Correct use of bubbler recipes. The original device - the bubbler replaces the dry steam generator. What is a dry greenhouse

Distillation purity can be controlled. How do devices with a dry steamer and a bubbler help the master of moonshine brewing, how do they work, and why are they called the "idle dream"? You will learn all this in a new lesson. Do you hear the bell rang? We begin the lesson.

What is a dry greenhouse?

A dry steamer is an additional structural element of a moonshine still that cleans alcohol vapors from heavy fractions and impurities.

Sukhoparnik has a second name - dephlegmator, that is, a fraction separator.

The main purpose is to improve the quality of distillate purification. This is due to physical, not chemical cleaning. Fusel oils, resins, and methanol fractions are deposited in the dry pot because of the small temperature difference with the distillation still.

The device has several additional functions.

It prevents the mash from getting into the finished product, creating a kind of buffer between the distillation cube and the cooler.
It can serve as an additional device for flavoring the drink. Spices, fruits, herbs and nuts are added to the dry pot so that the passing alcohol vapors are saturated with the pleasant smells of natural flavors. Aromatization is possible only in a collapsible design.

How is a dry steam room arranged?

It is a cylinder with two tubes fixed in the upper part. One leads to the alembic. Evaporating alcohol vapors enter through it. The second pipe goes to the refrigerator. Along this path, alcohol vapors, already cleared of heavy fractions and impurities, move to the condenser. There is a drain hole in the bottom of the dry box to empty the sediment.

The efficiency of the device depends on the tightness of the joints and the heating temperature of the mash. At a minimum temperature, fusel oils will settle more, and the purity of cleaning will be more effective.

The principle of operation of a dry steamer in a moonshine still

How is the purification of alcohol vapors in the dry steam chamber carried out? Everything happens according to the laws of physics.

When the mash boils in the distillation still, the alcohol-containing liquid evaporates. Not only alcohol is converted into steam, but also other substances that are much less useful for us. For example, fusel oils, methanol and other fermentation products.
All this steam mixture rushes into the steam room.
In it, the temperature approximately coincides with that which is maintained in the distillation still, so alcohol vapors do not settle on the walls. They freely leave the steam room and move to the condenser or refrigerator.
Heavier fractions have a boiling point higher than alcohol, therefore they condense on the walls and flow down to the bottom of the dry pit.

After distillation, up to half a liter of an unpleasant-smelling liquid splashes in a dry steam room, which must be poured out.

What kind of dry stews are there?

Sukhoparniki differ among themselves in volume and location in relation to the distillation still. I divide the moonshine stills with dry steamers into two main types: with solid and collapsible steamers.

The one-piece dry steam chamber is a non-separable design. It does its job well, but cleaning it up can be quite problematic.
In a collapsible steam chamber, all elements are unscrewed, natural flavors can be loaded into the cylinder. After finishing work, the container itself can be safely removed and washed from plaque.

What is a bubbler?

The bubbler is another device for distillate purification. It does not substitute for a dry steam bath and does not compete with it, since it uses a different cleaning technique. In one moonshine still, you can use both a bubbler and a steamer, or you can put several of these devices. I have seen devices with six bubblers in a row, connected in series.

Bubbler design

Structurally, the bubbler is similar to a dry steam generator. All the same cylindrical container and also two tubes. One leads from the still to the bubbler. It reaches almost to the very bottom. The second leads from the bubbler to the fridge and is much shorter.

How does a bubbler work?

Braga heats up in the distillation still and begins to evaporate.
Alcohol vapors, saturated with many elements and fermentation products that we do not need, enter the bubbler through the tube.
Light alcohol vapors continue their way through the second tube to the refrigerator, but fractions of resins, methanol, fusel oils flow to the bottom of the bubbler due to the fact that their boiling point is higher than that of alcohol.
Gradually, the liquid level rises above the end of the long tube. Newly incoming vapors pass through this liquid, which "takes away" the heavy fractions even more efficiently.

For best results, you can pour a little water into the bubbler before starting work, which will hide the end of the discharge tube. Then the very first vapors from the distillation cube will pass through the water, leaving heavy and harmful fractions in it.

Thus, the bubbler actually performs double purification of alcohol vapors:

separates fractions using the difference in boiling points;
cleans alcohol vapors by passing them through the liquid.

As well as a dry-cleaner, the bubbler can be used for placing all kinds of fragrances. To do this, add flavorings to the water that you add to the device: cinnamon sticks, cut vanilla pods, orange zest, or cardamom seeds previously crushed with a knife.

Sucker and bubbler: the dream of lazy people

It can be said in another way. The steam boiler and bubbler are the most suitable devices for those who value time and strive for the most effective result. Why?

The efficiency of distillate purification using additional devices is increased. By using a steam boiler and a bubbler, you can do without secondary distillation. By separating the heads and tails, you will get quite a decent result in the first distillation.

For greater efficiency, sometimes several devices are used simultaneously, sequentially installing them on a moonshine still. Then alcohol vapors go through several stages of purification at once in one distillation cycle.

If you decide to install both cleaners, then the bubbler is mounted after the dry boiler.

Practice

Watch today's video, which shows the various dry greenhouses.

Homework

Tell us if your device has a dry steam generator or a bubbler. Maybe you use both devices at the same time?

Today we learned why a dry steam generator and a bubbler are needed, what they are, how they work, how they are useful, and why their use simplifies the manufacture of distillates.

We are waiting for you at the next lesson in our school. The lesson is over, thank you all for your attention!

Add hashtags to your homework #craft_school #cosmogon

Dryer and bubbler - 2 devices, primarily responsible for filtering the distillate. And if the presence of the first in the design of the moonshine still does not cause doubts among people, then with the second everything is much more complicated. Some consider the bubbler an unnecessary rudimentary appendage, others say that purity and final aromatization cannot be achieved without it. Still others do not see the difference between a bubbler and a dry steamer at all. There are many opinions. To determine the role and significance of a bubbler in a moonshine still, we will analyze its structure and principle of operation, and also consider the fundamental differences from a dry-brewer.

How does a bubbler work in a moonshine still

A bubbler is a sealed vessel with two holes, into which tubes of different lengths are inserted. Through the first, longer and almost abutting the bottom, alcohol vapors enter the reservoir. Through the second, short, they leave. The device is quite simple, but very effective. Alcohol vapors enter the tank, where they are sharply cooled by several degrees. As a result, impurities, the boiling point of which is higher than that of pure alcohol vapors, condense on the walls and drain to the bottom of the bubbler. After some time, a layer of liquid forms in the bubbler from the condensed residues, which hides the lower edge of the long tube. Subsequent vapors will have to overcome this layer in order to enter the cooler. Heavy impurities settle in the liquid, and pure alcohol vapors "bubble" and enter the coil. For greater efficiency, water can be poured into the bubbler before distillation so that the vapors pass through the filter with liquid immediately. But you need to know that the water will warm up under the influence of hot alcohol vapors, evaporate and get into the final product. This can affect, albeit only slightly, the strength of the product and its chemical composition.

Sukoparnik and bubbler - what's the difference?

Outwardly and structurally, these two devices are very similar. Both of them are reservoirs where the incoming alcohol vapors are cleaned of heavy fusel impurities. But there is a difference between it, first of all, in the cleaning methods. Sukhoparnik separates alcohol vapors from fusel mixtures due to the difference in their boiling points: in alcohol it is 78 ° C, in fusel oils it is much higher. Once in the dry chamber, they condense on the walls and no longer evaporate, since all the thermal energy is spent on the evaporation of ethyl alcohol. At the beginning of the distillation, the bubbler uses the same cleaning method. But after the incoming tube is hidden under the layer of liquid, the vapor is purified with the liquid.

This cleaning method has the following advantages:

in the bubbler, additional final cleaning of vapors from harmful impurities that have passed through the steam chamber is carried out;

by increasing the purity of the product, the taste is also improved. The taste becomes more accentuated and pure;

using a bubbler helps to increase the strength of the product by several degrees.

And with the help of a bubbler, you can flavor drinks. Flavors (fruit zest, berry leaves, etc.) are added to the tank. The aromatization of a drink in a bubbler is more effective than in a dry steam room due to the fact that alcohol vapors pass directly through the liquid in which the flavors are located. In a dry greenhouse, the contact of vapors and flavors is less dense.

Should you buy a moonshine still with a bubbler?

Despite the fact that the bubbler is not an obligatory element in the moonshine still, it is very useful for the design of the moonshine still. This is an additional filter that "cleans up" all the flaws of the dry stew, thereby improving the taste, quality and strength of the drink. For those distillers who value these parameters in their drink, we recommend not neglecting the bubbler. In conjunction with a dry steam tank, this is a very effective device. On our website you can familiarize yourself with the Hanhi Grand moonshine still, which has a built-in bubbler in its design.

Review of a moonshine still with a bubbler (video)

Self-preparation of strong alcohol is now not something illegal, and does not require obtaining any permits, if its subsequent sale is not expected. This activity is not only extremely exciting.

Self-made alcoholic drinks have a number of advantages over purchased ones:

Affordable price... A noticeable part of the cost of any purchased alcohol is excise duty and payment for the manufacturer's brand. The cost of homemade drinks is extremely low, and the quality can be more than decent.
Anti-counterfeiting... The possibility of poisoning with a surrogate is excluded, since the quality of the product obtained depends only on the distiller himself. In any case, only natural ingredients are used.
Exclusivity... You can prepare any signature drink, including one that did not exist before. Huge opportunities for experiments with taste, strength and combination of a wide variety of raw materials.

To obtain the coveted liquid, only a container for making mash and a moonshine are needed, however, for better cleaning from fusel oils, getting a truly elite drink, you will need a number of additional devices that improve its design:

The cost of a moonshine still, with all the additional devices, can reach several tens of thousands of rubles, however, it is not at all necessary to buy them, you can make a moonshine still with a steam bottle and a bubbler with your own hands.

For fermentation of the mash, either plastic containers or the alembic itself are used, it is enough to remove the tube from them and lower it into a bottle of water, thus obtaining the simplest water seal.

A distillation cube is well obtained from an aluminum flask for milk, especially since a hand can easily crawl into such a container, which means it will be convenient to wash it. It is advisable only to replace the rubber seal with one made of silicone.

A refrigerator can be made by bending a copper or stainless steel tube and placing it in a bucket of cold water. The bucket is placed in the sink and a thin stream of water is turned on, so that it flows over the refrigerator by gravity.

You can purchase a ready-made device in the simplest configuration and improve it by making a dry steamer for a moonshine still with your own hands. You can also add a bubbler or other accessories.

How to make a dry greenhouse

The device is quite simple: you can make it yourself from a glass jar with a screw cap. To do this, take two M8 or M10 bolts with nuts and silicone gaskets. They are drilled lengthwise, turning into tubes, two holes are drilled in the lid of the can and the resulting fittings are inserted there, fixing with nuts. Now it is enough to put on silicone tubes and you will get an excellent do-it-yourself steam room.

Its capacity should be close to 5% of the capacity of the distillation cube. If the cube is 12-14 liters, then it is advisable to make a dry pot from a 0.7 liter can. Why do you need a dry steamer - it helps to increase the alcoholic condensate and prevents the moonshine from clogging up with splashes of boiling mash. The coil is also protected from clogging. That's why you need a dry steamer in a moonshine still.

A glass steam bath is more convenient than a stainless steel one in that you can immediately see how much fusel oil has accumulated inside.

Do-it-yourself dephlegmator

There are many dephlegmator circuits, at home it is easiest to make a film dephlegmator from two tubes. You will need two copper tubes of different diameters, so that when one of them is inserted into the other, a gap of at least ten millimeters forms between the walls. Three copper pipes, a tube-adapter for the distillation cube and pieces of copper sheet of the desired shape for the manufacture of plugs.

The pipes are soldered in such a way that one is inside the other, an adapter is soldered into the central pipe from below to connect to the distillation cube, and from above - a pipe for connecting to the refrigerator. Two fittings for connection to cold water are soldered to the outer pipe. You can also solder a thermometer into the top of the resulting reflux condenser. The dephlegmator for the moonshine still is ready.

During distillation, by adjusting the flow of cold water, the required cooling of the inner tube is achieved. Reflux condenses on the walls of the inner tube and flows back into the distillation still, the purified alcohol vapor goes further into the distiller's refrigerator. Fusel oils remain in the alembic.

Bubbler

This device can be made in the same way as a dry pot, with your own hands from a can. With the only condition that in the bubbler the tube through which it is connected to the distillation still must reach almost to the bottom of the can. Some moonshiners recommend pouring a little water or moonshine into the bubbler before starting distillation, so that it can work immediately, without waiting for a sufficient layer of distillate to form. Why do we need a steam boiler and a bubbler in one apparatus - the steam is pre-cleaned in the bubbler, and in the steam box it is additionally divided into fractions.

The procedure for installing additional devices in the moonshine is as follows: first, a dephlegmator is installed on the distillation cube, then a bubbler is connected, a suction cup in which fragrant fruits and fruits can be placed. Further, the flavored and purified alcohol vapor is cooled in the refrigerator coil.

Get absolutely pure alcohol with the help of the most sophisticated moonshine still it is unlikely to work, for this you need a full-fledged rectification column. But after additional purification with charcoal, aromatization, aging in oak barrels or tincture on oak chips, simply wonderful drinks are obtained that can satisfy the most fastidious gourmet.

These devices perform different functions, so the choice of one or another addition depends on the distilled raw material and the desired quality of the beverage at the outlet. Many manufacturers produce distillers equipped with dry steam tanks (also called chubs, reflux condensers, sedimentation tanks) and bubblers. If you want to improve the quality of the final product, additional devices can be purchased in the store or made yourself.

Moonshine, of course, can be distilled in the old fashioned way without additional equipment, resulting in a cloudy liquid with an unpleasant odor at the exit. The use of the devices under consideration makes it possible to obtain a clear drink with the desired smell, suitable for consumption after the first run.

The device and principle of operation of the dry steam tank

Structurally, the device is made in the form of a cylindrical container made of glass or metal. Two branch pipes of different lengths are installed on top, and a drain cock at the bottom. A short tube goes into the container by 2 - 3 cm, through which the purified steam goes into the refrigerator. The length of the other tube is 1.5 - 3 cm longer, through which steam from the distiller enters.

Cleaning takes place in the following sequence:

after the alcohol-containing steam enters the dryhouse, its temperature decreases;
since the boiling point of fusel oils is higher than that of alcohol, they condense on the walls and drain to the bottom;
purified alcohol vapors go to the refrigerator.

To impart the desired flavor to the beverage, a flavoring agent is put inside.

The cost of a purchased dry pot may not be as attractive as we would like, so you can make it yourself.

Quick jump to article

When distilling alcohol-containing liquid with steam, a bubbler becomes a necessary accessory of the moonshine still. It is through it that steam is passed under pressure. Placed in a distillation vessel, the bubbler evenly heats the wash to a high temperature, causing, first of all, the alcohol in it to boil. The evaporating alcohol vapors go further into the coil and condense in it. A distiller with a steam boiler and a bubbler most completely "takes away" alcohol from the mash. In addition, its strength increases, in the resulting moonshine there is less fusel oils.

From bellows

How to make a bubbler for a moonshine still with your own hands? This device can be made in two versions. In the first case, a flexible bellows is taken and a plug is placed on one end of it. Then, small cuts (up to several millimeters long) are made in the hose at a distance of one centimeter. Or small holes are made in it. A bellows made of a composite material with a diameter of 10 - 20 mm is rolled up in a ring at the bottom of the distillation cube with holes downward. Bubbles of steam, passing through them, will extract alcohol from the wash, increasing its volume somewhat.

Copper tube

Having made a moonshine still with a steam generator, it will be possible not to worry about the mash sticking to the walls and bottom of the still. The bubbler will not allow this. It is also made from a copper tube plugged at one end (sealed). It's good to bend it in a circle too. Holes are sawn or drilled in the tube walls. They are called perforated. This is done in a row along the entire length. You can also make several rows with holes 2 - 3 mm in diameter, or cuts a millimeter wide and 4 - 5 long.

Read also: How to make a steam generator for a moonshine still

How does the device work? During pouring, it is filled with mash or wort. Then the incoming steam displaces the liquid through the holes. It rises up, forcing the mash to heat up. Since alcohol evaporates at a temperature of 78.15 degrees at normal atmospheric pressure (760 mm Hg), it is captured by the steam and goes through the transition hose to the coil. The higher the pressure in the distillation cube, the higher the boiling point of the alcohol becomes. At 1100 mm. rt. st (slightly more than one atmosphere), it will evaporate already at 87 degrees. You should know it.

About material

Usually a moonshine still has a copper coil. If made of the same metal alembic, then its heat transfer will be higher than that of an aluminum or glass container due to better thermal conductivity. Stainless steel conducts heat 20 times worse than copper. And the glass is more than 500 times. So in the presence of a steam generator, the distillation cube can also be taken from glass. Then the cost of electricity will be reduced if the heating elements are installed in a heated container with water. Or gas when heated on a gas stove. Distilling the mash in a large glass bottle, you can insert a bubbler into it, too, from this material. Such a device is sold in stores. It is enough to connect it to the tube that leads out through the bottle cap. And then connect the tube to the coil.

About sealing

By placing the bubbler, if it is a tube, at the bottom of the distillation still at a slight slope, you can avoid water hammer at the time of the passage of the first steam. Ejection of liquid trapped in the tube through the holes will not be abrupt. If the bubbler passes through the vessel wall, the connection is sealed. For this, a fitting is cut in, tightened with nuts on both sides. A silicone hose is put on its outer end. The inner end connects to the bubbler in any way. Passing the hose through the lid of the distillation still does the same. A collapsible bubbler is preferred. Disconnected tubing or hoses will not kink during storage. The volume in the room will decrease for him.