Moonshine or distillation column - which is better to purchase

For home production of spirits, modern equipment made of high quality material is needed. In stores, manufacturers offer models that are divided into distillers and rectifiers. Many beginner winemakers are tormented by the question: what is better for home brewing - a column or moonshine.

The principle of operation is not much different, but the final product of the distillation column is better and cleaner, but it has no equal in strength, because it is practically pure alcohol. To find out how these devices differ, what technical parameters they have, individual nuances, and if there are any shortcomings, you need to read this article.

What is a distillation column

The entire distillation procedure consists in the heat exchange that occurs in the product, during cooling, the raw material is separated, and the purified substance appears at the outlet of the device. At different heating temperatures, you get different substances:

• t = + 56 C - we get acetone;
• t = + 65 C - methyl alcohol can be isolated;
• and only at t = + 78 C is rectified spirit obtained;
• if we continue heating to a boiling point of water and above, for example, up to 100 degrees, then at the output we get water seasoned with fusel oils and all kinds of impurities.

The basis of everything that happens in the process column is the contact of the liquid and vapor state of various substances, as a result of which various vapors are released, which settle in a reflux condenser, and only alcohol-containing ones pass further.

An additional heating takes place in the evaporator, but only up to +78 degrees, therefore all harmful impurities and water condense and remain in the device. At different parts of the product, an individual interaction of vapors and condensate occurs, and fractions of various temperature levels precipitate into condensate and flow into the lower part.

A column is a device with a certain height, with a container elongated along the entire length, so a different temperature is obtained: only alcohol-containing vapors reach the very top, all other fractions fall into condensate, because the temperature is less than what is needed to boil them. The taste and strength of the final product is significantly different for the better from moonshine passed through a standard distiller.

Modern models of columns are characterized by very high performance, and the alcohol resulting from rectification does not have fusel odor and foreign impurities.

What is the difference between a moonshine and a distillation column

The most important difference: a standard home-brewing apparatus consists of a distillation cube and a refrigerating coil, where alcohol-containing vapors are condensed. In some models there is a sucker, where there is a high-quality separation of impurities and aromatization of vapors to produce elite alcohol in the form of brandy or whiskey.

The column is a rather complicated device, it is mainly intended for cleaning already obtained moonshine in order to eliminate all the smallest extraneous inclusions and get pure alcohol. The design is made of stainless steel, copper or brass, because very complex high-temperature processes occur inside and the corrosion resistance should be quite high.
The lower part of the column is called the king, and the upper part is called a cooler or reflux condenser, because it is there that the final separation of various phlegms occurs.In its cover there is a tube for communication with the environment, so that the internal pressure does not exceed the permissible value. We have already discussed all the nuances of work, so we omit it.

The product is installed on a distillation tank or cube, and all connections must be perfectly tight. At the very top there is an outlet pipe for alcohol vapor, the best option when it also has an additional refrigerator. The height of the product is decent, some samples are up to 2 m, so this design may not fit in the room: 2m + tank + stove. The best option is to heat the tank on a special stove for moonshining: it has small dimensions, like a tabletop electric stove.

Braga is not recommended to be distilled over the column, although today manufacturers have already mastered the production of advanced samples that can cope with such an application. The verdict is simple: moonshines are designed to distill raw alcohol, and the column can clean it almost completely of odor and harmful impurities.

Types of moonshine and distillation columns

In total, there are two main types of devices for practical brewing in the world:

1. Alcohol-containing vapors are diverted to the side for cooling - either directly to the coil or through a suction tank.
2. Vapors are taken up to a distillation device where the separation of impurities takes place, complete removal of odors and subsequent cooling.

Classical devices are divided according to the cooling system: using a coil or once-through, where the cooling element is the refrigerator body.

Columns are divided by the amount of final product obtained:

• simple, providing separation of the feedstock into two final products - rectified and precipitate;
• complex - they provide separation of more than two products, columns with the selection of additional fractions in the form of side straps and from special stripping strips.

There is also a separation according to purpose, pressure, principle of action or organization of contact within the structure.

In addition, the columns are divided into full and incomplete. Incomplete products are divided into two types:

1. A distillation or distillation column, which operates according to this principle: alcohol-containing steam enters the upper plate, and pure water leaves the cube. Condensation falls out in the refrigerator, and the reflux condenser is not installed.
2. In alcohol columns everything happens in a mirror: under the lower plate steam is supplied. Alcohol is discharged from the upper part, and the remainder with water is drawn from below, the reflux condenser performs the function of feeding the liquid medium. Such columns are mounted on alambiki.

The former are not intended to produce pure alcohol, and the latter is not used to produce pure water.

Characteristics of both devices

Everyone knows that the main purpose of the moonshine still is to obtain alcohol-containing liquid from mash by distillation and subsequent purification. The main technical parameters are:

Volume

It affects the scale of production at home, so the choice of product is based on this parameter: the more mash, the more liters of raw alcohol, which is purified by various methods or re-distilled.

Material

Basically, all the details of modern models are made of food or medical stainless steel. The following brands are used in production:

• AISI 304 due to its relatively high cleaning properties is used in medicine, dairy farms and similar plants;
• 430 steel is of poor quality, but products from it can be heated on induction cookers;
• alloys with copper and combinations of steels of different grades are found in many models of moonshines of domestic and foreign production.

In home-made devices, aluminum is still used, but it is already almost replaced by more reliable materials. The coils are made of copper or brass, only elite devices called alambiki, which are used to produce elite home-made alcohol, are made entirely of copper.

Additional devices

These include a thermometer, an alcohol meter, a steamer, a reflux condenser, and others that help control the distillation process. Repeated purification gives a good result, but it is not carried out in the case when you need to get a fragrant drink with a smell.

Technical characteristics of universal distillation columns for clarity are better represented in a small table:

All sealing joints in the column are made of high-temperature food-grade silicone with a warranty period of at least 10-20 years, the temperature is allowed up to + 150 ° С.

Advantages and disadvantages

The standard apparatus for the production of moonshine has the following advantages:

1. The simplest design, the principle of operation is clear to all users, can be made independently without large financial costs.
2. A large number of recipes that come with the finished model, but you can significantly expand them by studying the recipe on the Internet.
3. High reliability of the design and all materials.
4. Low cost, which especially affects widespread availability for all segments of the population.

Distillation columns have their advantages:

1. Obtaining a clean, odorless product and impurities.
2. The strength of the final product is much higher than that of a simple device.
3. It is used to isolate alcohol-containing liquids from sugar-based mash, because it is there that there are a lot of foreign impurities and a smell.

In comparison, the classic device has more negative features:

• low productivity;
• low percentage of alcohol - not more than 70%;
• low degree of purification during primary distillation;
• danger due to non-observance of safety measures.

Distillation columns have only one drawback - a large construction height.

Which is better to choose

If we compare the design of the classic product for moonshine and distillation column, then the difference is palpable, and they are used for different purposes. Therefore, your choice will directly depend on the goals, as well as on what you are going to overtake:

1. For wine mash, as well as based on berries and fruits, it is better to use a moonshine still.
2. It is better to use a column for sugar mash, because the final product is clean and odorless.

Today, there are models of universal products on sale that can work as a simple distiller or as a powerful distillation column.

Devices made by German manufacturers with an additional tsar, which is screwed into the distiller, are in great demand among experienced distillers. For example, the column and the apparatus have the same productivity of 2 l / h, but the product is quite different:

• the density or strength of a classic product is only 60%, and that of a column is 96%;
• the purification level of the distiller is 60 times lower than that of the column.

Moonshines are more practical because of their size, and the columns are much higher - the most compact will be about a meter in height.

If we compare the performance of different products, then the classic gives 2 liters per hour of raw alcohol, and the column - 2 liters of pure alcohol 96.6% or in terms of moonshine 60% - 6-7 liters.Therefore, when buying, you need to decide what is more important for you - the purity of the final product or the simple use of the product anywhere. Financial opportunities also play an important role.

findings

If we talk about the purity of the final product, then distillation columns are a cut above the simple moonshine still, but the financial side is of great importance. Each user chooses the necessary model for himself, but we impassively state that the classics of the genre still lose to technical progress in the face of a more productive distillation column in terms of basic technical indicators.