Hello everyone!

Today's article was sent to me by a reader. Vladimir Elzov... He presents his design for a moonshine cooler. It is noteworthy that initially the author made a heat exchanger for other purposes, and only then adapted it as a distiller for distilling moonshine. Read the story about this at the end of the article.

It should also be noted that such a design is known in the circles of distillers and is called a shell-and-tube refrigerator. It is not as popular as a direct flow or a coil, but at the same time it combines their advantages.

Design feature

The shell and tube cooler is a type of direct flow. Only he has several inside the casing instead of one pipe. In this case, 6.

As a result, we have the positive aspects of a once-through distiller - the absence of condensate plugs, high productivity and economy. And at the same time, such a dignity of the coil as compactness is added.

Of the minuses, I can note the more expensive and complex manufacturing.

The productivity of such a cooler when distilling mash is 2.2 l / h with a water flow rate of 50 l / h.

Manufacturing instruction

Below are the drawings of the parts for manufacturing. Material - stainless steel Х18Н9Т or 12Х18Н9Т.

Assembly drawing

Assembly order:

• Cook fitting 7 to flange 3
• Boil the drain pipe 10 to the lid 5
• Boil coil:
  a) weld pipes 6 to flange 3
  b) weld pipes 6 to flange 4
• Insert the coil into the casing 1 as far as it will go and cook from 2 sides
• Weld nut 8 to casing 1
• Cooking fitting 9 to casing 1
• Close the union 9, pour water through the union 7 and check for leaks
• Boil flange 2 to casing 1
• Boil lid 5 with drain 10 to casing 1
• Plug nut 8, pour water through drain 10 and check for leaks.

The construction is ready.

From the author

Initially, the structure was made for heating cold water during the heating season. there was no hot water in my house. The design is based on the device of a high-speed boiler. The heater was supposed to be a coolant from a central heating battery.

Due to the complexity of use and connection, the design was not approved by households and for a long time it was not a lot. And only at the time of Gorbachev I remembered about her. If you can warm it, then you can cool it. In this capacity, the design was tested as a cooler (with great secrecy) and turned out to be successful, because in a cooler with a coil, the vapors passed through one tube, and here through 6.

Speaking of the pressure cooker: in those distant illegal times, it was the standard of conspiracy. The entire apparatus consisted of a pressure cooker (a fitting was screwed in instead of a valve), a piece of flexible hose, and a bowl of water. None of this aroused any suspicion in anyone.
The second valve must be plugged or used under a thermometer, because if the process proceeds when using an open fire, then when it is triggered (everything can happen by accident), alcohol-containing vapors will be released and, as a result, a fire and possibly a fire.

When there was no more vodka in stores, and dry wine was still on sale, then from 3 bottles of wine such as Feteaska, Riesling, Rkatseteli, etc. (the cost of wine - 90 kopecks - 1.02 rubles), a bottle of good grape vodka was obtained.

The most important element of the moonshine still is the coil. Its production must be approached very responsibly, because it is here that the sacred process of extracting alcohol from alcohol-containing steam takes place. And if the distillation cube can be, in principle, anything, the main thing is to be airtight, then it is not so easy to choose or make a coil.

In a coil called "Graham's refrigerator", condensation of alcohol-containing vapors occurs, followed by separation into vapor and liquid fractions, after which the condensed moonshine is discharged outside. Condensation is carried out by removing the cooling of the coil walls with water, and in some cases with air. When the moonshine vapors are cooled, they decompose into steam and moonshine, while the latter, flowing down the coil, goes into the receiving tank.

The performance of the moonshine and the quality of the finished product depends on how competently and correctly the coil is made.

Coil characteristics

In order to increase the productivity of the moonshine still, it is necessary to ensure compliance with certain geometric characteristics of the coil, namely:

• length - the greater this indicator, the higher the hydraulic resistance and the greater the surface area in contact with water.

It is about the length of the tube from which the coil is made, and not about the length of the coil that has already been twisted.

• section - the greater this indicator, the less hydraulic resistance, but more contact spots along the length of the entire coil;
• wall thickness - the less this indicator, the less convenient the coil becomes in operation due to increased fragility and fragility.

It is believed that a small coil wall thickness increases the heat transfer coefficient and improves the performance of the apparatus. In fact, the thermal conductivity is practically independent of the wall thickness, since the layer effect is triggered. At the boundary between steam and water, a sharp decrease in temperature occurs and, as a result, the amount of condensate increases.

• material - non-toxic and inert with respect to alcohol and alcohol-containing elements, with a high degree of thermal conductivity, relatively flexible and easy to clean.

Thermal conductivity index of non-toxic materials:

* - a glass coil is sold ready-made and its price depends on the number of turns. The minimum for 10 turns will cost 1000, for 24 turns - from 1800 rubles.

The most optimal in terms of price and thermal conductivity is a copper coil. In addition, it is easy to work with copper, such a tube will not be difficult to curl even without preheating.

Coil materials

Copper

An important advantage of the copper coil is its chemical inertness towards alcohol. It must be understood that the material itself is not inert, but that it does not react with either the alcohol itself or with alcohol-containing vapors.

During operation, a barely noticeable coating of copper oxide appears on the copper tube, which gets into the finished product. But its amount is so insignificant that it is impossible even to track it, let alone analyze the theoretical harm to health.

Stainless steel

This material, due to its resistance to corrosion, allows you to get the most pure product. At the same time, it is difficult to curl steel on its own as required. In order to make the required number of turns, you will need a radial template or a pipe bender in case of its absence, and a gas burner. The disadvantages are much lower thermal conductivity than copper, and more significant weight.

How can you bend a pipe without a pipe bender - video advice from the masters

Glass

Despite the fact that glass coils are used only in isolated cases, many are interested in the question of the advisability of using such a material. Indeed, the glass at the exit gives an absolutely pure product. BUT! It can be prepared only in a special workshop, it is difficult to combine with other elements of the moonshine still and such a coil is very fragile.

Silicone tube

Not a bad alternative for a coil, which also comes with certain pros and cons. Among the advantages, one should single out the simplicity of processing and the low price. It is a neutral material that does not react with alcohol, does not corrode and therefore does not transfer any foreign matter to the finished product. Of the minuses - it is difficult to fix the shape, you have to use a wire frame and low thermal conductivity. Compared with the same copper coil, with silicone, the performance of the moonshine is reduced by 25%.

Moonshine cooler

The device of any moonshine still includes 3 required elements:

• distillation cube;
• fridge;
• coil.

The units are interconnected by a system of hoses through which water is drained and supplied, and moonshine vapors are also processed.

The refrigerator is a storage or flow-through type container where the coil is placed. Water is constantly present in the refrigerator, which cools the walls of the coil, thereby provoking the release of condensate (moonshine) and draining it into the receiving container.

For a moonshine still, a high-quality coil means everything - the performance of the unit and the amount of moonshine depend on it.

How to make a cooler for a moonshine still

Now it is already clear that the main task of the coil is instant cooling of the vapors released during boiling and converting them into moonshine. The more contact and heat-conducting the coil is, the more moonshine will be obtained in a certain unit of time.

The base of the coil is a pipe made of the selected material. We have already said that in terms of flexibility, thermal conductivity and price, copper is the most suitable. We will take it to make a cooler with our own hands.

Other materials may be suitable for the coil - silver, brass, stainless steel, aluminum and glass. Available from this list are aluminum and stainless steel, but both can only be processed under special conditions and on a machine.

What you need to make a coil

The starting material is a tube 1-1.2 cm in diameter with a wall thickness of 1-1.1 mm and a length of about 1.5 meters.

If copper is chosen for the manufacture of the coil, it should be understood that periodically it will need to be cleaned of oxide deposits. This is a black coating that appears as a result of contact with air and sulfur. You can use baking soda or citric acid for cleaning. Dilute a tablespoon of this or that substance in a liter of warm water and soak the coil, depending on the degree of contamination, for 2-8 hours. After that, pull out and wash off all plaque with a soft sponge.

How to curl a coil

To prevent the tube from bending or flattening, it should be filled with ordinary sand, hammering a wooden plug on one side.

Place the pipe vertically and carefully fill in the sand, regularly tapping the pipe against the table to compact the sand. When the tube is full, on the other side, also close the plug so that the sand does not spill out when you curl it.

Use any pipe of suitable diameter for the base and clamp it in a vise in an upright position. Wind the copper pipe around the base so that there is a 0.5 cm pitch between the turns and they do not touch each other.

How to make a cooler for a moonshine still with your own hands - video

More than once I had the idea of ​​making myself a small distiller, usually such thoughts appeared after reading all sorts of delicious recipes. But as they say, laziness was born before me, all hands did not reach, and I did not want to buy something like that.
I didn't want to for several reasons, well, first of all, the well-known toad, and secondly, according to my calculations, I will need a distiller 5 times a year, and in the last place why buy something that you can collect yourself.

I figured out what I have in stock and came to the conclusion that I have, in principle, everything except the most important thing - a refrigerator. Well, you can put a ten-liter pressure cooker on a cube, a stainless corrugation on the hoses, a cucumber jar on the cube (wet steamer), where can you go without them

I wanted to make the refrigerator as simple as possible, that is, without any welding, twisting, without special tools, etc. But nevertheless, so that it would meet ALL the necessary standards and parameters, be technologically advanced in manufacturing, had a power reserve, was convenient in operation and anyone could repeat it. This requirement is fully met by a direct-flow refrigerator. A coil-shaped refrigerator, in my opinion, is less technologically advanced and has other disadvantages.

Having decided on the type of product, I went in search of components and, on purpose, I came across a beautiful stainless steel tube in a hardware store, only 100 rubles, and in size it covered my needs with a margin. This tube was called the "Stainless Steel Shank" type squeegee handle. I bought it, at home I checked whether it was really a stainless steel or not, tests with a magnet, water and soldering confirmed that it was a stainless steel. Well, it's wonderful, I hammered its dimensions (1240x21) into the "calculator" and found out that it will be about 3000 watts. That is enough for me for any and with a good margin, I heat up to 2000 watts.

This "mop handle"

And the price tag pleases

I figured out that I would make the cooling jacket from ordinary PVC sanitary pipes forty pipes, connecting fittings ½, the standard size for all kinds of flexible supply lines. Having rummaged through the trash and stash, I dug this, began to try on, apply, fold in size, in general from the photo

Here's a beauty got.

Inside, too, everything is OK.

I chose the place of the future installation, and began to estimate the length. The most convenient place on my wall, near the sink, does not take up space, does not interfere and can be easily removed.

I selected for work such a set of components, two tees, two pieces of pipe, one coupling, two plugs, and two seals, they are used to connect the hose of the washing machine. Do not pay attention to the faucet, it is wild, it wanders around the apartment like a cat

Started assembling
To begin with, I soldered a ½ nipple into the tube on each side. The soldering process is simple and hot, so I didn't take much photographs, but everything is very simple. First, we tin the tube on each side, from the inside by 5 mm from the outside by 10 mm. Do not forget to use a special flux for stainless steel, which is then washed off with just water. Then we take the nipple, smear it with flux and insert it into a hair dryer, a hair dryer at 280 degrees and wait a couple of minutes. Then we put tin on it (tin), the tin spreads by itself, without the help of a soldering iron. Well, at the end we insert the hot nipple into the tube, add more tin and smooth it with a soldering iron. Do not forget to warm up with a hairdryer at the last stage.

Do not forget to rinse the tube after soldering with hot water under pressure, as required by the instructions for the flux, I washed for 30 minutes. As a result, we get this result.

Now we will make a drill for drilling holes in the plugs. We take a feather on wood, twenty, and we grind it like this, it is clear from the photo how. Sharpened with a grinder at low speeds, but you can do anything, even with a file

So in the end.

And actually we drill the plugs ...

And for one lid for the bunker, it turns out very neatly and quickly.

Here they drilled exactly to size.

And the nipples were inserted.

We make holes in the lid of the pressure cooker. Two pieces. One for the thermometer, the other for the output of the vapor fraction.

So, the holes are ready and you can start screwing the nipples wherever you need, but we need to screw two nipples into the lid of the pressure cooker, one for removing steam, the other for the thermometer, screw it into the plugs and to the lid of the cage. Do not forget to use only silicone gaskets in the process and coat them with silicone sealant. We take the "food" sealant, which is for aquariums. Here's the whole process.

Here, done Bottom view.

View from above. Culturnenko came out

We will deal with the plugs, we also drill out, insert the nipples and assemble them on silicone.

This is how it turns out in the end.

It was the turn of the cage lid. All the same.

Assembled bottom view.

Assembled top view. Really pretty?

Well, we have everything ready in advance, let's proceed to the final fitting and assembly of the refrigerator, everything is assembled by hand and without gimoro, which was laid down in the design of the device. Everything can be seen from the photographs. You see how simple everything is.

Putting together the frame of the shirt.

The seals for the drain hose of the washing machine will play the role of seals. They are very reliable and hold perfectly, proven by many years of practice. They are also great friends with high fever.

We put on the tube of the refrigerator.

We insert it into the shirt.

And on the other hand, we install the seal.

Well. almost everything is ready. It remains to install plugs with nipples in the water jacket.

One side...

And on the other ...

Now you need to make an adapter to the tap for water supply. I have an aerator screwed in at the outlet of the tap (interestingly, did you write it correctly?) Therefore, the same one was bought and razdrakonen, that is, I removed all the filling from it and screwed it onto a simple nipple through the fumlent with sealant. It turned out like normal, although a bit collective farm, well, God bless him, there will be no pressure, but in any case, then I'll insure it with a screed.

During assembly.

It turned out well, not even a collective farm

Now we will attend to the manufacture of temperature control, visual. We take two adapters from ½ to the hose, as it is called there from the scientific point of view, and install thermometers in them. For the pressure cooker, I used a thermometer to measure the temperature of the meat, it has a long pin. To control the temperature of the steam entering the refrigerator, I used a simple electronic thermometer. As he collected it can be seen from the photographs, he sealed it with silicone sealant and blue tape. From above he upset with a heat shrink wrap, everything is very simple.
Here's what you need.

We insert thermometers.

Like this.

We adjust the length of the protruding sensor.

We seal it with a non-greasy sealant and seat the heat shrinkage on top.

It turns out like this, right?

Once again I show how deep the sensor should sit.

Now let's build in the second temperature probe, which will be in the pressure cooker-distillation still. All the same + blue electrical tape, where can we go without it

We also seat with heat shrinkage.

In the end, it turns out like this.

And screw it into the lid. That's it, the lid is completely ready.

Well, the main thing has been done, now it is necessary to conduct tests for leaks and water hammer.
I hung the refrigerator on a string and let's torture him. Torture with addiction revealed low resistance to water hammer, the plugs began to slowly crawl out, therefore it was decided to fix them, for this, green screeds came up as best as possible. Repeated tests have shown the elimination of this drawback.

This is how they were squeezed out during a water hammer. Lower.

Upper.

Although there can be no water hammer in normal operation, our refrigerator is connected to a water supply system in which everything can be, therefore we fix them tightly but detachably, suddenly it will be necessary to disassemble, generally used ties, it is very convenient and reliable. Plus the color is lively

All is ready. It's time to make the final assembly and distill the water.
We install a tee at the inlet of the refrigerator, from above into it a steam fraction temperature sensor.

Like this. O! Just noticed the kitchen boy on the towel

Next, we fix the refrigerator rigidly to the wall, connect a flexible piping to the tap, in any case, we insure ourselves with ties against a breakdown. We connect the pressure cooker with the refrigerator through the bunker (wet steamer). We connect using a stainless gas line. Do not forget that the gaskets should only be silicone or paranitic, ordinary rubber will give a smell in the distillate.
Here is the faucet and the piping through the adapter made.

A structure designed for cooling and condensation of alcohol vapors due to the water or air in its walls is called moonshine refrigerator... Making it with your own hands is quite simple, despite the seeming complexity. It works autonomously directly during the distillation of moonshine itself.

Steam from the mash from the distillation still goes through a tube to the cooler. In it, it cools down, condensing pure alcohol at the outlet. Therefore, a distillation refrigerator is one of the most important parts of it. The speed of the process and the quality of the resulting drink depend on the performance of the structure. Making a cooler for a moonshine still is easy. Before you start manufacturing, you need to understand the differences between existing structures and choose the one that suits you.

There are many designs that provide autonomous cooling of alcohol vapors for a moonshine still. Among the simple ones for home use, there are 2 designs: direct-flow refrigerator and . Despite the same principle of operation and method of steam cooling, their design is slightly different.

The direct-flow refrigerator consists of 2 tubes made of copper or stainless steel. They have different diameters and are tightly connected to each other. Alcohol steam itself passes through the inside directly. There is water in the space between the outer and inner tubes. There are 2 holes on the casing for cooling water inlet and outlet. Alcohol vapor, being cooled by the water flowing in the casing, condenses on the tube walls and comes out in the form of alcohol.

The coil is also a copper tube, only it is made in the form of a spiral. It is placed in a housing through which cold water circulates. Steam from the boiling mash flows along the coil and, similarly to the previous case, condenses at the outlet into pure alcohol.

Which is better: coil or direct flow?

Coolers for moonshine still, despite their similarity in principle of operation, have differences in characteristics. It is worth highlighting the advantages of each design separately.

The direct-flow refrigerator has a high efficiency. This reduces the amount of water used for cooling. It is easier to adjust the temperature in it than in a coil, as the response is much faster. The main advantage of a once-through cooler is that the steam-permeable tube is wide enough to prevent plugging. Because of them, pressure surges occur in the distillation cube, provoking a sharp boiling of the mash and a violation of the process technology.

In addition to the once-through cooler, you can make a home-made cooling coil. The surface area of ​​its inner tube is higher than that of the forward flow due to the spiral design. Thanks to this, the steam cools down faster. The dimensions of such a device are more compact, and it is easier to install.

It is impossible to say for sure which refrigerator is better. Each has its own pros and cons. Moonshiners select the design according to their characteristics of the apparatus. The choice is influenced by the power, the volume of the drink and the tasks assigned to the device.

How to make a straight-through refrigerator for a moonshine still

A straight-through refrigerator for a moonshine still is easy enough to make with your own hands. At the same time, the cost of parts does not exceed thousands of rubles. The inner part of the shell-and-tube refrigerator is made of copper, and the outer part is made of a sewer pipe. The main components of the structure:

• Copper and polypropylene tubes of different diameters - 1 meter each.
• Tee - 2 pieces.
• Couplings with plugs - 2 pieces each.
• Fittings - 2 pieces.
• FUM tape for bond strength.

The outer and inner tubes are selected with such a diameter that there is a gap of about 1.5 - 2 millimeters between them. It is in it that cold water will flow. Cut a piece about 60 centimeters long from the polypropylene tube. It will become the outer casing of the entire structure. Tees are put on the ends. The best connection method is soldering. It is simpler and more reliable, but requires a soldering iron. If it is absent, heating can be applied. The tees are kept for 3-4 minutes in boiling water and immediately put on the ends of the tube. With this method, there is a chance of getting burned, so you need to be extremely careful.

When the tees are installed, the transition sleeves are put on. The connection is carried out by soldering or by the method indicated above. In this case, only one edge of the structure will have to be lowered into the pan, and the second one will constantly hold. After that, a hole is drilled in the plugs of such a diameter that a copper tube passes through it. It is important that it fits very tightly, without wide gaps. Plugs with holes are driven into the couplings, and fittings are inserted into the free holes of the tees. The threaded connection is sealed with FUM tape.

It remains to install the core. To do this, measure and cut off the copper tube so that it protrudes 2 to 3 centimeters from each edge of the casing. The resulting segment is inserted through the holes of the plugs. The last step is to seal the tube-to-body connection. You can use silicone sealant or all-purpose adhesive for this. After the connection dries, the structure is considered ready. A rubber tube is used to connect the refrigerator to the distillation cube. The connection depends on the direction of movement of water in the casing. Liquid with steam must move towards each other.

It is possible to manufacture a structure without using transition couplings. In this case, it is necessary to take a copper and polypropylene tube of smaller diameters than in the previous version. Then the plugs are driven directly into the tees, and the connection of the copper tube to the casing is also performed with a sealant.

How to make a coil for a moonshine still

A coil for a moonshine still, as well as a straight-through, can be made with your own hands. Unlike the first design, its design is a little more complicated for home-made, due to the fact that the copper tube will need to be bent into a spiral.

What to make a coil for a moonshine still? To make it you will need:

• Annealed copper tube - 1.5 meters.
• Spiral winding mandrel - 1 piece.
• Fine sand
• Body (bucket or bottle) - 1 piece.

The first stage is the choice of the tube diameter and the length of the coil for the moonshine still. A fairly compact and powerful refrigerator is obtained from a segment of 120 - 150 centimeters. The core diameter is taken to be about 10 millimeters. Another important parameter is the wall thickness of the tube. This criterion fluctuates around 0.8 - 1 millimeter. If you take a tube with a wall thickness less than indicated, then there is a great chance of damaging it when bending. If you exceed the value, then it will be difficult to bend the spiral.

The selected tube must be plugged tightly at one end and filled with sand. It falls asleep very tightly, periodically tapping for even distribution. The other end of the filled tube is also plugged with a stopper. This prevents the tube from flattening when coiled onto a mandrel. Soda can be an alternative to sand as a filler. The main thing is to tamp it as tightly as possible.

After that, you need to choose a base for bending the spiral. The mandrel diameter should be larger than the tube diameter and depends on the intended size of the structure. For these purposes, a pipe 35 millimeters in diameter is suitable, which must be clamped in a vice. A copper tube is wound onto the prepared mandrel, through which the alcohol vapor will flow. A small step of 6 - 7 millimeters must be left between the turns. To do this, you can wind a wire next to the tube. It is better to leave the beginning and end of the coil long. The excess will then be cut off.

The bent tube is uncorked and freed from the sand and installed in the housing. For this, holes are made in the bottle in advance for the entrance and exit of the coil, as well as for the circulation of water, if it is provided. If you wish, you can make the structure of the case from a plastic pipe used in plumbing, and if you have the skills, from metal.

To do this, you need to make 4 holes. 2 of them, one at the top and bottom for the coil, which is located vertically in the cylindrical casing, and 2 at the side for water supply and discharge. The spiral structure is assembled, cooling pipes are inserted, and all connections are sealed and sealed. Such a cooler is installed on the distillation cube in the same way as a direct-flow one, with the help of rubber tubes.

Often stainless steel is used for the manufacture of coils. It is quite durable and does not react. Less commonly used are aluminum and glass. The first material has a low lifespan, while the second is not suitable for home making. In any case, the choice is only yours, and watching the video will help make it.

Obtaining moonshine for your own use is not punishable by law. Distillation of moonshine and ethyl alcohol differ in the peculiarities of the process. At home, it is impossible to get the final product with a strength higher than 70 degrees. Ethyl alcohol is obtained in a rectification column. Getting ethyl alcohol from home brew is based on the boiling point of ethanol 78.4 °. All other ingredients of the mash are boiled at a higher temperature. Using a refrigerator for a moonshine still as a vapor condenser, a high-strength alcoholic product is obtained.

The evaporator can be a hermetically sealed container in which a controlled heating of the primary product containing 12-15% ethanol takes place. The vapors rise above the surface and are displaced by excess pressure into the chamber, where the resulting product condenses and cools.

To get moonshine, it is necessary to create conditions for condensation and evaporation. This means that the condenser is a heat exchanger. In order to have sufficient time for the process, the passage of ethanol vapor must be extended over time. Therefore, the labyrinth for the passage of steam is made in the form of a spiral. Heat is transferred through the walls of the spiral into the cavity where the coil is mounted. This is usually a tube with running water. The coil in the tube is a direct-flow refrigerator for the moonshine still. In this case, the gas mixture enters from the top, and water is supplied to the lower connection of the device.

An example of folk ingenuity on how to make a refrigerator for a moonshine still: In one rural house I happened to observe how the hostess drove moonshine. On a bucket pot, she reinforced the steamer grate, and put a deep cup on it. On top she hoisted a clean enamel basin filled with snow. The joint was covered with a thick dough. Little by little I stoked the stove and put snow in the basin. An hour and a half later I disassembled the apparatus and took out a full cup of moonshine. What was left in the pan was fed to the pigs. The cup did not prevent the steam from passing upward and condensing on the surface of the basin.

Conditions for obtaining high-quality moonshine

A properly assembled moonshine still is always sealed. There is one outlet for the finished product. Since the process takes place in an enclosed space with the formation of excess pressure and at the boiling point, control devices are required. But the efficiency of the installation, the strength of the product obtained depends on the used cooler.

You cannot force the temperature regime. The distillation process should be carried out with a careful increase in pressure as the ethanol is removed from the mash. But 93 ° - is the limiting temperature of distillation. That is, the brew should not boil.

The first portion of the resulting product contains acetone, harmful to the body, and volatile fractions with a boiling point lower than that of ethanol. It must be destroyed. In the future, the selection of the product should be carried out until it burns with a blue flame, poured into a spoon. Moonshine with a low ethanol content does not burn, but it contains a lot of fusel oils that are harmful to the body.
To make a complete selection of a quality product from the moonshine still, adjust the water supply to the refrigerator so that the shirt outside is cold and the moonshine comes out cool.

Do-it-yourself refrigerator for moonshine still

Here is an apparatus assembled by hand using a pressure cooker pan.

The refrigerator can be made of a tube, twisted into a spiral and placed in a pipe of a larger diameter. The unit must have two water connections, an inlet connection to the evaporator coil and an outlet connection.

In this case, all connections are made with a seal, the materials for the manufacture of the coil:

• copper tube;
• aluminum tube;
• finished stainless steel spiral;
• brass tube.

These materials have a good heat transfer coefficient, which is important, and do not react with the alcohol mixture. The created coil is cooled by transferring heat to the surrounding space filled with running water. Air cooled refrigerators are sometimes available.

The final result of the distillation process depends on the design of the coil, its section and the number of turns. During the manufacture, the spiral is selected empirically. You can make a refrigerator for a moonshine still with your own hands using any verified drawing.

When assembling the device, it is necessary to take into account that during water cooling, the inclined position of the coil creates additional resistance to the passage of steam. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the tilt position so that the liquid at the outlet is cool. In this case, the overflight will be excluded. But the tilt angle affects the performance of the apparatus.

Can I use a glass refrigerator for a moonshine still

Effectively use a laboratory glass apparatus as a distillation apparatus. A beautiful unit with a hand-blown refrigerator is not only thermodynamically designed, glass is a neutral material. Using a glass refrigerator for a moonshine, or a Graham refrigerator, we get:

• high quality of the final product;
• the ability to use special ground connections;
• visually observe the distillation process.

However, chemical glassware is fragile and must be handled with care. It is not necessary to use a complete distillation apparatus. It is enough to use a tripod to fix the refrigerator, and assemble the eyeliner using medical hoses and rubber plugs. It is impossible to use rubber products to connect a vapor-gas mixture, an unpleasant aftertaste will appear in the product.

The distillation method used at home differs from the production of ethyl alcohol by the rectification method.

Moonshine refrigerator