Purification of moonshine with coal. coal column

Among the masters of home brewing, the most popular material for getting rid of other impurities is. A made coal column for cleaning moonshine with your own hands, or a purchased one, copes equally well with purification of an alcohol-containing product. Next, consider how to make a coal column for moonshine stills on one's own.

When distilling the mash, along with alcohol, a certain amount of impurities harmful to health, the so-called fusel oils, enters the refrigerator. In order to reliably get rid of them, three methods are used:

1. Mechanical selection of impurities. He copes with this task "perfectly well". Partially get rid of fusel oils.
2. Secondary distillation divided into factions. Most of all harmful substances are in the "heads" and "tails", which are cut off during the distillation process.
3. Filtration. In moonshine brewing, several cleaning methods are used. Among the "doubtful" substances we will name potassium permanganate, milk, egg white, butter. And absolutely proved its effectiveness and harmlessness - carbon filter.

Reference. In the industrial production of alcohol, coal columns are used for purification so that we can buy a quality product.

Selection and arrangement of a carbon filter

Shops specializing in the sale of home brewing products offer a good selection of both coal columns and consumables for them - various types of charcoal. Therefore, if you want to have the best equipment for moonshine at home and the means allow you, it’s easier to buy.

The standard column consists of:

• pipes(usually made of stainless steel), which is untwisted in order to periodically change the coal;
• top fitting connecting with a hose coming out of the refrigerator;
• bottom fitting through which ready-made, purified moonshine flows;
• legs - supports in order to conveniently substitute a three-liter jar under the column. Not all models have legs.

When choosing, focus on ease of use. Also, given that the device of the coal column is as simple as possible, it will not be difficult to make it yourself.

Do-it-yourself coal column

You can independently make two types of columns: to clean moonshine during the race or for final disposal of the final product from fusel oils after distillation.

The second option is simpler, and also allows you to do finer cleaning. And even better - use both settings in order to obtain exceptionally pure alcohol.

Coal preparation

Buy or make your own charcoal.

Note! Only coal obtained from birch or coconut palm is intended for the column (the latter, for obvious reasons, can only be bought)!

It is undesirable to “refuel” it with barbecue coals bought on the occasion, since combustible materials are often added to them.

Therefore, it is best to buy special coal for fueling columns.

On the Internet, it is offered for this purpose in small pieces (up to 1 cm in diameter) - in this form it is only suitable for a column connected to a distiller.

To use it to filter the finished moonshine, grinding required.

Advice. Put the coal taken from the fire or bought into a bag and beat with a hammer. Then take away large pieces - they can be broken again.

Sift what's left through a sieve. Use the finest dust for the cleaning ready-made moonshine, the fraction is slightly larger (ideally - like small cereals) - for filtering.

Column manufacturing

Before proceeding with the creation of a coal column with your own hands, it is necessary to prepare the materials:

1. For column connected to the distiller:

• food stainless steel pipe up to 0.5 m long, 100 mm in diameter;
• screw cap with fitting (top);
• non-removable cover with fitting (welded or soldered);
• filter-mesh fixed at the bottom;
• legs.

2. For filtering alcohol distillate:

• 2 liter plastic bottle with cut off bottom. Preferably - not to the end;
• cotton wool or cotton pads.

3. Coal is needed for any column model.

Everything is more or less clear with the connected column, it is the “last link” in the chain. It is important to fix the finished and tucked fixture strictly vertically.

A column from a plastic bottle is prepared as follows:

• The bottom is not cut off completely to make a kind of lid. It is needed so that the coal does not float when you pour the liquid.
• Holes are made in the lid with an awl.
• Cotton wool or cotton pads are inserted into the neck and the cap is screwed on.
• The bottle is filled with crushed coal.
• The neck is inserted into a jar (preferably a three-liter one).

Attention. Choose a PET bottle with an elongated neck and make sure that it fits securely without distortion.

• Moonshine is poured on top of the coal.

Filtration

Alcohol through the holes in the lid will first pass in a trickle, but as the cotton wool is clogged with dust, it will only drip. It is possible that the dripping will stop with time.

In this case, you need to drain the moonshine remaining in the bottle into the dishes, unscrew the cap and replace the cotton wool, after which the process should be continued.

cleaning

Filtered moonshine, for completeness of cleaning, you need already in the bank fill with coal dust. Approximate calculation: 3 - 4 spoons per three-liter jar of alcohol.

Carefully! You don’t need to pour a lot of coal, because with an excess, by “binding” fusel oils, it can “steal” the degree.

Should be cleansed from a couple of days to a week. The jar needs to be shaken periodically. By the end of cleaning, alcohol should be transparent, and coal dust should lie on the bottom in a layer. After that, you need to filter through cotton wool, discs or filter paper.

Reference. Pharmaceutical activated carbon is the least suitable for cleaning, since it also contains talc, sometimes starch. Many complain that this product gives bitterness to the drink.

The principle of operation of the carbon filter

Why is charcoal an excellent sorbent? During combustion, wood materials burn unevenly, as a result of which the remaining coal microcavities are formed.

They "capture" high-molecular organic compounds (the same fusel oils) and hold them, leaving a product that is clean of organic matter.

Passing through such a "sieve", the moonshine is completely cleaned and leaves all harmful substances in the coal.

Due to which we will use not "sivukha", but pure and natural product, with moderate consumption, only a beneficial effect on the body.

Useful videos

The video below shows a self-made coal column, how to use it when cleaning moonshine:

See how to make a coal column for cleaning moonshine at home from improvised means, how it affects the taste of homemade alcohol:

How to make a glass charcoal column from a bottle, see:

How do you use charcoal to clean moonshine? Share in the comments. Like the article if it was useful to you, share the information with your friends on social networks.

A coal column for cleaning moonshine will help clean homemade alcohol from harmful impurities. There is activated carbon - infusion and flow cleaning.

In the first case, a certain amount of activated charcoal is added to the container with alcohol.

The drink settles for several days, and after precipitation it is filtered through a dense layer of cotton wool and gauze. The method is not bad, but the result does not satisfy everyone.

Sometimes coal is used for cleaning for household or aquarium filters, for barbecues, gas masks, or pharmacy coal in packages. The absorbent from the first aid kit is not very suitable for cleaning, because the talc and starch present in the tablets do not affect the quality of alcohol in the best way.

And in the coals for barbecues and sorbents for filters, there are harmful impurities, and when filtered, moonshine is most likely to be saturated with carcinogens (polycyclic hydrocarbons).

The second method is possible with a special device, the so-called coal column. The factory device can be ordered in specialized stores, although it is not cheap. A big plus of the purchased device is a flask made of high-strength and environmentally friendly stainless steel, which does not come into contact with alcohol and does not affect the taste and quality of the finished product.

3 options for making a homemade carbon filter

You can make such a column at home, using quite affordable materials for this:

And although plastic is not the best option for containing alcoholic beverages, a short-term filtering process through such a device will not bring much harm to the drink. Craftsmen offer 3 options for a homemade coal column.

Option one is the easiest

At a plastic bottle with a volume of 2 liters, the bottom is cut off, several holes are made in it with a red-hot knitting needle or an awl. 3 - 4 small holes are also made in the lid or one larger one, and it is tightly screwed onto the neck of the bottle. A layer of cotton wool or a coffee filter is placed inside.

Plastic bottle is the cheapest way

Charcoal (birch or coconut) must be crushed. To do this, it is wrapped in a canvas bag or a dense fabric and smashed with a rolling pin (you can also use a hammer). Coal dust and crumbs are poured into a flask from a bottle for 1/3 of the volume, and large pieces are removed for re-grinding.

The coal layer is pressed down with a cut and inverted bottom with holes.

A do-it-yourself coal column for cleaning moonshine is installed on the jar upside down, the free volume of the flask is filled with alcohol that needs to be cleaned. The top of the structure is covered with a saucer so that alcohol vapors do not erode.

Option two - reliable

For the second method, you will need 2 bottles of 2 liters. With one bottle, they do the same as in the first version, with the difference that the bottom is no longer needed. The crushed coal is poured into a bag of dense cotton fabric (you can simply wrap it in a fabric cut). A layer of cotton wool is pushed to the neck of the bottle, and a coal bundle is placed on top.

At the second bottle, you also need to cut off the bottom and unscrew the cork (they will no longer be required). A bottle without a cap is inserted upside down into the first container, pressing down on the coal bundle.

Moonshine is also poured into it when the finished structure is already installed on a glass jar.

The top of the flask is covered with a saucer, protecting the fusel from weathering.

Option three - from a household filter

They take an ordinary water filter (with a jug), carefully cut the cartridge up with a hacksaw so that the place where it fits into the jug remains undamaged. All filter media is discarded. A cotton pad is placed at the very bottom and 2-3 cm of coal dust are poured, tamping with a rolling pin.

The filter needs to be well sealed.

This is repeated to the very top of the cartridge and the coal is covered with cotton wool on top so that it does not float up in the process. Seal well and insert the filter back into the jug. Do-it-yourself coal column for cleaning moonshine is ready - you can start filtering.

How is the process of filtering and cleaning moonshine?

It is possible to filter the fuselage both before re-distillation, and the finished product 10-20 days before consumption. If another distillation of alcohol is planned, and there is a desire or need to purify moonshine from fusel oils and other harmful impurities, you must first lower the degree of the product. To do this, it is diluted with spring or melt water to the desired degree. For more information about filtering and cleaning moonshine, see this video:

After that, a home-made column is filled with diluted alcohol and wait for all the liquid to seep through the filter (if necessary, change the cotton wool at the neck several times). The filtration is repeated twice. The fact that pervach becomes black is not at all scary - it will be clean, like a tear, after distillation.

If the "firewater" is intended to be filtered before use, it does not need to be diluted (if desired, this can be done after filtering).

For greater purification of moonshine from impurities and fusel oils, you can combine 2 filtration methods - flow and infusion. To do this, after passing the fusel oil through the coal column 2-3 times, a little more coal powder is added to the resulting product (40 g of coal per 1 liter of liquid).

After the alcohol with coal has been infused for 2-3 days, and a thick precipitate has formed at the bottom of the container, you can proceed to the rectification of the drink. For cleaning, the same design that was made for charcoal filtration is quite suitable. It must be freed from coal residues (by the way, coal dust can be dried and used 1 more time) and washed thoroughly. For the most effective cleaning method, see this video:

Cotton wool, filters or cotton pads are thrown away, and clean ones are taken instead. The neck of the bottle is filled with a cotton closure, the lid with holes is screwed up to the stop and the bottle is placed upside down on a three-liter jar. The entire free volume of the bottle is filled with cloudy moonshine and covered with a saucer to avoid the evaporation of alcohol.

When the cotton trap becomes clogged with dust and stops the flow of alcohol, it needs to be replaced.

To do this, the unrefined drink is poured back into the container, the cotton wool or filter is changed to a clean one and cleaning is continued. You can drink your product immediately after cleaning, or you can dilute it to the desired strength and let it brew for a couple of days.

Coal is a good adsorbent, molecules of a substance that we want to get rid of are attached to its surface.

Let's start cleaning moonshine with coal.

To do this, we take birch charcoal, bought in a store, for cooking barbecue. Pour it into a bag, I use a bag of sugar. We take a hammer and crush it, the smaller the better. I do it on the street, as coal dust flies, and the house will be dirty.

From coal at the end we must get coal powder. The finer the coal is ground, the more it will have a surface area on which impurity molecules will stick. The efficiency of coal will be higher.

After the coal is ground, we sift it through a sieve or colander. We get three fractions, coal powder, larger coal and coal that has not been completely broken, which we throw back into the bag.

At the second stage of cleaning moonshine, we make a coal column.

We take a plastic bottle, I use a two-liter one, cut off the back of it. In the resulting bottom, we drill or burn holes. We also drill a large hole in the lid of the bottle.

We put the bottle on the jar neck down. We pour coal into it, press it with the bottom so that it does not float in the moonshine. We pour moonshine for cleaning into our coal column. Moonshine passes through coal, fusel oils stick to it. Moonshine washes out additional coal dust. Over time, coal dust settles at the bottom of our coal column and it stops dripping. You can unscrew the lid and poke your finger in the neck.

You can drive moonshine through a coal column several times.

After we drove the moonshine through the coal column, pour coal powder into it and stir.

How much charcoal powder is needed to clean moonshine? A coal particle attaches impurities to itself, to its surface, along its radius. More than it can, it will not take in impurities. So if we add a little charcoal powder, the charcoal won't take all the dirt. And if we add a lot of coal powder, then the coal will absorb excess alcohol, there will be losses of moonshine. Choose the optimal amount of charcoal powder for home cleaning of impurities.

We remove our moonshine with coal for settling. Coal powder will take in impurities, become heavier and settle to the bottom. The dirtier the moonshine, the faster the coal will settle. My coal powder settles to the bottom the next day, if the moonshine is after the first distillation. After the second one, it floats longer.

Instead of coal powder, you can use activated carbon from a pharmacy to clean moonshine from impurities at home, but this will increase the cost of moonshine.

After the coal has absorbed the impurities and settled to the bottom, we proceed to clean the moonshine from the spent coal.

We take our coal column, this is already a filter. Insert a cotton swab into the neck. We put the filter on a jar, pour purified moonshine into it, carefully so as not to raise the sediment. Moonshine drips into the jar. As soon as the moonshine stops dripping or slows down, pour the unfiltered moonshine into another container. We unscrew the neck and change the swab and continue to filter the moonshine.

Purification of moonshine from impurities with coal can be done twice. After the first distillation, purify it through a carbon column. After the second, clean the moonshine with coal powder.

Purification of moonshine with coal. Coal column, video.

If conditions allow, coal for moonshine can be made with your own hands . It is enough to cook fruit or birch firewood, build a fire, let it burn well. When the firewood turns into pieces of red heat, they are closed in a metal container with a lid and left to cool completely. After that, the ash is removed, and the remaining pieces of coal are ground to a fraction of 4-6 mm, sifted, and placed in a filter housing or a self-made coal column.

You can buy beverage cleaning material online. Ideally this is:

• Birch activated carbon brand BAU-A;
• Coconut activated carbon BAU-LV.

The latter is used and specially designed for the industrial purification of alcohol.

The history of cleaning moonshine

At all times in our country, moonshine has been a popular drink. And even now, well and lovingly expelled, purified, infused with herbs, coffee beans, red pepper, the drink will give odds to factory products.

Even during the time of King Peas, people were looking for ways to improve the quality and taste of moonshine. For this we used:

• Cow's milk (1 cup per 3 liters of product);
• Potassium permanganate, which precipitates harmful oils.

They knew then about the ability of charcoal to ennoble the drink. And at the end of the VIII century, the Russian scientist-chemist T.E. Lovits, the successor of M.V. Lomonosov, made an important discovery for science - the adsorption of dissolved substances by charcoal.

Thus, cleaning moonshine with charcoal has a scientific basis, and the effectiveness of the method has been tested by time.

Strong drink cleaner

Some "experienced" distillers are aware of the properties of coal, but purify the product by pouring a certain amount of adsorbent into the container and shaking it. The effect is negligible, and it also takes time for subsequent filtration.

To clean moonshine well from harmful substances, it must be driven through a thick layer of adsorbent. The coal column works according to this principle.

Equipment for cleaning the product is sold in stores, but their cost is high. In our country, where every second man is Kulibin or left-handed, you can make a reliable filter from improvised means. To do this, you will need a plastic bottle, a cotton pad (tampon) or coffee filters, a 3-5 liter glass jar.

If you are seriously engaged in the manufacture of moonshine, it is better to buy, find, get a piece of stainless steel pipe for the column body. Weld legs to it, the inner filling is similar to the option with a plastic bottle.

"bottle" design

A do-it-yourself coal column is made for cleaning moonshine as follows: a bottom part 2-3 centimeters high is cut off from plastic 2 or 3 liter dishes. Several holes are drilled in the screw cap.

A cotton pad is inserted into the neck and the lid is twisted. The bottle is turned over and inserted into a three-liter jar and 1/3 filled with charcoal. The coal column is filled with moonshine, almost to the very top.

Some pressure is created, the moonshine passes through the coal, and harmful oils are retained by its grains. Over time, the dust washed out of the coal clogs the cotton wool. In this case, the coal is removed from the column, the cotton wool is replaced, and the coal is returned to the column.

In this way, moonshine can be filtered several times. At the same time, the replacement of cotton wool, coal before each run is not out of place, and the final product only benefits from this.

Water filter option

If a small batch of product is intended for filtering and cleaning oils, cleaning moonshine through a home-made coal column can be simplified.

For a conventional household water filter with a jug, the upper part of the cartridge is cut off with a hacksaw. The contents are thrown away, since this coal contains water softening additives in the form of small granules, alcohol will dissolve them and they will fall into the final drink.

A cotton pad is placed on the bottom, new coal is covered in layers of 2-3 cm high to the top of the cartridge and carefully compacted. From above, so that coal does not float, another cotton pad is placed, after which the filter is inserted into the jug, and the process of cleaning the drink can begin.

metal column

You can make a metal coal column with your own hands, having welding skills. The principle of operation of a stainless steel column is the same as that of a plastic column.

Only the drink, according to experts, is cleaned better in such a device. This is motivated by the fact that moonshine is still an aggressive substance, and polyethylene, no matter how durable it is, still emits harmful substances.

Redistillation

It is necessary to filter "raw" moonshine 10-15 days before use or before re-distillation, if such is planned.

Before re-distillation, the degree of the product is lowered - diluted with rain, melt or spring water to the desired degree. The diluted alcohol is then passed through a makeshift column twice.

Conclusion

Using charcoal is a recognized, harmless, time-tested, highly effective method. The best option for this is coal filtration columns, which you can buy in a store or do it yourself.

In the manufacture of moonshine, various cleaning methods are used that remove harmful impurities and odors. It often happens that even a perfect distillation leaves a strong odor that cannot be eliminated by repeated filtration. This is due to various fusel oils, which are strong toxic substances that can cause significant harm to health and cause a hangover.

Carbon-based filters help get rid of the unpleasant smell of moonshine and impurities. They are sold in many hardware stores, but they are easy to make yourself. Self-manufacturing in case of installation for moonshine is rewarded with the quality and purity of the resulting product.

Which coal is better

If there is enough knowledge in the manufacture of high-quality and safe moonshine, you should proceed to the study of filters that help increase the purity of the drink and improve its taste. A carbon filter is the best option for removing various impurities from fusel oil.

Why activated carbon? Coal differs from other cleaning materials in low cost and good porosity, which absorbs all objectionable microelements and unpleasant odors. It is important to remember that it is made from various materials and not all of them are suitable as the basis for a filter for a moonshine still.

Initially, activated carbon was made from animal bones, but this was disadvantageous because it required detailed processing of the source material. It had low absorption and was not able to remove fusel oils or harmful substances. The modern version is made of wood, has good absorption qualities and is actively used in medicine. Charcoal perfectly removes harmful substances and toxins, but even here moonshiners were not lucky, since it itself contains impurities such as:

• starch;
• talc.

Accordingly, the use of this cleaning material as the basis for filters leads to a bitter and unpleasant taste in moonshine, but do not despair. The desired species is often used as a raw material for gas masks, water filters or aquarium cleaning equipment.

We should not forget about the production of specialized coal based on birch, which is used in distillation. It includes brands such as:

• OU-A.

It is best to opt for BAU, which is notable for its low cost, good cleaning qualities and does not create a taste of bitterness.

Water filter raw materials include ionic resins, and coal from gas masks during use could already absorb a lot of toxic and harmful substances, so it is better to refuse these options and not risk your health.

Application features

Unlike other absorbents, activated carbon is the undisputed leader, which removes almost completely all harmful trace elements. Based on it, you can easily make a simple coal column for yourself with your own hands. Proper assembly of the filter and its use allows you to achieve the following qualities:

charcoal column cleaning

Professional moonshiners, unlike amateurs, are well aware of the methods of using activated charcoal in order to purify alcohol from all kinds of harmful substances. At the same time, it is necessary to make filters with your own hands, and it's not just about saving money. The main reason is the simple inability of industrial filters to interact and purify moonshine, which has a completely different structure, unlike water.

Industrial filters are complex in design, and replacing cleaning cartridges can sometimes take several hours. . The distillation of the mash requires constant replacement of the cleaning layers to remove already absorbed harmful particles.

Ways to use activated carbon several as a cleaning agent:

Both filtering options are often used, but each has its pros and cons.

Assembly of the filtration device

Do-it-yourself charcoal filters for moonshine are easy to make. In advance, you need to prepare all the necessary materials and cleansing coal. It is better to choose absorbent analogues that are used in water filters or gas masks, but if you want to save money, you can do it yourself.

The basis for the filters is prepared from ordinary birch branches, which are laid out in a fireproof container and tightly sealed. The supply of oxygen and water must be is minimized at the time the container is placed on the fire. Thus, coal is obtained, which is excellent as a cleaning agent. If you managed to make a sufficient amount of coal based on birch branches, you should move on to the rest of the materials for assembling the filter.

It is necessary to prepare:

• plastic bottle;
• cotton wool;
• gauze.

Before distilling moonshine, it is important to remember that absorption is a slow process that can be easily accelerated by diluting alcohol. Usually two hauls are carried out and for the second moonshine they are made thinner for better penetration. If only one filtration is laid, moonshine is pre-diluted. This greatly speeds up the cleaning process and allows the cleansing base to absorb more toxic substances. After the moonshine has been diluted, proceed to the assembly of a disposable filter.

The process is divided into several stages:

It is important to find a middle ground when assembling a layered filter, because too much coal or cotton wool will only let the moonshine pass longer. This rule also applies to cases where too little coal is used in order to speed up the alcohol purification process, but this does not make much sense if you want to get a quality product without impurities and an unpleasant odor. Fusel oil is absorbed only with a slow flow, and if you want to speed up the process, it is better to add the required amount of ground coal to the moonshine and then filter it.

Patience is the main thing in this process, because you have to not only wait until all the liquid has passed through the cleaning materials, but also constantly replace them. If you miss the moment of filling the filter with harmful impurities, they will begin to be released back into alcohol, while their dose doubles. Several bottles will turn out with pure moonshine, but the next batch, in addition to its own harmful microelements, will also receive dirt absorbed by charcoal from previous purifications.

This filtration method is not the only one and is only suitable for the final stage of alcohol preparation. Moonshiners use many ways while driving at the same time. For example, a coagulation variant that requires the use of egg yolk or milk for cleaning is popular. This method is effective, but moonshine acquires a cloudy appearance, which is almost impossible to get rid of.

The coal column is made from readily available and cheap materials, but it conforms to industrial design if properly assembled. This also applies to the quality of alcohol purification. Many people cannot understand how moonshine becomes safe, devoid of harmful impurities and smell, while coal does not stain the liquid in a dark color.

It is the multi-layered filter that allows moonshine to remain transparent, passing through coal. For details, the whole procedure is divided into several stages:

The question of which filter is better at home remains relevant. Industrial models get the job done faster, increasing productivity. In addition, they do not require frequent replacement of cartridges, unlike the homemade form.

Assembling a carbon filter with your own hands helps to save a lot money that is better spent on the purchase of a pump or other consumables, but low throughput, poor cleaning quality compared to industrial models, constant replacement of filter layers make moonshiners refuse this option.

The choice is easy to make. It all depends on the specific tasks and the quality of moonshine. At home, moonshiners distill a small amount of mash, and therefore it makes no sense to buy expensive filters. They are more suitable in cases where the distillation of moonshine is a continuous flow, constant work that requires high productivity.

In any case, the charcoal column is a great way to jump over the barrier between a low-quality product and pure alcohol without odor and dangerous impurities. The main thing is to remember the recommendations when using coal material, which is able not only to absorb liquid, but also to give harmful elements back.

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