A distillation column is a specialized device designed to separate liquids with an excellent boiling point. Typically, such devices are used for industrial purposes, but sometimes the equipment is made for home use. A distillation column is a rather complicated technical apparatus and it is much more difficult to create it than a regular moonshine. However, even at home, this is feasible.
Is it worth it to do production on your own or is it better to buy a device
It’s worth doing a distillation column with your own hands, although you can also purchase this unit. Columns are available for sale, but not all people have the means to buy. In addition, there will always be improvised materials at home from which you can actually create an existing structure, and you can enjoy drinks of your own preparation. It is worth noting that a distillation column made by yourself will cost you two to three times cheaper than a purchased home distillery.
Things to Remember When Creating a Column
A distillation column is one of the necessary parts of all modern plants that are designed to separate liquids with different boiling points. Devices are often used for industrial and domestic purposes. It is quite possible to create a device with your own hands, the main thing is to understand the principle of the device and stock up on all the necessary details. Before you study the operation of a distillation column, it is worth learning the principles of distillation and distillation.
More about rectification and distillation
Let's talk about distillation first. Alcohol and other vapors will be separated in a hot brew as the mixture warms up, then they are mixed in the upper part of the cube and are actually taken together through a tube to the refrigerator and the tank. It is worth saying that it is difficult to separate the vapors into useful (directly the alcohol itself) and harmful (this is referred to as “sivuha”), and it is temperature control and separation of the so-called “heads” and “tails” that help to partially achieve good results.
Now let's talk about rectification. Vapors will not rise directly, but passing through a special fluid called phlegm. Phlegm is located in the "plates" that are installed in the column of a mini-distillery. Volatile components will settle in this liquid, which boils very simply at low temperatures, and hardly volatile substances remain in the vapors. As a result, pairs purified from heavy fractions will start to rise. It’s a pity, but flavoring components are still referred to as hardly volatile components.
People use this and that type of mash distillation. Some people like distillation more, while others like distillation. What to choose is up to you. The usual home-made moonshine with a primer will not give the purest alcohol, but it still meets all accepted standards, and the drink turns out to be very tasty.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of distillation systems
Distillation has the following advantages:
- the speed of distillation is very high;
- devices with this distillation system cost less;
- with repeated filtration and distillation, the quality of alcohol will comply with all GOST standards;
- the taste of the drink will have shades of raw materials from which alcohol is created.
And what are the disadvantages of distillation? There is only one drawback - to obtain clean and strong alcohol, chemical dehydration will be required.
The following advantages are worth noting in rectification:
- distillation produces a very pure product, and for moonshine distillate such successes are extremely difficult to achieve;
- it is possible to immediately produce high strength alcohol.
Rectification also has disadvantages:
- distillation process takes a lot of time;
- to understand all the nuances of the process is quite difficult;
- the device is not cheap;
- You will need to spend money on water and heating the device.
Before choosing this or that method, you should carefully weigh everything. However, the rectified product has more advantages than the distillate. Now you can figure out how to make a distillation column in a variety of ways.
Column raw material base
To create a device, you need to stock up on the following materials:
- A stainless steel pipe with the following parameters: diameter from thirty five to fifty five millimeters, length from one hundred twenty to one hundred fifty centimeters, and the wall thickness should be from one millimeter.
- Insulation for the manufacture of a heat-insulating layer in some parts of the apparatus.
- Thermos to create a reflux condenser, the volume of the thermos should be up to a liter.
- A piece of sheet metal made of the same material as the pipe.
- A piece of fluoroplastic or its substitute for the manufacture of thermometer bushings.
- Gas-burner.
- Adapters for cranes.
- Drill with drills of various diameters.
- Adapters for joining the pipe of the device and the reflux condenser with a distillation cube.
- Emery nozzle on a drill or machine.
- Tubules, the diameter of which is four to six millimeters, of which branches for water and a refrigerator will be created.
- Thermometer.
- Hammer, file, pliers, sandpaper.
- Solder and flux.
- A soldering iron with a power of more than 100 watts.
- A tube or a good hose, whose length is ten centimeters.
When you have prepared all the materials, you can consider the drawing of the distillation column and begin to produce it.
Making columns from a thermos
Now you can start creating the device:
- Cut a piece of pipe necessary for the length (titanium is ideal), remove the chamfers and trim the edges.
- Now we begin to create an adapter that will fix the distillate selection units and the tube with the apparatus cover into a single design. The adapter must be firmly inserted on one side into the pipe, and on the other hand, it should have a thread of almost two millimeters.
- Now, for a distillation column, it will be necessary to make supporting washers for nozzles, the diameter of which must be such that they can be tightly planted in the pipe. Typically, the diameter will be three to four millimeters. On one side of the adapter, you will need to insert the pipe, and at the junction with the cube, the adapter will be soldered.
- Now place a tinned adapter into the pipe, and heat the soldering area with a burner.
- Home distillation column requires still filler. Pour it into the pipe, shake it strongly after the pipe so that the filler is evenly distributed over it. It is important that the pipe is filled to the top with filler.
- Now you need to insert a support washer for the nozzle into the pipe, then install the selection end, solder, and additionally warm this zone with a burner. Now use a heat insulator on the pipe, and it should be along the entire length.
- Disassemble the thermos, clean the bottom with emery paper, and then carry out another tinning. From the tin, create a bracket, and from the wire, loops that are inserted into the hole of the bracket and twisted with pliers.
- In a vice, hold the free end of the wire, then attach it to the wall of the thermos, and after the thermos you will need to shake it sharply and trace so that the bottom completely flies off.
- The joint seam is best grinded until a small gap appears between the cap and the bulb itself. From the outer flask, you will need to pull out the inner one.
- Now we begin to create a reflux condenser. To do this, remove the bottom and vacuum cover. In the inner flask in the central zone, drill a hole for air inward. Strip and tin the hole area, and then insert the tube and solder it in the hole. In the center of the bottom of the thermos, make another hole and put the flask on the bottom of the device, solder the tube and bottom of the thermos.
- The drawing of the distillation column suggests that the neck of the thermos and the place of selection of the distillate will need to be tinned. The knot will need to be inserted into the neck, and then solder it. The drill will help you make holes for the tubes in the upper and lower parts of the outer bulb, this is necessary for supplying and discharging cold water. Now insert the tubes into the holes you need, and solder the joints carefully. At the distillate extraction site, drill another hole required for the thermometer sleeve. Drill the required hole for the thermometer probe in the sleeve (a couple of millimeters is enough). Now insert the sleeve and the selection.
- At the end, a moonshine distillation column in all places of adhesions will need to be washed with soda solution. After that you can screw the reflux condenser to the column and rinse everything with a solution again. That's all.
Often, home-made devices are better and more efficient than purchased ones, but if you do not want to do everything yourself, then you can purchase a device.
What is the distillation column principle of operation
So, the mash will need to be poured into a cube, which is gradually heated. As a result, steam that contains alcohol will be released. Steam is much lighter than liquid, and it will rise to the top of the column. A reflux condenser is placed there, which is cooled by cold water. As a result, the steam begins to condense and begins to flow down, but on the way it will still fall on the special components of the best distillation column.
At this time, the mash already continues to boil, and the vapors will constantly flow into the upper part, and they will mix with condensate. This ongoing process is called rectification. As a result of rectification, a condensate called reflux will be created, and it will be saturated with vapors, and the vapor, in turn, will be saturated with reflux. Such an exchange will create a mixture of vapors, of which the lightest particles will rise up, and they will contain the highest concentration of alcohol. The boiling point will be lower than that of water. At the top of the column, the vapors with alcohol go to a reflux condenser, where they are filtered and saturated, and then to the refrigerator. And so it turns out pure alcohol.
Do you think the best distillation column is a purchased one? No, you are wrong in this. With your own hands you can make an excellent distillation column for alcohol and it will have the same properties as the factory apparatus, the main thing is to adhere to all the nuances when creating.
Choosing a refrigerator in business is a crucial part
The refrigerator plays an important role in the process, therefore, its choice will need to be treated with special care.
Remember! Using a Dimroth refrigerator is not practical. This is due to the fact that the design differs in that components with a low boiling point can penetrate the cooling zone. This refrigerator is good for those mixtures that boil at temperatures above one hundred and sixty degrees.
You should not use an air cooler in your work, all due to the fact that cooling will be extremely inefficient. It can be effective if you add a sucker to the column, but it is absolutely not needed there.
The best option is a glass laboratory cooler. You will get a high-quality moonshine with a distillation column with such a refrigerator. Where to get such a cooler? It is sold in any store with laboratory supplies. If you still want to control the speed of product selection, then the reflux tube brought to the refrigerator can be equipped with an additional faucet.
Features of the device and its verification
Each distillation column apparatus has its own assembly features, and it must be checked before use. The first thing worth noting is that all elements in the structure must be connected by conventional soldering. Always use plain running water for the chiller. Some factory models still use a boiler.
It is worth saying that small deviations in the calculation of the distillation column and assembly will not lead to a deterioration in the quality of the product at the output. Therefore, in this matter you can not worry. However, if you want to increase the volume of alcohol produced at the outlet, you will need to increase the size of the distillation column a couple of times. For example, if you use a 1.5 meter pipe for the column, then you can get up to thirty liters of alcohol every day. Accordingly, an increase in the pipe will result in large volumes of alcohol. At the end of the apparatus, you will need to grease all its compounds with a soap solution, and then blow it off. That's how you can also see unnecessary leaks, because soap bubbles will appear. If you have connected a water cooler to the water supply pipe, then you can establish leaks in the system, but already under pressure.
Some tips for creating mash
The following are recommendations from experienced alcohol masters:
- Excess yeast should not be put, because this will lead to the formation of fusel oils.
- It is best to clean the resulting alcohol with a solution of potassium permanganate. You will need one or two grams of the product per liter, but first dilute potassium permanganate in boiled water. After stirring and waiting until the precipitate falls (this will last about ten hours), and after the alcohol will need to be filtered, and this can be done through cotton wool.
- The column will not give the best results immediately, but after a while, when you learn to use it correctly and learn the different nuances of creating high-quality alcohol at home.
What gives the column as a result
If you use conventional distillation, then at the output you will receive insufficiently purified alcohol, although it will comply with GOST standards. The column will give you much better results, thanks to its properties and cleaning capabilities. Yes, factory columns are quite expensive, so it’s better to do the manufacturing of the device yourself. You can make the device yourself without much effort, if you follow the instructions, you will have at hand the necessary materials and free time to create a unique device.
Thanks to the distillation column, you can get very pure alcohol, which is used in virtually all fields of activity. On holidays, you will no longer need to buy alcoholic beverages in stores that are not distinguished by their purity, moreover, counterfeit products are also found, and this is extremely dangerous for health. Surrogate alcohol can lead to disastrous consequences, even death, because it is better to drink homemade alcoholic beverages. You will be 100% sure of your product and its purity.
Each person will be able to create a distillation column for the moonshine still if he makes enough effort for this and allocates time for it. Would you like to succeed in the alcohol business? Everything is in your hands, just try it.