement heat and mass transfer technologies, therefore the requirements for preparing equipment for operation are almost the same for them. In order to confidently control the reflux ratio during operation, you need: stable, controlled heating and cooling, as well as good thermal insulation of the cube and column.

2. Calculate the planned selection rate of the “body”. We assume that the reflux ratio should not exceed 2. For example, if the operating heating power for a 50 mm column is 1700 W, then approximately 4.93 x 1.7 = 8.3 liters of liquid per hour evaporates from the cube. We must select a third, and return two thirds with reflux back to the column and cube. This means that the planned withdrawal rate is 2.8 liters per hour, and the reflux ratio is (8.3 -2.8) / 2.8 = 2. Greater accuracy is not required.

3. The long and dull selection of “heads” adopted during rectification removes not only aldehydes, but also esters responsible for the aroma of the drink. Therefore, the “heads” should be selected no more than 2-3% of the AC (absolute alcohol) in bulk. The speed should be approximately 25-300 ml/hour (about 10% of the “body” selection rate).

4. We set the starting speed of “body” selection equal to the planned one (in our example, 2.8 l/hour). And after the selection begins, we adjust it so that the output strength is 90-91% with a bulk strength of 40%.

We don’t change the speed anymore! By the end of the “body” selection, the speed will drop, and the strength in the stream will drop to 87-88% (with a residual strength of raw alcohol in the cube of 5%). The speed is enormous compared to rectification, but this is precisely what allows medium ethers and a moderate portion of higher alcohols to pass into the receiving container. The selection of the “body” must be completed at a bottom temperature of no higher than 95 °C.

5. If we distill grain raw materials, then we select the “tails” fractionally (2-3 servings of 100-150 ml each) at a speed two to three times lower than the starting speed when selecting the “body”. The “tails” will go the next day for blending or for further processing in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The main thing is not to be afraid of a high selection rate: if it is underestimated, then the output will no longer be a good distillate, but poorly purified alcohol, which is quite suitable for a barrel - the impurities are not completely removed, but only “slightly combed”, freed from excess fusel and aldehydes.

If the goal is a distillate for consumption without long aging, then you can experiment with adjusting the reflux ratio, remembering that the higher the reflux ratio, the greater the degree of purification and approach to alcohol.

For the distillation of sugar raw materials, only maximum purification from all impurities and distillation technology adopted in the Republic of Kazakhstan are suitable. If the volume of the bulk does not exceed 15-20 volumes of the packing in the column, this SPN packing is of a size corresponding to the diameter of the column, and the column itself is at least 1 meter high, there is a chance of obtaining quite decent alcohol from raw sugar alcohol.

P.S. Thanks to the user from our forum for preparing the material for this article.

The fact that 80% of the vodka in our stores is made from imported alcohol has never particularly bothered me, even once I watched something about making alcohol from, ugh, feces, I wasn’t very impressed either - so what do I think, it doesn’t happen like that, but there is so much wheat in our Mother Russia. But the flashing information that China has become the main importer of alcohol in Russia seriously alarmed us - what exactly is it produced from there?
As always, there were a thousand versions on the Internet about the origin of Chinese alcohol, but one of the convincing ones nevertheless confirmed my fears - the raw materials are organic waste products.
The last straw that prompted me to buy distillation equipment was tasting moonshine while visiting friends, fairly wealthy and very hospitable people who, in the presence of others alcoholic drinks, proven and not cheap, politely invited everyone to try the moonshine. I somehow didn’t have a good relationship with this natural product since I was young, having tried it once on potatoes in the student brigade, I decided to avoid this “refined” drink in the future - the smell, taste and especially the hangover from that chatter was simply terrible. Subsequently tested other moonshine products left approximately similar sensations. And imagine my amazement when the moonshine offered by friends for testing was radically different from everything that I had tried before - there was no fusel in the smell or taste. But for the sake of objectivity, it is worth noting that this was not pure moonshine, but already infused with some berries, but I had previously drunk tinctures with moonshine, so there was something to compare with. I was not able to find out on what equipment that same moonshine was made, but my brain has already received food for thought and research.
After reading specialized articles, websites, and forums, I decided on what I wanted and had already chosen a ready-made moonshine brewing kit for purchase, but it turned out that one old friend had been “in the know” for a long time and he dissuaded me from the chosen option, arguing that he too I started with a similar set and the moonshine it turned out, although good, was still “scented”. He managed to achieve a pure taste only using distillation equipment of the HD/4 series manufactured in Taganrog. I still don’t understand whether this is a full-fledged plant or some kind of small-scale production. As you know, learning from your mistakes is a thankless task, so I didn’t try to split hairs and bought a distiller with a reinforcing film column from the online store at this plant, which was recommended by a friend - HD/4-2500PK.
As I understand it, the abbreviation HD/4-2500PK stands for the following:
HD - abbreviation for Home Distiller (homedistiller translated from English as home distiller)
4 is a series of distillation equipment designed for domestic use for 1" plumbing fittings
2500 is the maximum power in W that is utilized by this distiller, although it is not clear for what type of heating this is calculated, the heat transfer is different for everyone.
PC – film column (reflux flows like a film along the pipe wall into a cube).
The main difference between a film column and a classic one moonshine still is that alcohol vapors rising into the primary refrigerator condense on it internal walls, forming a film that, under the influence of gravity, flows back into the boiling cube and so on dozens of times in a circle. This allows for more accurate separation of high-boiling fractions and, accordingly, a cleaner and stronger product at the output.

A little simplified theory of alcohol production

The alcohol production process can be divided into two types - distillation and rectification.
Distillation is the process of heating low-strength raw materials (mash) in a closed volume (distillation cube), as a result of which the vapors rising into the distiller condense in it and flow into the receiving container. The trick is that alcohol vapors begin to evaporate first (the boiling point of alcohol is about +78C), first the leading fractions, the so-called “heads”, evaporate: higher alcohols, volatile acids, esters, and after them the “body” we need - drinking ( ethyl) alcohol, after which the tail fractions boil - “tails” ( fusel oils) and only at the very end does it come to water. Therefore, the main task of distillation is to correctly separate the “body” of the distillation - alcohol, from the “heads” and “tails”.
Rectification is the same heating process in a distillation cube, as a result of which absolute (due to design features) distillation column) dividing the liquid into fractions, that is, the output is almost pure alcohol.
It would seem that rectified is better than distillate - just add water ©, but not everything is so simple. Distillation allows you to preserve the taste and aroma of the original raw materials in alcohol: grapes for the production of chacha, grappa and cognac alcohol; apples to obtain Calvados, etc. There is also an opinion that the presence of microdoses of fusel oils and esters in alcohol has a beneficial effect on the negative effects that alcohol has on the body, at least causing milder hangover symptoms.

9 days after payment the parcel arrived to me

I didn’t take any photos of the packaging, and in fact there wasn’t much packaging - stretch tape in several layers, and adhesive tape for good measure, but really, why bother, I didn’t buy crystal.
I was pleased with the appearance of the column; there were no crooked welds or burrs in sight; it was immediately clear that the thing was not made on the knee.

There is even an old Soviet atavism - an OTK stamp on the sticker

PC made of food grade stainless steel 1 mm thick

column weight 1.45 kg

The height of the assembled column is 650 mm, the width at the extreme points is 200 mm. The outer diameter of the strengthening refrigerator is 32 mm

External diameter of cooling tubes 8 mm

The inner diameter of the hole for the thermometer is 6 mm

The column comes complete with silicone tubes connecting the cooling circuits of the ascending and descending refrigerators with the so-called Hoffmann clamp

which allows you to separate and regulate water flows, thereby increasing or decreasing the rate of product selection.
Cooling circuit inside the column

The column is secured with a stainless steel union nut with a diameter of 1”

a paronite gasket is used for sealing

For some reason they gave me four of them.
I decided to start with small expenses, so as not to regret the money spent (if I didn’t like the moonshine or the moonshine brewing process itself), so I didn’t buy anything else from the equipment, except for the adapter for the saucepan. It would have been possible to save on this by assembling it from a stainless steel rod with 1” nuts and washers sold on the market, but sellers at our market were not sure that they were made of food grade stainless steel, so I didn’t take any risks and ordered from the same store. I decided to make a distillation cube myself from a 12 liter pan I had.

Since the distillation cube must be absolutely airtight, you will need to make a seal on the lid of the pan. To do this, I bought metal dies at a furniture fittings store, a set of screws with wings, nuts and washers at a hardware store, and a silicone tube with a diameter of 5 mm at a pharmacy store.

Let's start production alembic: Using the largest drill, we drill a hole in the center of the lid and another one on the side with a diameter of 6 mm for a thermometer.

saw off the lid handle

and then use a round file to expand the central hole to 32 mm, the metal of the lid is soft and the job went quickly, it took about half an hour to do everything.

We place the adapter and clamp it tightly with two adjustable wrenches

I cut the furniture dies, drilled holes to match the diameter of the screws and bent them to fit the profile of the lid - we got screw clamps

I cut the tube lengthwise and placed it on the edge of the pan

The first tests showed that the clamps cut the tube, and the tube itself diverges at the edges, although I cut it clearly end-to-end. To eliminate the identified shortcomings, I wrapped the edges of the clamps with tape

and sewed the edges of the tube with thread

The second test of the homemade cube was successful, no steam escaped anywhere.
This is the final design:

Another mandatory cost for a successful moonshine brewing process is an alcohol meter, a silicone tube for collecting the distillate, PVC tubes for inlet and outlet of water, a volumetric flask, an adapter for a faucet and two thermometers, one in the cube, the other in the top point of the column.

I bought all this, with the exception of thermometers (thank you for the coupons 2 from 2.01) for inexpensively in Dachnik. Since the idea was only to try and invest as little as possible, I made the adapter for the faucet from a plastic fitting for a garden hose; it fit perfectly onto the thread of my faucet with the siphon removed.

After producing the wine I still had grape pomace, which had no use and had to be thrown away. Now such waste will no longer occur; the squeezes will serve as the basis for my first mash. For a 60 liter barrel I used 20 kg of pomace, 30 liters of water and I’m afraid to lie, I don’t remember how many kilograms of sugar (about 5-6). There was no way to seal the barrel with a lid, so I used the same water seal that was used when fermenting grape must - a bag with a puncture. There was no need to add any yeast to the mash, the wild grapes did everything themselves, at first the bag inflated quite intensively

Braga even went over the edge, I had to take a leak three liter jar. The whole fermentation process took quite a long time - about a month. As soon as the marc has sunk to the bottom and the mash has acquired a bitter taste, you can begin distillation.
The instructions for the film column recommend that distillation be carried out in two stages, first primary distillation at maximum speed without selecting heads and tails, and then secondary fractional distillation.
Detailed video instructions for working with the HD/4-2500PK are available to those who are passionate about this distiller.
We assemble the moonshine still, install thermometers with silicone casings for sealing, put on hoses, and apply test cooling. The kitchen turns into a distillery and is almost completely occupied by me; the household members are expelled to other rooms. You can drive.

Primary distillation takes place with the cooling circuit of the strengthening column completely closed, the Hoffmann clamp is installed on the vertical tube and completely screwed in.

Thus, all alcohol vapors pass freely through the ascending column and condense in the descending column.
Water must be supplied at a very minimal flow of 30-40 l/h, then there will be practically no smell from moonshine.

When my mash burned, the smell was very noticeable, I even had to open the window slightly and turn the hood on full, the next time I didn’t make such a mistake and there was practically no smell during distillation, in an apartment you can safely drive without fear that this will cause discomfort to other family members, and the neighbors won’t even get wind of it.
By adjusting the degree of heating and water pressure, you can relax and do other things; the process does not require further human participation; it is only necessary to control the alcohol content of the resulting distillate. I distilled the moonshine to a stream strength of less than 10%. The maximum speed that I managed to achieve on the HD/4-2500PK is 1.5-1.6 liters per hour. The final alcohol content of the pervak was slightly more than 45%.

In total we got about 8 liters of raw alcohol

During the initial distillation, I made a mistake - I heated the cube at the maximum power of the induction cooker and my grape marc burned, the instructions advised filtering the mash before pouring it into the cube, but moonshine gurus from the Internet said that chacha should be distilled with the marc, otherwise it will not taste like grapes. I don’t know, I didn’t notice a grape smell in the first one, but there was a burnt tone.
Next, it is necessary to distill the resulting raw alcohol again, dividing it into fractions. Experienced moonshiners do this separation by smell - they quickly rub a drop of distillate between their fingers and sniff, the head fractions smell like acetone, the tail fractions smell like fusel, and the body of the distillation, accordingly, should have a pure alcohol smell. Well, it all comes with experience and time, or maybe it doesn’t come at all, depending on who you are. For novice moonshiners, there is a special method for calculating the selection of head fractions, it is as follows: first you need to calculate the volume of pure (absolute) alcohol in raw alcohol using the following formula: Volume of raw alcohol * Strength, and from the obtained result the heads will be 10%. For example, if we have 8 liters of raw alcohol with a strength of 45%, then the volume of heads will be 8 * 0.45 * 0.1 = 0.36 liters. You can also download various applications from the market (I liked them), which themselves calculate the volume of heads based on the initial data (and many other useful things, especially the proportions for further diluting the alcohol to the desired degree).

The secondary distillation technology is slightly different; the Hoffmann clamp is moved to a horizontal tube and completely clamped

thus all the water goes into the primary strengthening refrigerator. Then you need to adjust the flow of water so that after boiling the mash in the cube, nothing flows out of the column; the vapors must be completely retained by cooling in the primary column and flow with a film back into the cube; this is necessary to concentrate the head fractions in the strengthening column, since they boil first . This mode of operation of the column is called “self-employment”. In this mode, the column should work for half an hour, accumulating a maximum of heads, then the Hoffmann clamp is removed from the horizontal pipe and moved to the vertical one, then slowly twisted until drops of distillate appear.

Next, the clamp must be adjusted so that the selection of heads occurs at a minimum speed of 2-3 drops per second, this will give the greatest clarity in separating the heads from the body. You need to turn the screw literally micrometer by micrometer and wait 30 seconds until the system overcomes inertia. If the temperature cold water If yours is low, then you can push another tube of smaller diameter into the vertical pipe and then you can adjust it not by micron, but by wider movements. We place a receiving container with pre-applied marks under the silicone tube

and wait until the volume of heads we calculated earlier is selected. As soon as this happens, we change the receiving container to a larger one and begin collecting the body

The Hoffmann clamp is gradually twisted so that an even stream of distillate flows out. It is important not to overdo it here, the temperature on the thermometers should settle down and show some stable values; if the temperature rises, it means you have exceeded the maximum extraction rate and you need to reduce it by unscrewing the clamp back, thereby adding more water to the cooling circuit. Exceeding the sampling rate will also be indicated by a splash of distillate from the communication tube with the atmosphere, which is located above the distillate collection tube

The upper temperature shows us what strength our steam is and, accordingly, the distillate; in a moonshiner’s calculator you can calculate the alcohol content by temperature. Pure alcohol boils at a temperature of about +78C.

For additional strengthening and purification from sulfur compounds, on the recommendation of Internet gurus, I inserted into the adapter made from wire extracted from the VVG cable.

After distillation, a gray coating forms on them, they still deposit something on themselves, I don’t know, maybe it’s self-hypnosis again.

To give the spirals their original copper shine, they need to be boiled in water with citric acid.
We sample the body until the temperature in the cube reaches 93 degrees; it is believed that after this temperature various bad impurities (fusel oils) begin to boil in the cube. You can stop the distillation process at this point, or you can also select the tails, since they also contain alcohol and can be reused by adding mash to the next portion and distilling again.
After the second distillation I got an alcohol content of around 88%

But this indicator is far from the limit for this distiller, for example, widely known in narrow circles, it received a strength of 90 degrees, but it was paired with a column filled to the top with copper spirals.
Next, you need to dilute the resulting alcohol with water to the required strength, the water must be purified and preferably softened, I use water from a stationary filter installed under the sink. Some people use spring water, some use bottled water, some prefer it. The volume of water required for dilution can be calculated using the original alcohol data in the same Moonshiner's Assistant. It is believed that alcohol should be poured into water, and not vice versa, otherwise the moonshine will become cloudy, I did both. Yes, indeed, at first the alcohol solution becomes cloudy, but very quickly, literally in a minute, it acquires its former transparency

That's all, moonshine is ready for use, but to improve its quality, you can charcoalize it (filtration charcoal) and rest (standing).
There is practically no fusel smell in the moonshine obtained using this film column, I don’t feel it at all, but my wife detects some notes, but she doesn’t drink strong alcohol, so I don’t particularly trust her nose, maybe she confuses it with something else . The intoxication compared to purchased budget vodka is calmer and softer; I don’t think any of the drinkers will experience any blowing off the roof or the need to punch someone in the face. Well, as they say, it’s a question of drinking culture and knowing when to stop. Comparing my feelings the next day, I can definitely say that the hangover from the same doses as vodka is much milder, and even then it manifests itself when you have too much. If you drink in moderation, then in the morning there are no symptoms at all; for example, 150 grams is enough for me to get complete satisfaction from alcohol.
Moonshine is a rich testing ground for the subsequent preparation of various alcoholic beverages - liqueurs, liqueurs, brandy, whiskey and much more. According to Storm, respected in distilling circles, I fried myself oak chips for infusing moonshine on it.

I poured it into a three-liter jar and put it in the pantry for a couple of weeks.
The result was a very interesting straw-colored drink, as it seemed to me, with notes of prunes

I also liked the juniper tincture with the pleasant smell of a Christmas tree and the classic honey tincture with pepper, there are many on the Internet different recipes, I'll try it little by little. There you can also find various labels and design options for your bottles.

Take care of yourself, buy high-quality alcohol in trusted stores, or adopt my experience and then alcohol will not only be harmful, but also a little useful, the main thing is to know when to stop.
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Column) is a device for the production of “under-rectified”, that is, strong and relatively pure moonshine. The resulting product is better than distillate, but does not reach the level of rectified product. About its difference from ordinary moonshine and distillation apparatus you can read it here -.

Today we will consider the option of making a reinforcing column with our own hands. This work requires knowledge of its structure, and owning a welding machine and grinder. It is quite difficult to assemble something adequate from trash, but we will try to offer you the most budget-friendly and affordable option, which will yield a strong and relatively high-quality product.

There are not as many components as it might seem at first glance.

Three pipes with a diameter of 32 mm made of stainless steel.
Two nuts for connecting to the cube.
Stainless steel refrigerator
Sewer pipes, coupling and adapter for washing machine (dephlegmator).
It is used as the basis of the distillation cube.

So how will we do solid column, then you will need a welding machine with electrodes and a grinder.

The design will not imply disassembly, and it will need to be washed directly with water.

Before starting work, I suggest studying the structure and operating principle of this device.

Did it most successfully Lucky on your Youtube channel. A lot of questions are closed in the comments, so also study this section.

Blueprints

Your base for the machine will probably not be the same as ours. For this reason, you will not be able to make an identical column, since your pipe and connection sizes will be different.

That's why we have prepared for you selection of drawings, which you can use to navigate while working. Choose the best option for yourself, assemble all the parts and you can get to work. The video will be presented below.

Drawing with dimensions and names of parts.
Made of copper.
With a drawer of 22 mm.
Visual diagram.

Step-by-step instructions for making a reinforcing column

It is very difficult to explain the practical part in words, so I suggest you watch 2 videos from the Youtube channel homemade PRODUCTION. These videos are considered the most popular, as they show a budget option for manufacturing a reinforcing column.

The whole process can be divided into several parts:

Preparation of equipment and components of the apparatus.
Connecting and welding pipes, that is, creating a sealed system.
Testing and improving distillation (adding or working with a reflux condenser).

The result is a rather ugly, but working moonshine still. On it you can make moonshine with fortification, selecting most of the harmful fractions from the product.

Copper column

If stainless steel does not suit you for some reason, then the only alternative would be copper. The device will be more expensive, more efficient and better. This material is difficult to care for, but the results are always fantastic.

I propose to study the operation diagram of a copper reinforcing column and understand its main components. The author will talk about those parts of which it consists, so after watching the video you will have an objective picture of how it can be done.

Although most often this question sounds like “how does a reinforcing film column work?”, I deliberately did not separate film (wheat) and packed (distillation) columns in the title. The fact is that from a fundamental point of view, the essence of their work is the same. Let's start by looking at the operation of a film column with steam extraction.

Let us take for consideration a section of the refluxing part of the column.

This shows the moment of operation of the column at the beginning of the process, when the full cooling flow is supplied to the reflux condenser, and the heating power supplied to the cube is completely utilized. The column, as they say, works for itself. This means that the temperature of the liquid in the cube has already reached the boiling point corresponding to the alcohol content, but nothing passes through for selection, since all the vapor is condensed by the reflux condenser and returned to the cube. For ease of understanding, we assume that the composition of the bottom liquid contains three fractions with boiling temperatures respectively t 1 , t 2, and t 3 Ascending. Accordingly, fraction 1 boils earlier than 2, and fraction 3 boils last.

The reflux condensed on the inner surface of the reflux condenser at a certain height (in the zone where the temperature of the steam is compared with the condensation temperature of a certain fraction) forms a film that evenly covers the surface of the pipe and flows down. Hot steam rises towards it in the center of the column, which interacts with the film, gradually heating it. There comes a moment when the film begins to evaporate and joins the steam moving upward. This is called re-evaporation. Due to the inertia of thermal processes and for a number of other reasons, re-evaporation has a certain range and occupies a certain space of the column surface. The illustration shows that fraction 1 evaporates in the range between t1 cond and t1 exp, occupying its part of the column surface. The same process occurs with fraction 2, and fraction 3 in this example is completely in the cube (it has the most heat boiling and condensation).

Having let the column work for itself, we begin to select the first faction.

To do this, we reduce the flow of water through the reflux condenser until the point t1 cond goes beyond the reflux condenser. Condensation of fraction 1 will now occur in the main refrigerator. We can start taking it away.

If the boiling points of the fractions were noticeably different, and there were only a few of them (as in our example - what could stop us from simulating such a situation, master), then selection would continue until fraction 1 was completely removed, after which it would stop completely. In this case, faction 2 would occupy a place in the column approximately similar to the place of faction 1 in the first picture, and faction 3 would move to the place of faction 2.

At this moment, we again reduce the cooling of the reflux condenser and begin to select fraction 2 until “complete victory”. And so on, with all the stops. You need to change the water flow through the reflux condenser carefully, not forgetting about the inertia of thermal processes, and very accurately (for this you need a thermometer after the reflux condenser and a needle tap for water).

All similar technological process illustrates the concept of “separation”. The more precise the adjustments, the larger the contact area between reflux and steam, the higher the separation capacity of the column. It is common to talk about “plates”. What it is? In industrial columns, the internal volume of the ascending part is filled with horizontal disks of complex shape with slots through which reflux flows. This design allows for a huge film surface area and good re-evaporation. The more of these disks, called “plates,” the higher the separation capacity of the column. In industrial columns, the number of “plates” starts from 100. For comparison, packed columns have one “conventional plate” for every 2-10 cm of the height of the packed part (depending on the diameter, height and used packing, the difference in the used packing determines how many you will receive conventional plates per meter of your column), and film plates per 20 cm of the reflux-forming part (again, it depends on the condition of the surface of the inner part of the column, the presence of a spiral in it, etc.). But this is ideal. Just do the math - in order to achieve the quality of separation of an industrial column, a packed column (working on traditional packings) would have to have a height of 2-10 m, which, of course, is unrealistic at home. However, industrial technology differs from “home” technology (selection, for example, can be done from any desired plate or from several at once, selecting different fractions) and industrialists do not put their full potential into action. In general, to obtain a high-quality (from the point of view of the distiller’s “internal” GOST standards) “alcohol distillate”, 15-20 “conventional plates” are quite enough. Well, a rectification of satisfactory quality can be obtained on 50 plates (for an SPN nozzle, this is approximately 1 meter of nozzle), which is quite achievable at home

We seem to have sorted out the division. What about strengthening? It's simple. The strength depends on the amount of water in the solution, and water is also one of the fractions. The better the factions are divided and selected, the greater the strength. Those. in principle, if all technological “wisdom” is observed, the product is stronger and cleaner at the same time. Although, under incorrect operating conditions, you can only take away water (I’m exaggerating, of course, but it’s possible). Then we will get a strong shmurdyak at the exit.

Today there are dozens of varieties of moonshine stills on sale, among which there are many successful models, with the help of which you can obtain not only traditional moonshine, but also fairly pure alcohol. There are also devices with steam generators designed for distilling dense wort, with their help you can get homemade whiskey, Calvados or plum brandy.

Factory mash column

Among the less or more traditional devices, the mash columns were somewhat lost. Relatively few people who engage in moonshine brewing as a hobby, or who professionally process the products of their garden into alcohol, know about them. This type of activity is common in regions attractive to tourists, where the climate allows for the cultivation of various fruits on an industrial scale.

What is a mash column

It should be clarified that the mash column, which is used in home moonshine stills, belongs to the film class, which is somewhat limited in scope and performance. But this is the simplest structural version of a heat and mass transfer device, which, moreover, works surprisingly well.

Why "surprisingly"? Many home craftsmen and manufacturers of industrial moonshine stills for household use follow the path of least resistance. They take the schematic diagram of an industrial installation, such as those used in alcohol and vodka factories, and create their own designs by reducing the size. The principle of operation seems to be the same, but many processes begin to occur completely differently.

The reason for this is the heat capacity of the installation material, the same dimensions - complete heat and mass transfer occurs slowly, requires large contact areas, temperature stability and compliance with many more physico-chemical parameters. The scheme seems to work, but not quite.

This design principle is reminiscent of aircraft manufacturers who have shrunk a Boeing down to the size of a cornbox and wonder why it doesn’t fly, or if it does fly, it’s much worse.

A do-it-yourself mash column, of course, works, but you can’t expect phenomenal results from it. High-quality alcohol can be obtained after the second distillation, as in a good distiller with a steamer and bubbler, after the third distillation and filtration using activated carbon. The economic effect is obvious, but mash columns require constant monitoring and compliance temperature regime.

At its core, a mash column is a conventional reflux condenser, in which alcohol vapors are separated from high-boiling impurities (fusel) with great efficiency. There is no significant increase in the yield of alcohol; an increase of 5-10% can be achieved, but is this due to the use of a mash column, or due to careful adherence to the temperature regime. In terms of the effect of the mash column, it is equal to the steam steamer-bubbler tandem.

Column design

Technically, a mash column is a piece of copper or stainless steel pipe with a diameter of 25-50 mm and a height equal to thirty times the diameter. Columns with a lower ratio serve more decorative functions.

At the top of the column, approximately 25% of the entire length, a primary cooler is mounted. It must cool the mash vapor to the point of condensation of heavy impurities and return the condensate back to the tank. The refrigerator can be made in the form of a built-in coil, an external coil in the form of a copper tube wound on a column, or a water jacket.

In a homemade mash column, it is best to use the first two options. It is quite difficult to make a water jacket yourself; this is only possible with industrial equipment and certain engineering knowledge and plumbing skills. The refrigerator circuit is selected based on specific conditions.

Just above the coil there is a place to install a thermometer. In a device with a mash column there must be two thermometers - on the tank and on the top of the column. Moreover, they must work with the same accuracy, both electronic and bimetallic.

The presence of numerous thermometers from the Middle Kingdom on the market does not guarantee that you will be able to buy two that show the same temperature under the same conditions. We'll have to calibrate them. This is done very simply and accessible to any schoolchild - pour 1 liter of water into a bowl or pan and add 1 kg crushed ice(you will have to prepare it in advance in the freezer of the refrigerator).

After 15-20 minutes, when the ice begins to slowly melt and about half of the previous amount remains, we immerse the thermometer sensors in this mixture. After about two minutes, both thermometers should show 0 C. If the readings are different, then you at least know how much they diverge.

But the calibration is not finished there. Boil water on the stove and immerse the thermometers in the boiling water. The one that shows 100 C works correctly. It should be used as a base one, and the second one should take into account the error.

The upper part of the column is connected by a steam line from a tube with a diameter of 8-10 mm to a refrigerator of a classic design, such as are used in conventional distillers. Alcohol vapors are purified in the mash column, and their condensation occurs in the refrigerator.

Both column and condenser coolers operate independently of each other. In this case, the refrigerator on the column must be adjustable. It is convenient to do this by mounting a regular valve-regulator from a heating battery on its inlet (lower) pipe. What it is needed for will be discussed below.

Manufacturing materials

It is best to make the tank of the apparatus with a mash column yourself from stainless steel. A threaded or flanged fitting should be made in the cover to connect to the column. It is very convenient to use Clamp clamps. The connection is strong, the device can be mounted and dismantled quickly and does not require the use of tools.

The column itself is made of copper or stainless food steel. You can also use brass if you can find a suitable pipe. Insulate mash column Not recommended.

The refrigerator and steam lines are also made of copper or stainless steel. It is easy to make coils and all types of connections from these materials. You can buy a copper tube of any diameter (or stainless steel) on the Internet or at a hardware store.

How does a film-type mash column work?

The principle of operation of the mash column is very similar to the operation of the rectifier, but in a somewhat simplified form. Vapors containing alcohol and accompanying liquids (aldehydes, ethers, fusel and other impurities) rise up the slowly warming column pipe and condense on the walls, flowing back into the tank. As it warms up, the height of the level of complete condensation becomes higher and higher until it reaches the reflux condenser. This occurs at a temperature on the upper refrigerator of about 50-56 C.

Condensate, reflux together with alcohol, flows down, and low-boiling vapors (heads) enter the refrigerator-condenser and are collected in a separate container. Before the main distillation begins, from 10 liters of mash you need to collect up to 0.5 liters of heads, an extremely toxic liquid that is unsuitable for either re-distillation or consumption.

Continuing to heat the cube, we bring the temperature on the upper refrigerator to 76 C. It should be this way throughout almost the entire session, only at the end of distillation it can be raised by 2-4 degrees and the resulting liquid can be collected in a separate container. She will go for re-distillation. The required temperature is maintained using a tap at the refrigerator inlet and a stove regulator or heating element.

In the column itself, the process of interaction between the liquid flowing down the walls of the pipe and the hot vapor rising from the evaporator takes place. The phlegm warms up, and the remaining alcohol evaporates from it, rising to the steam line of the refrigerator. The fusel remains in a liquid state and flows back into the tank.

All interaction between hot steam and reflux occurs on the walls of the column, where the liquid forms a thin film moving downward. Therefore, columns of this type are called film columns.

When distilling, do not allow the mash to boil. The temperature in the cube should not exceed 85-90 C.

A copper mash column is better than stainless steel due to the high thermal conductivity of copper. It better removes heat from the reflux film and its condensation begins earlier, which makes it possible to reduce the height of the column without reducing productivity. Copper tube and fittings provide reliable sealing with high strength and reliability of the entire structure.

Other types of mash columns

We often come across descriptions of columns with filler, prismatic nozzles and other devices that supposedly increase the efficiency of the column. This is not entirely true. Nozzles and filler are an attribute of a distillation column; they are not entirely appropriate in a mash column.

The continuous mash column differs in design. In it, mash is supplied from above in a continuous flow and along the way interacts with water vapor rising from the bottom from the steam generator. The flowing mash along the way is divided into many streams by special plate devices and heated to the temperature of alcohol evaporation. The remaining liquids flow freely into the intake container.

Fusel and other harmful liquids simply do not have time to evaporate. This operating principle is very effective in the industrial production of alcohol, but is difficult to implement in domestic conditions.