Oak barrels. How to clean a moonshine still made of aluminum, copper and stainless steel Cleaning a distiller from scale with oxalic acid

Over time, especially with constant use, your moonshine or column may lose some of its presentation. In addition, internal contamination of the apparatus negatively affects the quality of the manufactured product. Therefore, the equipment for home brewing needs to be cleaned periodically. Each device usually comes with an instruction manual, which reflects the main aspects of device maintenance, but there are many tools that can help you return the equipment to its attractive appearance and perfect internal cleanliness.

Most often, questions about cleaning equipment arise from owners of copper alambiks, alkitar and other devices... We will answer them first of all.

In order for your copper apparatus to retain its unique qualities for many years, it is necessary to distill the water before the very first distillation. This will get rid of various impurities that may have remained from the production process.

If used infrequently, the device must be thoroughly cleaned before each storage. A mixture of pure water and rye flour is suitable for this (flour should be 5% of the amount of water). This mixture must be distilled in a proportion of 50% of the total capacity of the cube. Before distilling, it is important to ensure that the apparatus's swan neck and coil are not clogged. After installing the helmet of the machine, seal all joints using rye flour dough or fum tape.

With frequent use of alambic, alcitara or other copper device, such cleaning is not necessary, it is quite enough to periodically distill the water.

To clean the outside of the device, you can use traditional methods: steel wool, water and natural soap. After that, the surface can be treated with polishing pastes, for example, building chalk dissolved in clean water.

However, the most convenient for cleaning any copper equipment, as well as kitchen equipment, is the Glasrens special copper cleaner. It is suitable for all kinds of home brewing, fermentation, distillation equipment. Restores the brightness of copper products without the need for additional polishing and perfectly cleans containers without leaving streaks, without the risk of scratching the surface of the device. This tool is absolutely safe and very easy to use.

In addition to the above methods for cleaning copper brewing equipment, there are many traditional methods.

On the Internet, you may come across other methods of cleaning copper equipment for moonshine, but it is still better to use the proven tools described at the beginning of the manual.

Now let's turn to moonshine stills and rectification columns not made of copper. For these, there are both general cleaning recommendations and separate recipes for specific metals.

• when using for the first time, thoroughly rinse the device with running water, or better, carry out a short-term distillation of water (5-10 minutes);
• after each use, rinse the drawer, distillation cube and all components of the structure with running water, and then dry the apparatus.

At the same time, there are different cleaning methods for distillation stills made of different materials.

As a distillation cube for a moonshine still, stainless steel containers are most often used, such as barrels, cans or pressure cookers... It is the most durable and safe material with a long service life and is completely easy to maintain. Here are some tips for cleaning stainless steel appliances:

• Clean the surface of the apparatus with a solution of lemon juice in a ratio of 1 tbsp. in a glass of water, paying particular attention to stubborn dirt. Then rinse with running water and wipe dry.
• To cleanse the cube of burnt-on residues of mash, sprinkle the dirty parts of the container with salt or grated activated carbon and leave for 15-20 minutes. Then rinse with running water and rub with diluted lemon juice (see above).
• You can wash the containers with water mixed with mustard powder and soda.
• Also, stainless steel products can be wiped with vinegar, and then be sure to rinse them with water.

It is important to remember that for cleaning moonshine stills and rectification columns made of stainless steel, do not use metal brushes and washcloths or abrasive pastes, as they can scratch the product and spoil its appearance.

Cases of using aluminum flasks as a distillation cube are no less frequent. It is an inexpensive, fairly strong and lightweight metal, which at the same time has good thermal conductivity. However, it also needs periodic cleaning:

• Aluminum containers cannot be cleaned with acid and alkaline compounds - the metal reacts with them. Best suited for these purposes are water with the addition of detergents for glass and porcelain dishes, soapy water, a solution of baking soda with the addition of ammonia. After cleaning with any of the listed products, it is necessary to rinse the vessel with running water.
• It is not recommended to clean aluminum products with hard products, which include sand or emery powder, as well as metal scourers.
• You can get rid of blackness on the surface of aluminum by wiping the darkened areas with diluted table vinegar or a 5-10% solution of baking soda, after which you must immediately rinse the dishes with water.
• Polishing the metal with white clay pastes (for example, silica sol) applied to a leather pad will help to give the aluminum container a shine.

In addition to all the above methods, for cleaning distillers and distillation columns, it is necessary to periodically run water or alcohol on the apparatus, rinsing all parts of the apparatus.

Remember to clean your brewing equipment in time, and it will last you much longer, helping you to get a high quality natural product.

All characteristics of the resulting product depend on the quality of operation of the moonshine still: its purity, strength and appearance. It is not enough to purchase high-quality equipment for making moonshine, because every moonshine still needs cleaning over time. How to clean a moonshine still? This issue is quite serious, since any equipment, including a moonshine still, needs proper cleaning.

General rules

Any moonshine still or a column from the manufacturer is accompanied by an instruction in which the rules for operating the equipment are clearly spelled out. Yet most of the effective methods for cleaning a moonshine maker are not mentioned by manufacturers.

Alcohol mashine

Often, cleaning a moonshine still puzzles owners of alambiks and alkitars made of copper. You should take care of the correct cleaning of the moonshine still before using it for the first time.

1. Fill a new apparatus with distilled water only. The distillation procedure will allow you to clear the liquid from impurities that can affect not only the characteristics of the moonshine, but also the operation of the moonshine still.
2. If the device for distilling moonshine is rarely used, then it should be cleaned after each use. For this purpose, you can use a mixture of distilled water and rye flour, and the volume of flour should not exceed 5% of the amount of water. The resulting liquid is distilled through the apparatus, but so that the distillation volume does not exceed 50% of the cube volume. Before such cleaning, make sure that the coil and swan neck are completely cleaned.
3. If the apparatus is used frequently, then for its cleaning it is enough to distill distilled water from time to time.
4. There are also some popular methods of caring for a moonshine still. For example, you can take a glass of water, 2 teaspoons of citric acid, and a sponge. It is necessary to prepare a solution from water and acid, fill a cube with it and wipe it from the inside with a washcloth. This solution is also suitable for cleaning a helmet. The coil is plugged in its lower part, filled with a solution and left in the cavity of the coil for 10-15 minutes.
5. Some distillers prefer an extraordinary way of cleaning a copper moonshine still, using ketchup for this purpose. Certain components of this food are believed to be effective in removing impurities and oxides from copper. The essence of the cleaning method is that the oxidized copper is covered with a thin layer of ketchup, left for several minutes, and then thoroughly washed off.
6. Copper can also be cleaned with a special cleaner called Glasrens [AM1]. This product is used in cleaning any household equipment for distilling, brewing beer and other alcohol. Glasrens [AM1] should be used according to the instructions.

It should be noted that a moonshine still (rectification column) can be made not only of copper, but also of other materials, for example, stainless steel or aluminum. Such equipment, like copper devices, needs cleaning, which is carried out even before the first operation. To clean a new apparatus, there is such a method as ten-minute distillation of distilled water through the apparatus.

The list of universal methods for cleaning stainless steel apparatus and columns is as follows:

1. Cleaning the surface of the machine: rinse the surface of the steel equipment with lemon juice diluted with water and the machine will look like new.
2. Burnt remnants of the mash often accumulate in the cube, which can be easily disposed of. To do this, sprinkle with salt (you can take crushed activated carbon tablets) and leave it for 15 minutes. After that, the cube should be rinsed with water and treated with lemon juice.
3. A mixture of mustard powder and baking soda is also suitable for cleaning containers.
4. Stainless steel containers are also allowed to be cleaned with vinegar, but after such a procedure they should be thoroughly rinsed with water.

Often, distillers use aluminum flasks instead of a cube for distillation. Aluminum, in particular, products made from it, have an affordable price and excellent wear resistance. To keep the aluminum cube in perfect condition for a long time, you should take care of its cleaning.

How to rinse an aluminum cube:

1. To make the metal shine, you can polish it with a paste containing white clay as a base.
2. To remove black deposits from aluminum, you can use a solution of vinegar and drinking water.
3. You can dilute a few drops of dishwashing gel in a glass of water and thoroughly wash the cube with this solution.

What shouldn't be done?

For cleaning moonshine stills, and regardless of the type of material from which they are made, you can not use any toxic solutions. If their remains remain inside the containers, they will end up in the moonshine, so the resulting product will become dangerous to human health!

If the device is made of aluminum, do not use any pastes containing abrasives to clean it, as they severely scratch the metal surface. Metal scourers (brushes) are also not suitable for cleaning an aluminum cube. Alkaline agents also cannot be used for the purpose of cleaning aluminum, since the metal can react with them and become unusable.

Regular cleaning of your home-brewed alcohol equipment will help extend its life and save you the money you would normally spend on new moonshine brewers.

The taste of home-made moonshine depends not only on the technical characteristics of the distiller, but also on the quality of its care. Every person engaged in the distillation of moonshine should be familiar with the rules for high-quality cleaning of moonshine equipment using improvised means. How to clean a copper, aluminum and steel moonshine still?

Any distiller has an operation manual, and this document contains all the rules for the care of the equipment. If you read the instructions, you can understand that each model of such equipment requires washing before the first use. Before use, distilled water must be run through the equipment, after which the unit can be used for its intended purpose.

With distilled water, you need to wash the moonshine still, which is used often. If the equipment is used relatively rarely, then it must be cleaned after each use with coarse flour and water. To prepare the cleaning agent, take 20 grams of flour per liter of water. The solution is filled with no more than 50% of the volume of the distillation still. The mixture is run once through the still after thorough cleaning of the coil.

The scheme of the moonshine still

Cleaning depending on the material of the machine

When choosing the means and methods for cleaning a home distiller, first of all, they pay attention to the metal from which the necessary parts of the unit are made. If it is made of copper, then it is cleaned with the following means:

1. At a specialized outlet, a chemical agent is purchased for cleaning copper surfaces. An example of such a product is the Glasrens detergent. It is used according to the instructions.
2. A weakly concentrated citric acid solution perfectly removes dirt from a copper surface. To obtain it, you need to take a glass of boiled water and dissolve three teaspoons of acid in it. The solution is impregnated with a fabric and treated with soiled areas. After 20 minutes, the device is washed with clean water.
3. Coca-Cola drink, which is used to wipe the apparatus, cleans copper qualitatively.

Copper cubes are expensive, so they are rarely found in the homes of distillers.

Aluminum moonshine stills are self-made units consisting of a milk tank and other necessary aluminum parts. This metal needs special care, the rules of which must be taken into account when cleaning a homemade distiller:

1. Mix glass cleaner and baking soda in equal parts. The mixture is applied to a sponge and thoroughly wiped off the dirt. After the device is washed with clean water.
2. You can wash the device with a solution prepared from a teaspoon of soda and a glass of water.

The device, made of stainless steel, will allow you to wash the salt solution and activated carbon tablets. Ingredients are taken one piece at a time and poured into a glass of water. The resulting solution is used to clean the contaminated parts of the unit.

Abrasive-free toothpaste will help restore shine to any stainless steel product. To clean the distiller, take a soft toothbrush, put some toothpaste on it, and gently clean the distiller. After that, the paste is thoroughly washed off with running water.

On average, any moonshine still needs to be cleaned with special products once every four uses.

Forbidden tricks

Even the strongest and highest quality metal from which the distiller is made can be damaged by cleaning with metal sponges, aggressive chemicals and abrasive powders.

Under no circumstances should a device intended for the production of alcohol be cleaned with toxic substances. The remnants of such detergents can penetrate into the brewed moonshine and turn it into poison.

Making moonshine and alcohol for personal use
absolutely legal!

After the end of the existence of the USSR, the new government stopped the fight against moonshine. Criminal liability and fines were abolished, and an article banning the production of alcohol-containing products at home was removed from the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. To this day, there is not a single law prohibiting us from engaging in our favorite hobby - making alcohol at home. This is evidenced by the Federal Law of July 8, 1999 No. 143-FZ "On the administrative responsibility of legal entities (organizations) and individual entrepreneurs for offenses in the production and circulation of ethyl alcohol, alcoholic and alcohol-containing products" (Collected Legislation of the Russian Federation, 1999, No. 28 , art. 3476).

Excerpt from the Federal Law of the Russian Federation:

"This Federal Law does not apply to the activities of citizens (individuals) who produce products containing ethyl alcohol not for the purpose of marketing."

Home brewing in other countries:

In Kazakhstan in accordance with the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Administrative Offenses of January 30, 2001 N 155, the following liability is provided. So, according to article 335 "Manufacture and sale of home-made alcoholic beverages", the illegal manufacture for the sale of moonshine, chacha, mulberry vodka, home brew and other alcoholic beverages, as well as the sale of these alcoholic beverages, entails a fine in the amount of thirty monthly calculation indices with the confiscation of alcoholic beverages , devices, raw materials and equipment for their manufacture, as well as money and other valuables received from their sale. However, the law does not prohibit the preparation of alcohol for personal use.

In Ukraine and Belarus things are different. Articles No. 176 and No. 177 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Ukraine provide for the imposition of fines in the amount of three to ten tax-free minimum wages for the manufacture and storage of moonshine without the purpose of sale, for storage without the purpose of selling devices * for its production.

Article 12.43 repeats this information practically word for word. "Making or purchasing strong alcoholic beverages (moonshine), semi-finished products for their manufacture (mash), storage of apparatus for their manufacture" in the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offenses. Clause No. 1 informs: "The production of strong alcoholic beverages (moonshine) by individuals, semi-finished products for their production (mash), as well as the storage of devices * used for their manufacture, - entail a warning or a fine of up to five basic units with the confiscation of the specified drinks, semi-finished products and apparatus ".

* It is still possible to purchase moonshine stills for home use, since their second purpose is to distill water and obtain components for natural cosmetics and perfumery.

Any device will work well for a long time only if it is properly looked after. Domestic distillers are no exception. You can get a quality product without foreign smells and tastes only if you wash the apparatus after each distillation.

It is not difficult to clean a distiller, because there are many simple ways and interesting tricks.

How can a distiller be cleaned after distillation

The apparatus must be washed after each distillation. If you get distilled water with it, then it is possible less often, but you should not delay.

The traditional old-fashioned method, which has been used for hundreds of years, is universal. Rye flour is diluted in water in a percentage ratio of 1:20. Fill the cube to half the volume, and then distill it. It will help get rid of unpleasant odors and sediment. This method has been happening since the first distilleries, only for cleaning then they used not flour, but stillage - waste that is obtained in the manufacture of mash from grain.

You can clean a copper distiller with the tools at hand that are in every kitchen. Add 2 teaspoons of citric acid to a glass of water, stir thoroughly. The sponge is moistened in the mixture and the walls of the apparatus are wiped. The tubes are plugged and filled with it for 10-15 minutes.

Burnt-on mash residues can be removed with salt. It is poured onto dirty areas and left for half an hour, after which it is washed off.

To clean the distiller, solutions of vinegar, soda are also used (as is done when cleaning kettles), as well as dishwashing detergents. After that, the container must be rinsed to remove residues.

Aluminum cubes must not be cleaned with products containing alkali. The dark plaque can be easily removed from it, but it is worth remembering that it does not harm. On the contrary: this film provides additional protection for the device.

How to descale a distiller

Scale - salt deposits that form on the surface when water evaporates. In addition to purely "cosmetic", it can create real problems. This is due to the fact that the deposited layer does not conduct energy well, as a result of which it takes more time to heat up. Those who use electric distillers need to remember that scale on the heating element can lead to breakdowns at all: due to overheating, it simply burns out.

It is not difficult to descale the distiller, but it is better not to bring it up to this. If you regularly wash the cube after each distillation, then this problem will arise only after a few years (it is more relevant for those who use the apparatus for obtaining distilled water, and not for homemade alcohol lovers). To reduce the formation of limescale, it is recommended to use soft spring water to prepare the mash, the running water must be filtered.

It simplifies the task that the layer is debugged only on those surfaces that are in direct contact with the liquid. That is, the salts do not collect in the coil and tubes, which would be really problematic to free from it.

There are three ways to descale your distiller:

• with a brush;
• boiling;
• upholding.

In the instructions for distillers, it is recommended to use steel brushes and brushes for descaling. This method is long and laborious. Do not forget that copper and aluminum are soft metals, and therefore are greatly damaged from such cleaning.

The boiling process takes less energy. The active mixture is added to the distillation cube, after which the water is heated. For this, special liquids Glasrens, Silit, concentrated solutions of acetic acid are used.

It can take several days to settle, but this method is considered the "mildest" one. It uses the same mixtures as when boiling, but they do not heat up. The container is completely filled with water, the solution is added and left for at least 12 hours. After this procedure, the plaque is easily removed with a sponge.

After boiling and settling, 20-40 liters of distilled water must be run in order to remove residual chemicals.

Clean the machine regularly and you can even pass it on to your grandchildren!