How to determine the strength of moonshine without an alcohol meter? This question can catch any distiller by surprise. What should a moonshiner do if the right device is not at hand? Experts in the production of home distillate recommend several ways to help determine the quality of alcohol and deal with degrees.
Why determine the strength of moonshine?
Why take measurements, what will it give and why for many years consumers and manufacturers of alcoholic products have been so obsessed with degrees?
Determination of the strength of the drink
Everything is quite simply a fortress: vodka is measured in order to comply with GOST. According to the requirements, the quality index of this drink should be in the range from 40 to 56 degrees, while in Europe the strength of vodka does not exceed 37 degrees.
Vodka with an indicator of 40-45 degrees is considered a classic, this quality is best suited for the inhabitants of our country. Naturally, degrees directly affect the cost of alcohol: the stronger and better vodka, the more expensive it is, and this is not surprising.
Moonshine is checked for degrees several times, they do it for various reasons. But one way or another, indicators in the production process of this drink play an important role.
When the distillate home production check for quality:
- When moonshine is distilled, "heads", "body" and "tails" are taken away. Separation into fractions helps to improve the characteristics of the drink, rid it of fuselage and other harmful impurities. Distillers measure degrees and easily determine when to stop collecting distillate.
- When re-distilling, moonshine is also checked for strength, measuring performance. This happens when the drink is divided into fractions and at the end of the process. The average strength of moonshine, which has gone through a double distillation, is from 60 to 70 degrees.
- When diluting alcohol with water. If you want to turn moonshine into vodka or another drink, it is diluted with water and measurements are taken periodically.
You can use a rectifier. This device helps to make raw alcohol at home and use it to create liqueurs and tinctures.
Often the degrees fall after cleaning or filtration, since the use of certain methods, filters, fixtures and substances can reduce the strength of the drink. Even a slight loss can cause a decrease in the quality of alcohol, so the state of moonshine should be carefully monitored.
It is natural that the best way for measurements of the fortress consider the use of an alcoholometer. This device helps to understand the degrees and establish indicators of the quality of alcohol.
But the conceived device is not at hand, and it is very necessary to determine the degree of alcohol.
Methods for determining the strength of alcohol
Distillers with experience have their own methods that help them, without instruments, so to speak "by eye", to determine the quality of the drink. It is quite difficult to check their accuracy, since the methods do not give accurate information, but only indirectly indicate the number of degrees contained in alcohol. Nevertheless, such methods are considered relatively accurate and, in the absence of the necessary equipment, they can be used.
How to find out about the strength of alcohol:
- Pervach, or pervak, which is characterized by high levels of strength, will give itself away with a specific smell. In addition, drops of such moonshine will roll along the bottom of the glass jar - this means that the strength of the drink reaches 80 degrees.
- Quality defines and more in a simple way- Moonshine is simply set on fire. You can blot the distillate with a napkin, and then just set it on fire. If the napkin burns and the fire does not go out, the flame is even and burns blue, in which case the strength of the drink in degrees is not lower than 40.
- If you soak a napkin with moonshine, set it on fire and at the same time the fire will burn unevenly, go out or “blink”, then the strength of the drink is below 40 degrees, but not less than 20. If the test is carried out during fractional distillation, then the drop in degree is perceived as a sign that that you need to start the selection of "tails". "Tails" are selected until the napkin somehow burns.
- You can simply pour moonshine into a spoon and set fire to it. This method is used instead of checking with a napkin, paying attention only to the fire.
recognize strong alcohol not only fire will help, but also a visual assessment.
You can focus on color and smell:
- If the drink has a pronounced aroma, a sharp, specific smell, then its strength is quite high or it has poor quality. If the aroma is not so pronounced, then we can say that the degree of the drink is falling. A faint smell indicates that the strength of the moonshine has fallen.
- Definition process quality characteristics distillate produced at home has another component - a visual assessment of the transparency of the drink. If moonshine does not differ in turbidity, then its fortress is very high. If the alcohol is cloudy and at the same time it does not have a pungent odor, then its quality is questionable.
- In the process of measurements, you can resort to another trick - to taste the drink. This will help to form a definite opinion about the degrees without the use of any instruments.
There is an opinion that the purest alcohol "like a baby's tear", it is also the strongest, is perceived by distillers as an indicator of the quality of the distillate. In fact, this is somewhat different. Diluted moonshine can also be clean, and a cloudy drink can have incredible quality indicators.
Temperature regime
Understanding degrees, it is worth noting that thermometers will help determine the quality indicators of the product. If we talk about fractional distillation and separation of moonshine into fractions, then you can focus not on the strength of the drink, but on the temperature regime.
Temperature as an indicator of quality:
- If the temperature measurement sensor shows 94-95 degrees Celsius, it means that at this moment alcohol with a strength of 40 degrees and above comes out of the distiller.
- An increase in temperature to 98 degrees indicates that the strength of the moonshine has fallen to 20 degrees and it's time to finish the selection of "tails".
- If the sensor shows 88–89 degrees Celsius, this means that it is not worth heating the distillation cube any further, because as the temperature rises, the alcohol will begin to evaporate.
- To produce high-quality alcohol by distillation, it is worth raising the temperature of the source material to 86-94 degrees.
If the distillation apparatus does not have a thermometer, but is equipped with a rectifier, which allows you to produce raw alcohol at home, then you can resort to the following method for measuring indicators:
- poured into a teaspoon a small amount of moonshine;
- the alcohol is then ignited using a match;
- if the drink burns with an even blue flame, while the fire does not go out for more than a minute, then this indicates that the strength of the distillate is more than 70 degrees.
This method of verification is often used during re-distillation to make sure the quality of the drink, to check it for degrees. Recycling helps to rid moonshine of an unpleasant smell, make it transparent and quite strong.
Some math lovers use another method for determining the strength of a drink. They pour moonshine into a spoon, set fire to it, and then collect what has not burned down with a pipette and count the drops. But this method of determining the quality level is not particularly accurate, it can be used, but it will be difficult to obtain any specific information using this method.
In the event that it was not possible to deal with the degrees, you can independently make an alcoholometer. A do-it-yourself device will not be highly technological, but it will still help determine the strength of moonshine. However, learning everything about the quality of alcohol is not so difficult, the main thing is not to get confused in a difficult situation.
Good day to all, dear friends, acquaintances, readers, admirers and other personalities. Today we'll talk about something like computer temperature and its components.
Often, users forget that they tend to heat up, overheat and, as a result, fail and break (oh, how wrapped :)). Usually this is due to weak or outdated cooling systems, or because of the banal dust in them.
But in 85% of cases, the thing is that, as I said at the beginning, users do not know how to find out the temperature of the processor, memory, video card and other computer components, as well as what they should be, and do not clean (they don’t know how and why, or they’re just lazy) dust from coolers (fans located on, and in), or simply have standard box cooling devices that malicious sellers supplied to them in the store, and these are not effective enough to solve the tasks for quality cooling.
In addition, summer has come again, which means that the air temperature has noticeably jumped. And this is felt not only by people, but also by our computers, which are already hot, and here the sun is hot outside the window. When we are hot, what happens to us? That's right, at best, we just feel bad and uncomfortable, stop thinking normally, and at worst, we catch a sunstroke.
The same thing can happen to a computer, because during a hot period it is more difficult for coolers to maintain an acceptable temperature and, as a result, your iron friend may start acting up and risk getting a sunstroke in the form of a reboot or shutdown (or even burn out). Naturally, the question arises - how to determine the first signs of overheating and what to do if they are detected? This will be discussed in this article.
Simply put, I will tell you about:
- How to find out the temperature of various components in a computer
- How to tell if they are overheating or not
- What are the consequences of overheating?
- How to avoid overheating and those very consequences
- What determines and what benefits can be derived from the temperature of the various components
- What to do if something overheats
Ready? Then let's go.
Signs of computer overheating. We find and analyze
Typical signs of overheating are malfunctions, namely:
- Spontaneous exit from applications to the desktop
- Losses in performance (hangs and lags)
- Stripes or other artifacts (noise) on the screen
- Refusal to boot, namely with requests to check the operation of cooling systems
But in general, it’s better not to bring the system to the characteristic signs of overheating, but to monitor the temperature of all components in advance (just on the desktop) and under load (while playing or running a resource-consuming application) to see if there is overheating and take action in time.
Find out the temperature of the components of the computer
There are countless programs for taking temperature readings. Another thing is that some of them take readings from thermal sensors (special things that measure temperature) on computer components not accurately enough, others simply do not support some / many components of your particular computer, and still others openly lie and mislead the user.
Some individuals use a frightening method - touch the processor / video card / something else and if the piece of iron is hot, then you can start to panic. But I would not recommend doing such nonsense, since it is completely inaccurate (unless you have thin-sensitive thermal sensors built into your skin that can determine the temperature up to a degree :)), and in general you can get burned, get a current discharge or something else no less terrible.
Method one: a simple and fast way to find out the temperature
Instantly, simply and without unnecessary problems, you can measure the temperatures of various computer components using the HWMonitor program.
It does not require installation, unnecessary gestures and other horrors of life. You can take it, an article on the use of .
Method two: the method is more accurate, but long, i.e. under load = in the process of work
Idle temperatures (when the computer is hardly used is one thing). But under load and in a stress state is another. Therefore, to take temperature readings, we will use a time-tested program - a heavyweight called (former Everest).
First, a little about the program itself. AIDA is, perhaps, the only program that can tell you everything about your computer, from what processor you have, operating system, and ending with whether your system unit case is currently open, how many millions of transistors are in your video card and what kind of slippers are on your feet now (of course the joke is about slippers;)). I’ll talk about this really great program in detail, but for now let’s get back to what we wanted to use it for - to determine the temperature of the system components.
You can download the program from anywhere, but by tradition I give you . Installation is not required, you just need to run aida64.exe from the unpacked folder.
In the large and terrible program that opens (by the way, it is in Russian), you need to go to the tab "Computer - Sensor " . There you will see all the temperatures of your computer components.
Let's move on to direct use.
How to use AIDA64 for our purposes
Now we can observe temperatures:
- CPU - Processor
- - Processor cores (this is such a main thing in it)
- GPU - Graphics Processing Unit (video card)
- GPU memory - GPU memory (video card memory)
- Motherboard - the temperature on the computer, namely the temperature of its chipset (such a main thing in it)
What are these temperatures, what can be learned from them and why are they needed at all?
Temperature plays a major role in the performance and health of your computer. When a certain mark is exceeded (each component has its own), various problems begin, such as, for example, slowdowns, self-shutdown of programs, restarting the computer, incorrect display of graphics, and so on until some components completely fail.
In order to avoid all this and save your computer, you must at least periodically monitor the above temperatures, especially on hot summer days.
What temperatures should you beware of?
Let's take a closer look at temperatures to avoid.
- For temperatures.
The ceiling, where problems begin (for example, slowdowns), I used to consider 60 (or more) degrees. I consider a temperature of 65-80 degrees to be quite critical, tk. the so-called throttling begins (namely, the cycle skipping mode, i.e. the processor specifically starts to work several times weaker, skipping cycles in order to lower its temperature), emergency reboot / computer shutdown, etc. Simply put, it is important to ensure that the processor temperature does not get over the bar at 55 degrees, but rather at 45-50. I consider normal temperatures to be 35-40 degrees at idle and 45-55 at 100% hours of load. Many people who are well versed in this will argue, but to this day I believe that the lower the temperature, the higher the performance, namely, a processor with a temperature of 30 degrees will cope with its task faster than a processor with a temperature of 50, of course with provided that both processors have the same power. - For temperatures.
Ideally, the temperature of the chipset should not exceed 35 degrees. In practice, temperatures of 40 -45 are tolerable, for some models of boards up to 55. In general, I almost never encountered overheating of chipsets on motherboards, so there is nothing to be afraid of. - For temperatures.
It all depends on how powerful it is, what kind of model it is, what type of cooling is installed on it, and for what purposes it is generally intended (for example: for games, for work, or for a media center). For modern video cards, temperatures of 65-75 degrees in full hours of work are normal. For relatively old models, this can be critical. Therefore, when the first signs of overheating appear (read below about what they are), you should pay close attention to temperature conditions and. - Temperatures inside.
Not many people know, but the air temperature in the case plays a very important role, since the temperatures of all system components depend on it, because coolers blow everything with case air. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to measure the exact case temperature, but it is highly recommended to install several blow-out coolers in the case. - .
The normal temperature for hard drives is everything below 35-45 degrees, but ideally keep it several times lower, namely around 30.
What overheats, when and how it is dangerous
Above, I described the general parameters by which you can determine that the computer is overheating. Below I will tell you how to calculate what exactly in it has, so to speak, not its own temperature:
- It is most likely that the processor is overheating if you are "thrown" to the desktop from games and programs. Simply put, the application closes itself.
- It is most likely that the processor is overheating if the computer restarts for no reason.
- The probability is 30 to 70 that the motherboard is overheating or if the computer turns off for no reason.
- It is most likely that the video card (or its memory) is overheating if you see so-called artifacts in games and 3D applications (image distortion, wrong colors, falling out textures, all sorts of extraneous sticks / squares, etc.)
- The appearance may indicate overheating of any components. Most often it is the processor. Then everything else.
Of course, this is just a probability and not at all a fact that overheating is necessarily to blame for these symptoms. In each case, everything must be checked, analyzed and identified.
Is it possible to diagnose load temperatures and overheating in advance?
The most cunning will ask, they say, is it possible to check the temperature of all components in advance under 100% load in temperature monitoring mode. Yes, you certainly may. That is why I chose AIDA for measuring temperatures.
Run the program, select "Service" there - System stability test", where in the window that appears, tick all the items and click "Start". After that, in fact, we observe the temperatures in the corresponding window.
Under the window with temperatures, you can observe the processor load by the program, as well as the same throttling mode (skip cycles in case of overheating), which I spoke about. As soon as you see that throttling has begun, feel free to stop the test, because this means that the processor is overheating. In all other cases, the program itself will notify you about the failure of any of the components and stop the test.
If you are unsure of the results and want to stress the system more precisely
There is an even more severe test option that will help you immediately identify if you have the failures described below and above related to temperatures, as well as check the most extreme options, that is, there is another option to check your computer using the OOCT program.
Our detailed article on this topic is. If someone is interested and wants to, then you can (I would even say that in difficult cases it’s worth it) to get acquainted.
What should I do if my computer is overheating?
If you have already encountered the problem of overheating, then there are not so many solutions, but still .. Actually, here they are:
If you decide to change the cooling system, but do not know which one to change to, then, traditionally, you can always ask me about it and I will try to suggest, because there are a number of subtleties that are important not to miss. Although, however, you can read the article "" or articles in general on the topic of cooling systems.
Everything on the sim.
Afterword
Hot yourself? Don't let your computer overheat;) Moreover, the summer is hot now. And, by the way, read articles on the topic of "temperature".
If you have any questions, then ask in the comments or on our forum. We will try to help, suggest and so on.
PS: The temperatures shown are for desktop computers, not laptops, so the situation with them may differ slightly
In order to determine the temperature in the oven or in the oven by divisions, its instructions are mainly used. For each technique where gas is connected, an instruction manual is attached. The instructions indicate the maximum temperature of the oven itself and give the correspondence of the division scale to the temperature in Celsius (°C). These ovens have switch knobs with a scale for dividing into numbers. The number of divisions and the maximum temperature are different for all models. Some ovens may have 6, 7, 8 or 9 divisions. But how to determine the temperature in them. Switches on ovens can be not only gas, but also electric. After all, not all models have an electronic display.
The oven has its own defined maximum temperature. All models are different. Also, the maximum temperature differs for both electric and gas ovens. In gas ovens, the temperature is generally lower than in electric ones. For example, the maximum temperature electric oven can reach up to 290 degrees Celsius, and gas- up to 250 degrees Celsius.
Many people have had gas ovens for a long time, some left from their parents, and some were given as a gift. But the instructions for the oven may not be. We were going to cook a dish, but we don’t know how to turn the switch, which number to put on. What temperature does it fit? For this, there is an approximate correspondence of division to temperature.
On the oven, instead of degrees, numbers from 1 to *, temperature table
If there are 9 divisions in a gas oven, and the maximum reaches 280 degrees Celsius, then:
If there are 8 divisions in a gas oven, and the maximum reaches 280 degrees Celsius, then:
If there are 8 divisions in a gas oven, and the maximum reaches 250 degrees Celsius, then:
If there are 7 divisions in a gas oven, and the maximum reaches 250 degrees Celsius, then:
If there are 5 divisions in a gas oven, and the maximum reaches 266 degrees Celsius, then:
There are also gas stoves with an oven where there are 4 divisions, but I could not find how many in degrees, since the maximum heating of the oven is not indicated in the instructions either.
If in electric oven 7 divisions, and the maximum reaches 250 degrees Celsius, then:
Matching data is approximate. The exact temperature can be found using the built-in thermometer, designed to determine the temperature.
Most of the fantastic results of beginners, for example, expelled moonshine 98 degrees, or in actively fermenting and winning back 0% alcohol, are due to the incorrect use of measuring devices. If you lower the hydrometer into any liquid that does not contain alcohol, the device will still show a certain strength value, since it gives a result based on density. I will tell you how to use a spirit meter to always get the right readings. Despite the external primitiveness and simplicity of design, there are many nuances in the work.
An alcohol meter is a type of hydrometer (a device that measures the density of liquids) designed to determine the amount ethyl alcohol in a solution consisting of alcohol and water without other impurities that can affect the density.
Most models are made in the form of a glass float, the wide lower part of which is filled with a weight of shot and filled with resin (some models use mercury), and the upper narrow part contains a paper scale with divisions.
Types of alcohol meters
Laboratory- a professional hydrometer for determining the strength of the solution with a high degree of accuracy. In Russia, the most popular alcohol meters of this type, corresponding to GOST 18481-81, are sets ASP-1 (11 pieces in a set), ASP-2 (18 pieces), ASP-3 (3 pieces) with different gradation.
Most experienced moonshiners use the ASP-3 kit, which has a scale division of 1%. The set consists of three hydrometers: 0-40%, 40-70% and 70-100%. For cooking homemade alcohol It's enough. ASP-1 and ASP-2 have a gradation of 0.1%.
ASP-3 set Domestic- an alcoholmeter for measuring the strength of alcohol, vodka or moonshine at home. Usually consists of one device operating in the range of 0-96%. It differs from laboratory analogues in less accuracy. If all the conditions for the measurement are met, the error is up to 0.5%. Suitable for beginner moonshiners.
The most affordable household alcohol meter Digital (electronic)- works according to a different algorithm than traditional hydrometers. Differs in high accuracy of indications and speed of reaction of the sensor. In addition, most devices are equipped with a thermometer. The disadvantage is the high price.
Optic- used to determine the concentration of alcohol in a multicomponent solution (water, ethyl alcohol and other additives). Suitable for wines and liqueurs. It works according to a special algorithm, but in a narrower range (usually from 0 to 25 or 40 degrees).
To measure, it is enough to place one drop of material on a special prism, then view the result through the eyepiece. Optical hydrometers are expensive, but additionally show the concentration of sugar in the liquid.
Optical hydrometer suitable for various mixtures up to 40% ABV Ryumochny- a compact alcoholmeter for determining the strength in a small vessel, for example, a glass. Most designs have a scale of 0-96%. The error depends on the model, but often the accuracy is lower than even that of household hydrometers.
Glass spirit meter - small, but not very accurate Vinomer- a kind of alcoholometer for determining the strength and sugar content in wines. Used by amateur winemakers. Most devices measure the sugar content of a drink in the range of 0-25%, alcohol - 0-12%. Due to the small scale, wine meters are not used by moonshiners.
Vinomer - a tool for measuring the strength of wine and liqueurs Initial conditions for measurements
1. The alcoholmeter should be stored in its original packaging, not subjected to shaking and other mechanical influences that could compromise its integrity and accuracy. Glass models are very fragile and break easily. If cracks, scratches or other defects appear, the device is damaged and needs to be replaced.
2. Most alcoholmeters are calibrated to work in a solution whose temperature is 20°C (deviation is not more than 0.5 degrees). At higher temperatures, the hydrometer overestimates the fortress, at low temperatures it underestimates. Failure to comply with the temperature regime causes a measurement error of up to 7%. The density of the liquid also depends on atmospheric pressure, the recommended figure is 760 mm Hg. Art.
3. All alcohol meters (except optical, electronic and wine meters) are designed to work with liquids containing only ethyl alcohol and water. Any other impurities (sugar, juice, tannins after infusion in a barrel, salts of heavy metals in water and even fusel oils of poorly purified moonshine) change the density of the solution, leading to inaccurate measurements.
How to measure the strength with an alcohol meter
1. Dilute alcohol with water, wait 5-10 minutes until the intensity of the chemical reaction decreases (a lot of heat is released at this time).
2. Wipe the hydrometer with a dry, clean cloth so that no greasy or dirty spots remain. The instrument must be completely dry before being immersed in liquid.
An approximate correction of the readings of the alcoholmeter depending on the temperature of the alcohol is indicated in the table, the calculation can be done using a calculator.
Before checking the degrees in wine, you need to leave the drink at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes. This will bring the concentration of alcohols in accordance with standard norms. Chilled or heated drinks may give different indicators, which will not be true. About how in house wine check the degree, described later in this material. Simple but effective methods available to every modern person are given. First of all, do not forget that there are special devices that help determine the strength of the drink at home.
The strength of wine is an indicator of the percentage of ethyl alcohol. Depending on the variety noble drink degree can be higher or lower:
- dry wine - 10–11.5% by volume;
- semi-sweet - 12–15% vol.;
- liqueur - 12–16% vol.;
- sweet - 14–18% vol.;
- dessert - 15–17% vol.;
- sparkling - 9-13% vol.
Red wine is stronger than white. The alcohol content characterizes the type and stability of the wine and is expressed as a percentage by volume. Volume percentages show how many milliliters of pure alcohol are contained in 100 ml of wine. The same is expressed by the degrees of the fortress.
How to check the degree of wine at home
Before you check the degree of wine at home, you need to know that the strength of wine can be determined in several ways.
Firstly, for this purpose there are special devices - alcohol meters, including special ones, wine. This method is considered very simple, but it is important to remember that measurements may not be accurate. This is because the alcohol meter measures the concentration of alcohol in a drink without taking into account the dry solids found in wine. Therefore, the device may be wrong within 1–2% vol.
Secondly, the home winemaker can recommend the following simple method for determining alcohol in wine. A dry, 200 ml graduated baby milk bottle is placed on the scales and weighed. Pour 200 ml of water into it room temperature(20 °C) and weigh again. Record the exact weight. After that, the weighed water is poured out, its residues are allowed to drain, 200 ml of wine is poured (its temperature should also be 20 ° C) and weighed.
The resulting weight of wine is divided by the weight of water to obtain the specific gravity of the wine. Then prepare the wine, devoid of alcohol. To do this, measure 200 ml of wine into the same bottle and boil it for about 30 minutes, cool it, pour it into the same bottle and bring it to the mark with water. The alcohol-free wine is weighed.
Divide the weight of the wine without alcohol by the weight of the water to get the specific gravity of the wine without alcohol. From the specific gravity of wine without alcohol, the specific gravity of wine with alcohol is subtracted, the difference is subtracted from unity (the specific gravity of water) and a number is obtained indicating the specific gravity of the mixture of water with alcohol, taken in the same amount as the wine under study.
How to check how many degrees in wine
How to check how many degrees in wine is described in more detail above on the page: there are two effective ways. But when fortifying young wine, it is very difficult to determine the amount of alcohol added, so the calculation is made approximately. It is pleasant to consider that if the wine with a strength of 10% vol. add 1% alcohol (or 2% vodka), its strength will increase by 1% vol.
For example, the strength of wine (20 liters) must be increased from 10 to 15% by volume, that is, by 5% by volume. If you use alcohol for these purposes, you will need it:(20 x 1 x 5): 100 = 1 liter. If you take vodka instead of alcohol, then its amount will be: (20 x 2 x 5): 100 = 2 liters.
After vodka is added to the fermented wine, it is well mixed and left for 4-5 days so that the liquids assimilate with each other.
