Distiller with dry steam tank principle of operation. How to make a good moonshine still with your own hands with minimal cost

20.07.2020 Snacks

Recently, modern innovations and innovations have penetrated deeper into our daily life. So distilling was no exception. In this article, I want to tell you about the technology for distilling mash with a dry steamer. This technology allows you to get a high-quality purified product without any special efforts.

Sukhoparnik - that part of the moonshine still, without which it is quite possible to do without, but if it comes to the purity and quality of moonshine, then its presence in the design is necessary. Typically, a dry steamer is a closed tank with thin walls and two steam hoses leading to the coil and distillation tank. In the process, this device is used for the purpose of high-quality purification of alcohol from fusel oils and other harmful substances.

But in a wide circle of bootleggers, other designations are also widely known: bubbler, dephlegmator, tsarga. All these devices are additional accessories to the traditional apparatus and are designed to significantly improve the quality of the beverage at the outlet.

Preparation for distillation of mash

Before starting the distillation procedure itself, it is worthwhile to check your moonshine still well for tightness and reliability of the main tanks. Another important thing to pay attention to is the condition of the connecting hoses and the distillation itself. After all, even the smallest crack can lead to leaks and depressurization, which will certainly affect the quality and strength of the final product. The next important detail is the thermometer. An elementary check for serviceability by shaking the latter against the motionlessness of the arrow will make it clear that the functionality of this device is not violated.

After the "moonshine still" is ready for use, your next step should be to check the readiness of the mash.

The understanding of how to properly distill the mash through a moonshine still with a dry stew is gained by "sweat and blood." Therefore, if the composition of the mash does not inspire confidence in you and the liquid consistency is far from the recipe, leave the mash alone for another 1-2 days. This will save you from the dire consequences caused by the preparation of low-quality moonshine and lethal poisoning.

How to properly drive moonshine with a steamer and a thermometer at home

When the last preparations are completed and you already almost know how to properly distill moonshine with a steamer, the most interesting begins. Let's thoroughly study the technology for making this drink.

Let's start by pouring our mash into a distillation tank. Next, we put it on the stove so that the burner heats exactly the center of the distillation cube, and once again check the hoses for leaks. If necessary, we carry out additional sealing of the joints. It is important to remember that for correct and fast heating of the liquid, the initial maximum temperature is recommended, followed by its decrease.

If, while observing the process, you notice that the mash becomes frothy and begins to boil, I advise you to add a glass of low-fat milk to the distillation cube. Also, during the process, carefully monitor the temperature of the water in the cooler. Cold water is the key to a successful end of the distillation process.

Although the crankcase is the main cleaning element in the design of a moonshine still and allows you not to worry about cleaning, I would be safe and add one more element. Under the outlet hose from which ready-made moonshine is poured, I would advise you to put a jar with a small watering can, and put pieces of charcoal or activated charcoal in the watering can. This simple wisdom will help to cleanse our product from impurities that were still able to break through the dry pot.

So, as we can see, there is nothing complicated in the process of distilling moonshine. The main thing to remember is control over the state of the mash and the device itself, as well as the timely collection of the finished product.

Do I need a second distillation if there is a dry steam room

How many times do you need to distill a moonshine with a steamer? It's no secret that the main task of home brewing is to obtain a chemical composition that is as close as possible to pure alcohol. Therefore, the more distillations occur, the cleaner your drink will be in the end.

Although there are adherents in this world who connoisseurs of time and fusel taste, who are distilled once and without any additional purifications, their population is rapidly declining. Therefore, a double distillation, although it will take you additional time, will significantly add quality and purity to your "work of art".

Is it possible to drink moonshine after the first distillation with a steamer

Unless your device is equipped with at least a system of three bays and. But again, you need to understand that only multiple distillation will give you confidence in the product and eliminate the possibility of severe poisoning. So the choice is yours!

As you know, nothing lasts forever under the moon, and even the highest-quality apparatus ever fails. And the most interesting thing is that the weakest link in this chain is precisely the cage. Let's try to highlight its most common problems and malfunctions:

  • the formation of cracks and holes through which waste oozes;
  • violation of tightness at the main butt joints with a distillation tank or cooler;
  • clogging of the hose system caused by the ingress of mash particles;
  • breakage of the fixing structure of the cage to the device.

All of the above breakdowns can be eliminated without interrupting the distillation process, the main thing is to have electrical tape, sealant and a couple of spare fittings on hand in case the fasteners break.

With the rapid rise in prices for excise taxes and the general rise in the price of alcohol, home brewing in the "kitchen" is becoming a fairly popular hobby in the post-Soviet territories. It takes its origins from the famous anti-alcohol lobby of the mid-80s and even with its cancellation, it has rapidly developed up to the present day. Modern moonshine stills, using the right technology, make it possible to create at home any of the currently popular strong alcoholic beverages.

Share in the comments your experience and opinions on how best to drive moonshine, with or without a bunker!

One of the most important stages in the preparation of high-quality moonshine is cleaning. It is at this stage that fusel impurities, harmful additives that affect the taste and smell of the drink are removed from the raw alcohol. If you do not separate the fuselage, the moonshine will get a specific taste, and the person who drank it will get an aftertaste, a severe hangover and even poisoning of the body. We can safely say that it is simply impossible to get good spirits without cleaning.

3 important functions of a dry sump

In order to distill and immediately purify the mash, it is used. This small device performs several important functions at once:

    Reduces the concentration of fuselage and impurities in ready-made spirits.

    Serves as a "shutter", which, when boiling strongly, prevents the mash from getting into the finished alcohol.

    It is also used to flavor prepared drinks.

The latter function is possible not in every dry steam bath, but only in a collapsible one. The collapsible version of the dry tank-settling tank is a more technical design, which is additionally equipped with an opening cover and a drain valve at the bottom. The collapsible sump can be made of metal and glass. The first option is considered more durable and reliable, although the glass sump also works for a long time.

What processes take place in the dry sump

The moonshine still runs on the home brew, which is brought to a boil and the alcohol evaporates. Together with this alcohol, harmful fusel oils begin to stand out from the raw materials. All this air suspension enters the dry chamber, where separation occurs - fusel impurities condense, and alcohol vapor passes further along the tube and is cooled.

The fusel oils are then drained from the sump and the apparatus is again ready for distillation. If, however, the drain is performed directly during operation, as is the aromatization of alcohol vapors.

A moonshine still without a steamer - are there such?

Apparatuses made on the basis of a rectification column are not equipped with dry steam baths. This is a completely different structural type of moonshine still, where moonshine is cleaned according to a different principle, using a special mesh. In devices with a distillation column, you can prepare strong (up to 80% alcohol), pure drinks, in which the content of fuselage is reduced to a minimum.

In addition, home-made distillers are not equipped with dry steam tanks. As a rule, in this case, the purification of moonshine is carried out in several stages, filtering with activated carbon, soda or other absorbents. The quality of the drinks obtained here directly depends on the number of filtration stages.

One, two, three - how many sedimentation tanks can there be?

In many factory devices, there is one dry steamer in a moonshine still. Why do we need the second and third, are they so important? They are used for better cleaning quality and of course for aromatization of spirits. So, in the device "" there are three sedimentation tanks made of glass at once. With their help, fusel oils are separated, and the drink is immediately flavored. Aromatic components are placed in one of the dry-pot to obtain liqueurs, homemade cognac, grappa, tequila. Everything happens right in the process - both the purification of alcohol vapors and their aromatization.

This is a necessity for those who want to get high-quality spirits and at the same time not spend a lot of time and effort for their production.

There are many designs of moonshine stills, but their main difference is the presence or absence of a dry steamer. Experienced winemakers know that without this part it is impossible to get a drink of high strength and high purity. What are dry steamers in moonshine still needed for, and how do they work?

The traditional moonshine still is assembled according to the standard scheme. The device includes:

  • distillation cube;
  • connecting tubes;
  • dry greenhouse;
  • fridge.

The main task of the distiller is to evaporate alcohol from the raw material, removing harmful fusel oils. For this purpose, dry steamers in moonshine still are intended.

When distilling mash made on the basis of beet sugar, eight liters of raw alcohol account for about 400 ml of substances, the presence of which spoils the final product. Distillers, who have been making moonshine for several years, do not doubt whether a dry steamer is needed in an apparatus for distilling mash. In the absence of this detail, most of the fusel oils will remain in the drink.

The steam boiler, or as it is also called, the dephlegmator, is located between the working tank, in which the mash is heated, and the refrigerator, where the vapors are condensed. In fact, it performs the same function as a distiller, that is, it captures and condenses vapors. The main function of the dry tank is to separate fusel oils, or as professionals call them, “tails”.

In addition, the dry pot acts as an intermediate chamber that protects the raw alcohol from the ingress of mash particles, which makes the moonshine cloudy and gives it an unpleasant odor. Since some of the evaporated water is also retained by the dry steamer, the finished product acquires a higher strength than when distilled in an apparatus consisting only of a cube and a refrigerator.

Dry greenhouse design

The dephlegmator by the principle of operation is no different from the refrigerator. But in it, cooling occurs due to air, so the condensation process is not so intense. The simplest dry-pot is a hermetically sealed container with inlet and outlet pipes through which the steam generated during the boiling of the mash passes. For a more thorough cleaning, it is necessary that the gas passes through the resulting condensate. For this purpose, the supply tube is lengthened so that it almost reaches the bottom of the container.

Principle of operation

During fermentation, not only ethyl alcohol is formed in the feedstock, but also methanol, acetone, fusel oils. In addition to the fact that such impurities can spoil the taste of the finished alcohol, their increased concentration can lead to poisoning. The use of a nestbox (dry-box) allows you to get rid of fusel oils, the boiling point of which is higher than that of alcohol.

The reflux condenser is based on the physical process of condensation. The temperature in the cubicle is maintained by the intake of hot vapors. When a liquid in the form of a gas enters a dry steam chamber, the temperature in which is lower than in the distillation still, harmful substances are condensed first. The liquid flows down the walls, accumulating in the reflux condenser tank. The lighter alcohol fraction is evaporated and fed further to the refrigerator.

Pros and cons of using a dry greenhouse

As already mentioned, the process of distilling the mash is quite possible due to a device consisting of two elements, a distillation still and a refrigerator. But for the manufacture of a product of high purity and high strength, one or more reflux condensers are used. With their help, it is possible to eliminate a significant amount of fusel oils, to increase the strength of the drink by 10-15 degrees. The moonshine turns out to be transparent, since the perch prevents splashes from entering when the mixture boils.

Distillers use a dry pot to flavor the final product. To give a pleasant smell to alcohol, you can add to the dephlegmator container:

  • fruit zest;
  • spices (cinnamon, anise, vanilla, cloves);
  • herbs (mint, oregano, fennel, thyme);
  • dried fruits or fresh fruits;
  • currant leaves;
  • ginger roots.

The advantage of this method of ennobling the drink is that the moonshine acquires only a smell, but its color and taste remains the same.

There are practically no downsides to the dry greenhouse. It does not affect the distillation rate in any way. However, its use does not obviate the need for secondary fractional distillation. You can get a truly pure product only in this way. The efficiency of condensation of the formed vapors in the reflux condenser is low. In the absence of external cooling, the vessel walls quickly heat up, which reduces the efficiency of the vapor condensation process.

How to make a dry pot with your own hands?

Moonshine stills, which come with breeches, are quite expensive. Of course, a high-quality branded model will last for many years, but if you don't want to spend extra money, you can build a dephlegmator yourself using the means at hand. As a container for collecting the distillate, a regular can with a screw cap, with a volume of one to three liters, will serve.

The following materials and tools will also be required for the manufacture of a dry pot:

  • pVC hoses - 2 pcs.;
  • fittings with external thread - 2 pcs .;
  • nuts - 2 pcs.;
  • drill;
  • marker;
  • moisture resistant sealant.

The fittings must match the size of the hoses.

On the metal cover, holes are marked with a marker, the size of which depends on the diameter of the fitting. Using a drill, holes are drilled, the edges of which are cleaned. The fittings are fixed with nuts, the joints are sealed inside and out. A tube is connected to the inside of the pipe, the length of which should be slightly less than the height of the can. After screwing the lid, the container is connected to the distillation cube and refrigerator. The volume of the dry pot varies depending on the amount of mash distilled. Since the lids are standard, the same fixture can be used for different can sizes.

How much is necessary, it is up to the distiller himself to decide. However, for those who want to get a drink of sufficient purity and strength, as well as experiment with flavors, such an improvement will be to the taste.

In order to make a dry greenhouse with your own hands, you need to understand what it is and what it is for.

Moonshine has a long history. The process of obtaining alcoholic beverages is simple. But to obtain high-quality, transparent moonshine, multiple distillation of the mash or chemical purification of the resulting product is necessary.

Although the steamer is not an integral part of the moonshine still, its use allows not only to simplify and speed up the process of obtaining pure moonshine, but also to add a pleasant aroma to the alcoholic beverage.

In the fermentation process of any raw material used to produce alcohol, in addition to ethanol, a large number of by-products are formed that determine the color, taste and smell of the drink.

Some of these substances are harmful to the body, and in a certain concentration are the strongest poison. With a high content of fusel oils in moonshine, drinking it even in an amount of 100 ml will cause a hangover with poisoning.

A high concentration of these components in moonshine can be fatal. Therefore, it is necessary to get rid of them. It is for this that the dry greenhouse is used.

Now you know what you need a dry steamer. How to make it yourself at home?

DIY step-by-step making

It is not difficult to make a dry pot for a moonshine still with your own hands. For this you will need:

  • glass container with a volume of 0.5 to 2 liters,
  • 2 nipples with a diameter of 12 mm with external thread,
  • 1 fitting of the same diameter with a female thread,
  • 1 lock nut,
  • 1 silicone hose with a diameter of 12 mm and a length of 10 cm.

A regular glass jar with a screw cap is suitable as an intermediate distiller. And instead of rigid pipes, it is more convenient to use flexible hoses, as this will make it easy to assemble the entire structure.

P manufacturing process

This whole structure, together with the lid, is tightly screwed onto the jar, and the dry pot is ready. Install it between the cube and the refrigerator. Steam is supplied from the distillation cube through the nozzle and the tube. The second fitting is connected with a hose to the refrigerator.

The dry box can be made using a more durable stainless steel lid with pipes soldered or welded to it. This design is more difficult to manufacture, but it will last much longer.

In this case, one tube is welded so that its end practically coincides with the bottom of the lid, and the second is lowered below the level of the lid by at least 10 cm.

Nothing wrongif the end of the tube is immersed in liquid. The distillate vapor will leave the liquid, and the steam boiler will operate on the principle of a bubbler.

The volume of the can depends on the amount of raw materials for making moonshine. If it is small, it is better to take a small jar. To obtain large volumes of moonshine, you can use three-liter jars, the lid will fit any of them.

Useful video about assembling a dry tank at home

Watch a video that explains how to make a dry pot from a can:

Working principle and drawings

When the mash is boiling in the distillation still, evaporation begins to fill the entire available volume. Therefore, it is very important that the entire structure is airtight, otherwise the smell will spread outside the room. The pressure in the distillation cube increases, and steam rushes through a hose or pipe into a dry steam room, which some call a bunker.

Since the steam cools down in the cubicle with a sharp increase in volume, the water and fusel oils that make up it begin to condense and a cloudy yellowish liquid with a sharp unpleasant odor appears at the bottom of the can.

This liquid must be discharged into the sewer. With a properly installed dry pot, there is not much alcohol in the liquid, so it is not suitable for attaching moonshine, but it is easy to poison it.

    • Correctly selected volume of the steam chamber should ensure a decrease in the steam temperature to +80 ° С.
    • Under such conditions, fusel oils, the boiling point of which is higher than the boiling point of alcohol, precipitate in the form of condensate on the walls of the can and flow down.
    • And alcohol in the form of steam under the influence of increasing pressure rushes up to the refrigerator through another tube.
  • If the capacity of the steam generator is too small, the temperature will not drop to the desired level and the steam will not be divided into fractions.

Too large a dry tank will lead to a drop in temperature below the desired mark. In this case, alcohol, the boiling point of which is +78 ºС, will also begin to condense and the moonshine will turn out to be less than it could have been.

Muddy and transparent moonshine

When the mash is boiling strongly, a large amount of it splashes into the outlet hose. The liquid also flows through the hose into the cage and remains in it. Thus, this part of the distillation apparatus also serves to exclude the likelihood of mash getting into alcohol.

At the initial stage of moonshine without a cage, a very cloudy and bad-smelling liquid turns out to be in the refrigerator, which requires several repeated cleanings.

When using a dry steamer, the final product becomes noticeably stronger and cleaner after the first distillation.

But you need to distill raw materials at least twice - this is a mandatory rule. In order for the moonshine to become of the highest quality, it is very important to change or rinse the barrel after distilling the head fractions of the mash.

Flush this device without removing the cover. It is enough to put a stream of water into the fitting with a hose inside the can and drain the water through another. This procedure is repeated until the jar is clean.

If you remove the lid from the can every time, it may deform. Then the tightness of the device will be broken and you will have to make a new dry boiler.

Making a reflux condenser

During the manufacture of moonshine, the location of the dry steamer is of great importance: the closer this device is to the distillation cube, the higher the temperature of the mixture when passing through the tube, and as a result, condensation will be more intense. But this will decrease the yield of the original product.

And you also need to take into account the capacity of the can: if the volume of the distiller is small, then an increase in degrees will occur and the decay into fractions will decrease.

And if you use a container of a large volume, then the temperature will decrease, and the release of alcohol vapor will decrease, as a result, the yield of moonshine will decrease.

Thus, it is necessary to experimentally find the optimal solution, select the required volume and its location among the devices, and then set the steam tank at a certain distance.

Important! When distilling 10 liters of mash, about half a liter of fusel oils is formed, respectively, the volume of the distiller must be selected based on these proportions.

It is more difficult to make a device for moonshine using a dephlegmator with your own hands, but this simple device increases the quality of moonshine in a multiple dimension.

As you can see, the advantages of a moonshine unit with a built-in dry steamer are obvious, since it:

  • Cleans the moonshine at the initial stage at the physical level, which cannot be done with chemicals;
  • Prevents the penetration of the boiling mixture into the pervak;
  • Eliminates a specific smell and unpleasant aftertaste;

Little tricks

It will not be difficult for many distillers to make a dry steamer with their own hands - it is important to use it with great efficiency. For maximum cleaning of the product, experts advise to partially fill the bowl with cold water.

When you install more than two dry steamers on a moonshine still, fusel oils and impurities are removed by almost 100%. To give the product a pleasant smell and taste, dried fruits, berries or an aromatic substance are placed on the bottom of the jar.

After such a process, moonshine can no longer be chemically purified; in this case, a simple mechanical filtration through filter paper or cotton wool will suffice.

Flavoring moonshine

In addition to more effective cleaning of moonshine and saving time due to fewer distillations, the dry steamer also provides additional opportunities for improving the taste of an alcoholic beverage.

Many add artificial flavors to ready-made moonshine or insist on fragrant additives for some time. But you can do it in another way. In this case, a moonshine still with two steamers is used.

Why do you need a second dry steamer? In this case, the first container is used as a sump for fusel oils, and aromatic ingredients are added to the second. Alcohol vapors, more or less purified from fusel oils, entering the second steam chamber, are saturated with aromatic vapors of heated additives and acquire light shades of the selected taste and smell.

Citrus peels are most often used to flavor moonshine. Lemon peels are not recommended for use, as they release toxic substances during heat treatment. To obtain a soft pleasant aftertaste, raisins are used.

An excellent effect is achieved if you put fragrant black currant leaves in the second greenhouse. You can also use any fragrant herbs: mint, thyme, wormwood, rosemary, etc. The tart taste of moonshine will give twigs of juniper and oak.

And pieces of fruit and berries will give the moonshine their own smell. This is how moonshine is obtained with the smell of peaches, pears, raspberries or bananas. You can put a handful of dried fruits on the bottom of the greenhouse. In this case, the moonshine will acquire a beautiful amber hue and an original smell.

Also, from raspberries, it turns out just wonderful, which has a strong degree, but at the same time it is drunk like a compote.

When using a moonshine still with two do-it-yourself steamers, the second must be positioned higher than the first. In this case, the purification of the distillate from fusel oils will be much more effective.

Buy or do it yourself?

You can also buy a ready-made moonshine still. Ready-made devices can consist only of a distillation cube and a refrigerator or include 1, 2 or 3 dry steamers in the set.

But in this case, their value increases significantly. But it is much cheaper to buy a device of the minimum configuration, in which all parts fit perfectly to each other, and to make a dry bowl on your own, especially since the manufacture of this device does not require special costs and complex manipulations.

It is not difficult to make a dry steamer for a moonshine still with your own hands because of its simplest design. Nevertheless, despite the apparent simplicity, this unit is of great importance, especially for units without a dephlegmator.

In such a design, it will significantly affect the quality of moonshine, mainly on its purification from fusel oils, and therefore on the smell and taste of the drink.

In addition, the nestbox has additional advantages: it protects against splashing water, makes it possible to macerate moonshine and install additional filters.

To understand more fully why you need a dry steamer in a moonshine still and how to make it at home, you should study the issue in more detail.

Sukhoparnik in a moonshine still is such an auxiliary device, often located between the distillation cube and the refrigerator, in order to filter out some of the impurities and fusel oils, as well as spray of mash, which is unattainable by other means.

The household version is a container, most often a glass jar, into which the vapors from the cube enter, partially condense, and the rest go to full condensation into the coil.

More serious products are cooked from stainless steel, which, although it has many advantages, does not allow monitoring the processes that take place inside the container, and therefore such a system needs a “thermometer”.

Appointment

In the basic moonshine still, consisting of a cube, hoses, and a cooler, there are several serious problems, in particular, with the purification of the product from fusel oils and impurities, which actually requires a dry steamer.

In addition, it performs several more functions:

  • Protects the end product from splashing, especially during primary distillation.
  • Increases the strength of moonshine, since in addition to impurities, part of the water remains in the container.
  • It additionally filters the product, for example, by placing tin sponges or other means in the cubicle.
  • Flavors moonshine. You can put pleasantly smelling herbs, leaves of fruit trees, skins of some fruits or other aromatic products in the container.

Device

The steamer in the moonshine still has an extremely simple structure. This is a single-chamber tank, connected either directly to the distillation cube, or next to it, which is often mistakenly confused with it. The steam outlet is connected to the refrigerator.

At the same time, the number of series-connected bunkers often ranges from one to three.

Principle of operation

Since the dry steamer in the moonshine still performs several tasks, there are several schematic diagrams according to which it works.

  • In the matter of separating fusel oils, the aspect of the difference in evaporation temperatures of the substances that make up the beer mixture is involved. Steam from the still, getting into the vessel, cools somewhat, and impurities, which are higher boiling point than ethanol, begin to condense. In this case, the cubicle is similar to a reflux condenser, however, due to the absence of cyclic re-evaporation and active gas-liquid exchange between condensate and steam, this process cannot be considered a full-fledged rectification.
  • The principle of protection against splashing is quite simple: solid foreign particles trapped in the pipeline fall to the bottom of the tank at the exit of the cube and are unable to pass further through the system and contaminate the moonshine.
  • Condensation of water, leading to an increase in the strength of moonshine, is mechanically similar to purification from impurities with the only difference that its boiling point is lower, and accordingly its condensation is less, but it increases from the number of dry steamers or maintaining the ideal temperature in the cube - +78 C degrees.
  • Additional filtration is carried out by placing various condensation surfaces in the cubicle, this can be coiled copper, or tin washcloths, or other suitable options.
  • Aromatization, or - more scientifically - maceration, occurs due to the penetration of ethyl vapors into the porous structure of organic matter and saturation with liquid compounds - juices, as a result, moonshine acquires a characteristic taste and aroma.

When working with a steam boiler, it is important to take into account the temperature in the cube, which will ensure optimal condensation of impurities.

This is especially true for systems with several tanks, where insufficient temperature will lead to condensation of alcohol, and too high will reduce the efficiency of one of them.

In addition, the —the method of distilling the mash with a dry stew — is somewhat different from —standard distillation—.

How to make a dry steamer for a moonshine still at home

Source materials

  • two stainless steel hose fittings with 1/2 in. male thread. X 12;
  • stainless steel hose fitting with 1/2 inch female thread. X 12;
  • glass jar with thread for the lid;
  • 10 cm piece of high-quality silicone hose with a diameter of 12 mm;
  • FUM tape;
  • Locknut 1/2 in.

Step-by-step instruction

The design of a dry steamer for a moonshine still is very simple, and you don't need any drawings or diagrams to make it yourself. Simple actions are performed in the following sequence:


Alternative

Of course, a more reliable and durable version can be made from the canning lid, for this you need to weld two tubes, similar to the design of fittings.

Summarizing

When thinking about how to choose a moonshine still for a home with a dry steamer, it is important to take into account your experience of home brewing.

If it is not very large, you should not immediately take on a unit with several containers, since such a distillation requires experience and most likely N-th number of times, you will get not very good moonshine, which can discourage the desire for distillation in general.

In addition, additional sections can be added to an already finished structure at any time. If we compare it with a reflux condenser, then there are pros and cons.

The dephlegmator undoubtedly gives a product of a higher quality due to full-fledged rectification, but making it yourself is more difficult, and without welding and the ability to work with metal it will not work.

Plus, the nesting box makes it possible to flavor moonshine and protects the product from splashing, although nothing prevents them from being used together.

Thus, answering the question whether you need a dry steamer in a moonshine still, you can answer that if you want to drink high-quality moonshine, then this device is one of the best helpers.