The coil is a mandatory part moonshine still, designed for the condensation of alcohol vapors due to the removal of heat by water or air through the walls. Despite the complex definition, anyone can make a coil at home. Homemade option will work no worse than store counterparts. We will consider the theory and practice of manufacturing.
Coil parameters:
1. Material. The most important factor affecting the safety and taste of moonshine. The material of the coil should not react with alcohol or be toxic, but at the same time have sufficient thermal conductivity to condense the alcohol vapor.
Given the requirements, you can make a coil of copper, aluminum or stainless steel. suitable material glass is also, however, it is easier to buy a ready-made glass coil in a chemical store than to make something similar yourself.
Copper has the best thermal conductivity, but many moonshiners consider it a toxic material, in fact it is not. For example, for several centuries strong alcohol the French distill in alambicas - special copper distillers, and so far no one has been poisoned. In second place in terms of thermal conductivity is aluminum (1.6 times worse than copper), but it is relatively cheap, accessible and easy to process. Stainless steel coils are 3-4 times inferior to copper coils, moreover, the exact brand of stainless steel is not always known, and only food grade ones that withstand high temperature and do not react with alcohol.
Copper coils are the most efficient 2. Dimensions. The longer the tube, the more area contact of vapors with water (better cooling), but at the same time, the hydraulic resistance increases (the speed of the distillation decreases). The correct length of the coil in the moonshine still (the tube itself before curling) is 1.5-2 meters.
The larger the cross section (inner diameter) of the tube, the larger the contact area and the lower the resistance. I recommend using a tube with an internal diameter of 8-12 mm.
The small wall thickness of the coil increases thermal conductivity, improving condensation, but too thin tubes are difficult to process and operate, because they are very fragile. In addition, when two media come into contact, in our case, condensed alcohol and steam, the thermal conductivity drops sharply, regardless of the size and material of the wall. Optimal Thickness coil tubes - 0.9-1.1 mm.
3. Orientation in space. The coil can be positioned vertically, horizontally or obliquely. In home brewing, it is desirable to use a vertical connection scheme, in which the condensed distillate flows by gravity and does not create additional obstacles to the movement of steam.
Vertical coils are ascending (steam goes from bottom to top) and descending (from top to bottom). For minimum resistance, steam must be supplied from above.
4. Cooling system. The coils are cooled with water, ice and air. The last two options are less efficient and require complex structures, so we will not consider them further. Water cooling systems are open - they work on running water, and closed - the tank is immediately filled with the right amount of water. Design closed systems simpler, but they cool worse, often the moonshine turns out to be warm at the exit, and after a couple of hours of distillation, even hot.
In open systems, water circulation cools the coil much better, moonshine turns cold. In addition, in flow structures, a smaller water tank is used, as a result of which the apparatus is more compact.
Correctly supply water from below, and output from above. For normal cooling, water must move towards moonshine, otherwise Bottom part coil will not cool well. This scheme is called "countercurrent mode".
Coil Manufacturing Technology
You will need a copper, aluminum, brass or stainless steel tube 1.5-2 meters long, with a cross section of 8-12 mm and a wall thickness of 0.9-1.1 mm. In advance, I advise you to find a housing (reservoir) for installing the coil. The diameter of the pipe winding depends on the size of the body. For example, a plastic sewer pipe with a diameter of 75-80 mm is suitable. For effective cooling, the coil must occupy at least 15-20% of the volume of the tank.
The coil installed in the body is called the refrigerator of the moonshine still, the drawing is shown in the photo. 
Subsequence:
1. Fill the tube tightly with dry bulk material, for example, with river sand or soda, so that the metal does not flatten when curled. In extreme cases, you can fill the tube with water and freeze.
2. Stuff wooden chopsticks (pegs) onto the ends of the tube. Alternative option- solder or clamp tightly. It is desirable to weld a nut on one end.
3. Wind the tube around any smooth object with an even round section the desired diameter (in the example 35 mm) with a pitch between the turns of 12 mm.
4. Release the ends of the coil, pour out the sand, rinse with running water.
5. Install branch pipes for water inlet and outlet on the cooler body.
6. Place the coil in the housing, install plugs at the top and bottom, seal all connections with superglue or in another way.
Finished metal refrigerator Another craft (to order) from the series " crazy hands". This time - spiral coil (heat exchanger) made of stainless steel. I wanted to make it like this (long live Paint
Before manufacturing, I looked on the Internet who and how does such things. I was interested in a video on YouTube, in which the author winds a spiral heat exchanger coil on a two-inch pipe using a machine:
I don’t have a machine, so I decided to wind the heat exchanger coil from the same tube as in the video, but manually.
A stainless steel tube with an outer diameter of 10mm and a wall thickness of 1mm was found. Almost four meters long. I decided to wind it in the same way as in the video above - on a two-inch pipe (it was available).
Small digression.
As for me, winding on a two-inch - perfect option for the do-it-yourselfer. Now I will explain why. Coil cooling was planned to be implemented by running water. This means that a cylindrical casing will be needed, inside which there will be a coil. For better heat transfer the casing must be selected in such a way that between the turns of the spiral and the wall of the casing there is room for the flow of water (and not just in the center of the spiral winding).
Because with such a winding of the coil - the outer diameter of the coil turns will come out in the region of 80-85mm (pipe-base for winding = 60mm, the thickness of two turns = 2 * 10mm = 20mm, plus a few millimeters will be added due to a slight reverse expansion of the coils), then hands immediately itching to use a ready-made 110mm plumbing pipe as a heat exchanger casing.
Now, as for the preparation for winding.
1) While the stainless tube is still intact and even, it must be cleaned from the inside. Yes Yes. Despite the fact that with outside the pipe is clean and smooth - everything inside it can be much worse. What are we doing? We take a thick steel wire (I had a diameter of 3 mm) and long enough (at a minimum - a little more than half the length of the stainless tube, then you have to clean it from both sides). At the end of the wire, we tightly fasten a wet rag (more precisely, a ribbon), and so that it does not rip off, we grab the fabric with a thin copper wire. We dip this impromptu “kwach” into fine sifted sand (more about it later) and either push the wire with the kwach at the end along the tube, or we drag it (depending on the thickness and length of the wire) after the wire. We take out the kvach - we look at it, we are horrified and repeat the operation until our quality control department accepts the internal purity of the tube.
Important! The tube must be cleaned before winding. After winding, this will not be possible.
Important!! Kvach to wind securely, tk. if it breaks off the wire, you can get a new quest called “Ma-a-a-a-l-a-dets! Now get that crap out of the tube." Use strong wire.
Important!!! It is NOT NECESSARY to wet or rinse the stainless tube with water from the inside! Because further according to the plan, filling the pipe with sand.
2) Sand. The sand needs to be dry and sifted. It is needed for stuffing the coil tube. As well as in the video with the machine - we cut out the chopsticks from the wood, tightly hammer one chopik into the tube and with the help of a funnel portionwise pour sand into the vertically standing tube along with tapping on the tube from the bottom up. After the tube is tightly packed with sifted sand, the second chop is clogged. The tube is ready for winding.
Important! Sand is needed to protect the tube from crushing the walls during the winding process. Poor/uneven sand packing - most likely will lead to improper deformation (collapse of the walls) of the tube during winding.
Winding.
There are two (basic) ways to wind the heat exchanger manually from a stainless tube.
The first method - we fix the impromptu shaft (pipe 2 ″) horizontally and turn it, thereby winding a stainless tube with sand around it.
The second method - we fix the shaft rigidly vertically and wind a stainless tube around it, moving with the tube in a circle.
Because with a four-meter tube you can’t turn around much, then the first option was chosen. And since lathe no - then on an impromptu workbench, plain bearings for a two-inch pipe were hammered together from wood:
Important! The upper height limiter (in the figure, a bar with the inscription tree) for such bearings should be equal to the diameter of the shaft (pipe 2 ″) + one diameter of the wound tube (10mm).
Because on the shaft there was a perpendicular previously cut 3/4 ″ decoction - then by inserting a suitable armature into it, I got a lever for turning the shaft.
Important! For proper winding, it is necessary to correctly fix the tube on the shaft. You can, as in the video (see above), weld a bored nut, insert a stainless tube through the nut, bend the tube at 90 degrees and start winding. I didn’t want to get involved with welding (at that time) - therefore, in the shaft itself (pipe 2 ″), two holes were drilled through the edge through which a U-shaped metal loop with a twist on the reverse side, which fixed the end of the tube. For additional rigidity, I wound the beginning of the tube with a thick wire to the shaft.
Further, slowly, in four hands (one holds the tube, the other scrolls the shaft with a lever), winding is carried out, after winding, the chopsticks are removed, sand is poured out, an extra piece of the tube is sawn off and we get this one spiral heat exchanger(the quality of the photo is disgusting, because it was taken on quick hand and telephone):
As for me, very, very good, for the first time, the result of making a coil with your own hands. Even in the hands of a pleasure to take. However, in order for the heat transfer process to be more efficient, the coils of the coil must be carefully moved apart (so that water also circulates between them). To do this, I had to cut about twenty wedges of dense wood (pine is not suitable) and with the help of a hammer, gradually driving in wedges from different sides of the spiral, push the turns of a home-made heat exchanger apart.
Important! At the very beginning, the coils noticeably resist the wedges, so take care of your fingers and nails.
Important!! It is better to push the coils apart in several passes, gradually increasing the distance between the coils and constantly monitoring that the coil itself would not be taken to the side:
After all these manipulations, we get this beauty (duct tape for scale):
This beauty took three meters of stainless tube. Now it was necessary to make the heat exchanger casing.
Heat exchanger shell.
As it was written earlier, it was planned to use a gray plumbing pipe with a diameter of 110 mm under the casing. Therefore, the following components were purchased: 0.5 meters of a 110mm plumbing pipe, an adapter for a 110mm pipe, two plugs for the same pipe, two 3/8 ″ fittings, a meter stud with an 8mm thread. The coupling adapter is needed because the 110mm pipe has different diameter at the ends and plugs can only be installed on one side. True, there is a bonus - the casing becomes collapsible.
Seals.
If the fitting has a threaded part with a nut, thanks to which it can be fixed in the casing body through rubber seals, then the stainless coil tube must somehow be passed through the casing plastic, and even so that water does not leak. For these purposes, I had to make a tricky home-made rubber seal (2 pieces) (see picture) with a groove for plastic.
With sharpened tube large diameter I cut out two cylindrical seals from thick sheet rubber (thickness about 14mm). Then, using a smaller tube (d< 10мм) в каждом уплотнении были сделаны центральные отверстия (на рисунке через них проходит штрихпунктирная линия). Затем уплотнения были насажены на подходящий болт, болт был зажат в дрель и при помощи обломка квадратного надфиля на резиновых уплотнениях были проточены (проточены, громко сказано, скорее, протёрты) канавки под пластик:
Important! Hole in plastic cover plumbing pipe was drilled with such an eye that the rubber seal in the plastic was inserted very tightly. Thus, after insertion, the central hole (which was already made with a diameter slightly less than 10 mm) was additionally crimped. When inserting the coil tube, the rubber is sandwiched between the coil tube and the plastic hole, thereby sealing the joint. No additional sealants (silicone, etc.) were used.
Casing assembly.
We insert the seals into the holes in the covers of the plumbing pipe. In the same covers, we insert fittings for supplying and discharging cooling water. Under the fitting nuts there is a rubber seal for sealing. Further, all rubber seals of the 110th plumbing pipe and couplings are smeared with soap for ease of assembly. Then a pipe is inserted into the coupling, a coil is inserted into the pipe, on both ends of which plumbing pipe covers are put on (yes, with the same home-made seals). Then, moving the covers along the ends of the coil, we insert the covers into the pipe and the coupling. For reliability, I sawed a meter-long stud into two parts and already pulled the entire structure with nuts with these half-meter studs.
Here's what happened in the end: general form — top part photo, heat exchanger outlet - lower left part of the photo, heat exchanger inlet - lower right part of the photo):
The test run showed that the heat exchanger works successfully. Heat transfer is great. The water flow can be set to a minimum. It seems that with strong sealing, you can not bother much. Since water enters the casing and exits through fittings of the same diameter, the water pressure inside the casing should be minimal.
Mon. Alcohol and its solutions, regardless of concentration and quantity, cause great damage to the body. I do not use and do not recommend to others. The coil was going to order.
PPN. There are (on the Internet) other ways to seal the joints of the coil tube and plumbing pipe - for example, using epoxy, but then the heat exchanger casing becomes non-separable.
During construction, repair and installation work pipes are used for laying sewers, gas pipelines, water pipes, ventilation, sewerage, etc. Depending on the place of operation, pipes from different materials, different thickness, diameter and length. In this case, it is not always possible to use a knee or adapters. In such cases, you have to bend the pipe, as a result, it can be damaged or even ruined. Because material like stainless steel has sufficient strength, has a long service life and is not affected by moisture, it is often used during installation work. Therefore, in this article we will analyze how to bend a stainless steel pipe.
The process of bending metal products can be divided into two types. Temperature, when the workpiece or part of it is heated or cooled, followed by bending. Mechanical, when the workpiece is affected with a certain force, using special devices or bending it manually. It is worth noting that stainless steel is a relatively technological material and there are usually no difficulties during operation.
Stainless steel pipes must not be bent with preheating (eg gas burner or blowtorch).
Bending as a negative factor
Pipe bending is negative factor For performance characteristics. There are various disadvantages depending on the material, bending angle, bending device and method, internal diameter and thickness of the material. Negative consequences include:
- change in the bending radius during operation under the influence of thermal expansion or contraction and mechanical stress, as a result of which a springy effect is observed;
- reducing the thickness of the outer wall at the bend;
- the appearance of sharp kinks or folds in the form of an accordion on the inner wall of the bend;
- ovalization - a change in the shape of the pipe and the appearance of an oval lumen;
- increase the impact of corrosion on the inner and outer wall of the bend.
When the substance passes through the inner cavity of the pipe special pressure falls on the outer wall, therefore, when installing in places with the flow of liquids on high pressures it is recommended to use an elbow, thicker-walled pipe or pipe. The resulting ovalization also negatively affects the pipes during the rapid movement of the fluid flow. In such places, there is a narrowing along one axis and expansion along the other, which, in turn, also increases the pressure on the outer wall of the bend. You also need to take into account ovalization when laying pipes in narrow places, since its width increases at the bend.
There are two ways to prevent ovalization and maintain a round shape during cold bending. First, support the walls from the inside using an internal stop. Second, to support the walls both from the inside and outside, using an internal and external limiter. Sand, rubber, water, resins or fusible materials carefully compacted into the pipe can serve as an internal limiter. The main thing is to securely close the openings of the pipe so that when the pressure increases during bending, the filler does not fall out. If possible, it is recommended to seal the pipe openings tightly.
When using the second method, the integrity indicators are slightly higher, but this requires special mechanical elements or tanks, which are usually used in industrial production pipes. If you apply a more rigid and solid internal filling, more round form lumen, so they are used more often. But when using elastic fillers, outer side less stretchable.
Bending methods
In production where stainless steel pipes have to be bent, cold bending is usually used because of the higher cost-effectiveness, and in cases where hot bending is required, it is often more profitable to simply immediately pour the desired shape. Therefore, cold bending methods are given below, especially since most technologies do not differ much from the hot method.
Bending with two supports
The workpiece is placed between two supports in such a way that the first support holds, and the second is the carrier. When exposed to a screw or hydraulic press or a jack, then the second support is bent. In this way, pipes with a diameter of up to 350 millimeters can be bent. The equipment is quite simple and can be used directly at the installation site.
rolling
This method is used when you need to get a ring or a spiral from a pipe of small diameter. The workpiece with the help of mechanical fasteners and a pusher moves through the rotating rollers, after which it acquires the necessary curvature.
Bending by rolling
In this case, the workpiece is fixed and rolled out in certain places with the help of special balls. A similar process can occur both from the outside - wrapping, and from the inside - rolling. As a result, the pipe acquires a triangular shape with rounded edges.
Winding bending
This method has been widely used in industrial production due to relative simplicity with low energy consumption and high-quality output. In this case, it is used internal filling, most often it is a metal rope with a diameter smaller by 0.1–0.5 mm than the inner diameter of the workpiece. The rope, when bent, can leave a mark on the inner surface of the pipe, therefore, cables made of thin woven metal fibers of non-hard metal grades are used. Also when applying this method a lubricant is required between the rope and the inner surface, which is usually machine oil or an anti-corrosion soap emulsion. It is possible to bend pipes with a diameter of 10 to 425 millimeters in different planes. Therefore, when large diameters the cable is not used, and, if possible, is replaced by a loose or liquid substance.
Bending with rolling
The method consists in the fact that a rolling roller moves around a roller or support of the required dimensions, a workpiece lies between them and a bend is obtained. In a similar way, you can work with pipes with a diameter of up to 150 millimeters with thick walls.
There are special technical devices that allow you to bend copper pipe
The need to bend a copper tube arises at the time of construction and installation work related to the arrangement of a warm floor, sewerage or water supply. The choice in favor of this material is due to its wear resistance and versatility. Even with long-term operation, copper is practically not subject to corrosion. At the design stage of the system, all pipe bends are taken into account. This will allow you to complete the installation with jewelry accuracy. The less "congestion" is formed on the path of the fluid, the higher the efficiency of the system.
Builders are advised not to neglect the safety rules. All work is carried out in a well ventilated area or outdoors. The easiest way to bend a copper tube is to use a spring to bend it. The latter must be made of high quality steel. Its vein is characterized by maximum thickness and frequent turns.
When bending a copper pipe, you should not forget about safety precautions Before starting work, you need to make sure that the spring used passes freely through the bendable tube. It is better when the spring and tube are about the same size.
The further procedure is as follows:
- Before starting manipulations, it is necessary to make sure that the spring can be easily removed from the pipe;
- Preheating of the workpiece is carried out using gas burner or blowtorch;
- The thermal effect continues until the tube becomes easy to bend.
- After that, they give it the desired shape with their own hands.
- The work is completed by placing the product in a cold environment for cooling.
At the last stage, beginners make a common mistake. You cannot remove the spring from hot pipe otherwise it will be deformed. You have to wait until it cools down.
Universal way with sand
It happens that there are no pipes at hand and construction equipment. In this case, at home, you can use the sand. Before starting work, you need to pay attention to physical properties sand and the pipe itself. It is enough to make even a slight mistake so that the copper tube acquires irregular shape. The first thing to find is bearing surface that can withstand the load. The second place in the list of necessary things is given to 2 pieces of durable wood.
Once everything is assembled, you can start work:
- For work, only sifted river sand without foreign inclusions;
- Fractions should be as small as possible;
- Tube bending sand must be dry;
- One end of the tube is closed with a stopper made from a piece of wood;
- Sand is poured into the cavity;
- During this procedure, the tubes need to be shaken slightly so that the sand is evenly distributed;
- As soon as all the internal space has been filled, the second end is plugged with a cork;
- The tube is slightly heated and then bent;
- The reference surface is called upon to simplify the task.
Before bending a copper pipe, you should first watch the training video As soon as the pipe gives in, the heating is immediately stopped. Once everything is completed, the pipes are laid in cold water. After that, both plugs are removed. The sand spills out.
When to Use a Pipe Bender
It happens that the spring and sand cannot cope with the task. In this case, heavy artillery is used. A device that saves time is called a pipe bender. The mobile unit changes the shape of the pipe, based on the parameters set by the person.
The whole process comes down to fixing one end of the tube and manipulating the other. The main thing is that the fold point is correctly fixed.
Before you get started, you need to choose the right tool. Allocate lever and hydraulic pipe benders.
Their characteristics are as follows:
- Manual, or lever - its design includes 2 levers, a bending shoe and a template. Marks are applied on the surface of the lever, on the basis of which the required angle is set. The tube is fixed in the bracket so that the zero marks are aligned. The limiting angle for bending is 180 degrees.
- Hydraulic - refer to professional equipment. They will cope with the work several times faster than their manual counterparts.
Pipe bender is quite expensive The use of a pipe bender is justified when we are talking about a significant amount of work. Mobile device optimizes time costs under the condition right choice. Hand type suitable for household needs, and hydraulic - for industrial.
Spiral bending at home
For beginners, it can be difficult to bend a brass or copper tube into a spiral. To solve the problem, you need a rubber mallet and 2 supports. Sand or, less desirable, ice is poured inside. The tube is placed with 2 ends on the support points. After that, the fold point is gradually heated. As soon as the material began to give in, a mallet is taken into the hands. With its help, you need to bend the pipe. Each action must be as balanced as possible, otherwise the material will simply crack.
After bending, the pipe becomes more compact and practical
The following tips can help reduce the chance of errors:
- If the tube is too hard, it should be fired a little to make it more flexible;
- As soon as it has cooled down, the filler is poured into it, after which it is easier to bend it at the required angle;
- The use of a cylindrical support will give the product an even shape.
Laying sewerage or water supply requires heightened attention to the quality of the pipes used. You can give them the necessary shape yourself or with the help of hydraulic equipment. Regardless of the choice, you need to be extremely careful. The surface of the pipe must not be exposed to excessive heat. Do not hit it hard, otherwise the pipe will simply crack at the bend point.
With a strong desire and in the absence of the necessary improvised materials, a system for turning mash into moonshine can be built without a coil. However, it is useless to expect more or less normal performance and acceptable quality of the resulting drink from such a device. Good moonshine is obtained only when alcohol vapor passes through a condenser with the correct organized system cooling. In this case, the material for the manufacture of the moonshine still coil, the diameter of the tube, size, wall thickness, and the location of the refrigerator in space are of importance.
What's better? buy a ready-to-use distiller or try to assemble it yourself? The first option is more reliable and easier, the second? more profitable. In addition, in practice, the manufacture of a coil (condenser) for moonshine is not as difficult as it looks in theory.
Geometric dimensions
Length, diameter, thickness of the tube? parameters that primarily affect the rate of condensate formation and distillation of an alcohol-containing liquid. The larger the area of contact of the vapors with the cooling surface, the faster the process proceeds. The thinner the walls of the coil, the higher its thermal conductivity and, consequently, the higher the condensing capacity.
So, it is better to choose a larger length and diameter (internal section) of the tube, but what about the wall thickness? slightly less. However, such a decision will not be entirely correct. A tube that is too long will increase the flow resistance in the vapor path, causing the transfer rate to automatically slow down.
To achieve optimal balance, it is recommended to make a coil from a tube 1.5-2 m long. This means that this should be its size before curling, and not the length of the finished coil. Optimal dimensions of the internal diameter of the capacitor? 8-12 mm.
Thin walls. On the one side? ok, on the other hand? Not good. The fact is that during the curling process they are easy to damage, and the life of a fragile structure is shorter. In addition, the thermal conductivity of a coil with thin walls at the moment of contact between two media (steam and condensate) drops sharply, regardless of the diameter of the tube and the material of its manufacture.
What, in this case, should be the wall thickness of the moonshine cooler? The most suitable size is 0.9-1.1 mm, no more and no less.
Production material
Important characteristics of the material for the manufacture of the coil? good thermal conductivity, non-toxic composition, no reaction when in contact with alcohol vapor. These requirements are met by copper, aluminum, brass, food grade stainless steel, silver, glass. The degree of thermal conductivity most often 
used metals and alloys in decreasing order:
- silver? 429 W/(m K);
- copper? 382-390 W/(m K);
- aluminum? 202-236 W/(m K);
- brass? 97-110 W/(m K);
- stainless steel? 20 W/(m K).
Stainless steel for the manufacture of the coil is not suitable for any, but only for food. In addition, during processing, welding, the composition of the alloy changes and it is not known how after that the metal will react to contact with aggressive environment, which is an alcohol-containing liquid.
Aluminum tubes are also a good option, but they are inferior to copper and brass tubes in terms of service life. Silver? metal is expensive. It is not advisable to use it in the manufacture of a home-made distiller.
Thus, it is most practical to make a coil for a moonshine still made of copper. This material is not difficult to obtain, it has a sufficiently high thermal conductivity, is easy to process, and does not emit toxins when in contact with alcohol.
Glass? the material is non-toxic, with sufficient thermal conductivity, 1-1.15 W / (m? K). But at home, it is not possible to make a coil out of it. Therefore, a glass capacitor is best and easiest to buy at a laboratory equipment store.
Location in the scheme
Depending on the model and configuration of the moonshine still, the refrigerator can be located in general scheme horizontally, vertically or obliquely. The most rational option for home brewing? vertical connection of the capacitor. In this case, the liquid flows down the tube by gravity, without interfering with the movement of steam.
Let us clarify that vertical coolers are ascending and descending. It is more practical to use a descending system in which steam enters the refrigerator from above. In ascending 
In the coils, the vapors of the distilled distillate are fed from the bottom up, which creates additional resistance to the movement of condensate.
Cooling system
During the operation of the moonshine still, the coil must be constantly cooled. Cooling can be air, but in this case it will be necessary to make complex structure with a cooler, fan, etc. You can use ice or snow as a cooler, which also requires additional effort and material costs in the manufacture of the coil cooling system. In addition, get a large number of ice or snow is not always possible.
The easiest way is to cool the coil with water. It should be noted that water cooling systems are closed and open. In an open system, water circulates constantly, in a closed system, cooling is carried out by a certain amount of water, which is poured into the tank before the moonshine is distilled.
Advantage of closed systems? simple design. But at the same time, the tank needs to be made sufficiently large in volume. In addition, water in contact with the warm walls of the coil quickly heats up, so that after a short time the distillation of the distillate has to be stopped.
Open cooling systems are more convenient to use. Firstly, do they cool a coil of any material and any diameter much more efficiently? the output of the distillate will always be cold. Secondly, the refrigerator body with open system cooling can be made compact, which makes the assembly, operation and storage of the unit more comfortable.
An indispensable condition for the organization of a water cooling system for the condenser of a moonshine still? countercurrent mode or reflux refrigeration. This means that the water in vertical tank must enter from below and exit from above. In order for the cooling to be uniform, the water flow must be directed towards the movement of the distillate through the coil tube.
Manufacturing technology
The dimensions, material, diameter of the coil tube were mentioned above. Now you need to decide how to make a case for the refrigerator of the moonshine still.
Best used under a tank sewer pipes from plastic, metal-plastic. They are easy to get, easy 
process, install fittings for water inlet / outlet, provide connection through adapters with alembic or dryer. Optimal size sections of such a pipe? 75-80 mm.
The sequence of manufacturing a moonshine cooler:
- The cavity of the tube for the coil is filled with any bulk material so that the metal does not flatten during the curling process.
- The ends of the tube are clamped, soldered or plugged with wooden pegs.
- Gently wind the tube around any hard object cylindrical shape with a cross section of 35 mm. Spacing between coils? approximately 12 mm.
- The spirally wound tube is freed from the filler, washed with water.
- 2 holes are cut out on the cooler body, a branch pipe (fitting) is installed in them for supplying and draining water. Holes for fittings should be located at the level of the spiral part of the coil.
- The coil is installed inside the body, in 2-3 places the tube is attached to the inner surface of the walls with superglue.
- The ends of the body are covered with round sheets of tin and glued around the perimeter with the same superglue. The remaining voids are filled with paper.
- The sealing of the ends of the refrigerator, the places of connection to the body of the fittings are sealed epoxy resin with silver.
After a day (compound hardening time), a home-made condenser with a flow-through cooling system will be ready for use. The productivity of a refrigerator of this design, depending on the heating power, is on average 3-4 liters of distillate per hour.