Flow meter ranges

[FuelMaker]

I'm eyeballing acrylic flow meters so I can monitor my coolant flow, mainly for reproduceability not sure what the meter range should be though. If I go smaller I can get a finer grained display.

I'm just not sure what kind of flow I can expect so I thought I'd ask.

It's for a 4" VM column with a "Thors Hammer" head, the product condenser is a shotgun. There'll be a meter for each flow.

[Yummyrum]

Run your still and see what typically you use then you will know what range .
Your requirements may well differ from others depending on available water temp and amount of power you will use

[badbird]

A 1/2 galleon per minute one similar to the one in your image works fine for me, knocks down well over 4.8Kw on a plated collumn

[shadylane]

I measured the flow on my reflux and product condensers awhile back.
But I forgot what the numbers were
One thing I remember is the reflux water flow during the run was much less than the product condenser flow.
I think it was only a several liters per hour on the RC

[Badmotivator]

This might help you think about the scale. If I've done my research right,

flow rate(l/min) = 14*power input (kW)/temp rise (degree C)

With this equation we can get a handle on a reasonable maximum flow for your reflux coolant. Let's say you have 4kW in your boiler. Let's say you want total knock down in your RC, and since your RC isn't super long the only way to do that is to make sure the water outflow temp is like 20 C lower than the foreshots boiling temp, so 57C. Your water supply is maybe 17 C, so the temp rise is 40 C. Plug that in:
l/m =14*4/40
l/m= 1.4

[shadylane]

I just realized the discussion is about a 4" VM column. I was thinking 4" CM
There's a big difference in the cooling flow rates between VM and CM
So disregard my advice of several liters per hour

[FuelMaker]

Well I might have to just measure it first. Those acrylic block flow meters arent exactly free and I'd hate to have to replace one.

[manu de hanoi]

The german flowmeters are way too expensive, if you're on a budget try a DIY venturi flowmeter with 2 T fittings like this
http://www.artisan-distiller.net/phpBB3 ... =15#p34621" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow