Condenser Jig

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Deerhunter
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Condenser Jig

Post by Deerhunter »

Well I need to thank Hook and Dixiedrifter for posting the detailed instructions on winding the coil. Finished making the jig and will attempt winding my first coil today. :D
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Jig for winding condenser using 1/4" copper tubing
Jig for winding condenser using 1/4" copper tubing
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humbledore
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by humbledore »

Good luck. I read on here that you can crimp one end and fill with water, and crimp the other end. I would recommend this. I wound mine up with no water/sand/salt in it but it did crimp a bit. Water seems like an easy non-compressible filling.
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by Deerhunter »

Well just finished rolling my first coil. Didn't fill it with anything. Not perfect so I think I will try to do another one.
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by Bushman »

My first jig was also a poor mans pillow block, until I found some at a garage sale. I bought them because a few years ago I was making coils for members that couldn't do it on their own. I tried every method and they all work with varing degrees. Water was easy to empty but if you had any airlock then that was a place it could crimp, salt was very hard to remove, fine sand took a bit of work but wasn't that difficult. Winding it without anything worked you had to be a little more patient and for me it didn't crimp but I got some flattening. It would still function but when I did tests with waterflow the non-flattening coil out performed the one that was slightly flattened.
PS: Nice pictures.
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humbledore
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by humbledore »

Bushman, yes flatten is a better term, my tubing flattened in certain tight areas. Still works though. Deerhunter, what is wrong with your first coil? Looks pretty good to me!
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by Deerhunter »

I'm going to buy another roll and fill it with water and try freezing it this time. I have some flattening as well. There's really not a hell of a lot of water flowing through. But then again I don't know what the flow rate is. I'm guessing a steady stream of cold water is all you need to do the job. Also might go a little longer. This one was just over 8" I'm thinking 10" for a 5 foot column should be more then enough. Figure if I get flattening on the second try I have more surface area to make up for the reduced flow. I must say, I can't see doing this without making that jig. The few extra bucks to build this is well worth the money! Also used rad14701's idea on using the wire to get even spacing of the coils. Being a novice on here I have to say the "Mods" are right when they say read through this site. It is full of helpful hints from other members on here. Thanks guys for the positive comments.
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by Maritimer »

If you freeze water in a 1/4 inch tube, it will melt quite quickly indoors. Now that it's cold, and you're in New York, maybe you can try winding the condenser outdoors when it's freezing. Boil the water first to drive out any dissolved air. The tubing will become very stiff.

M
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Brutal
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by Brutal »

That looks pretty great. What is it about it that's not perfect?
Steam injection rig http://tinyurl.com/kxmz8hy
All grain corn mash with steam injection and enzymes http://tinyurl.com/mp6zdt5
Inner tube condenser http://tinyurl.com/zkp3ps6
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Kegg_jam
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Condenser Jig

Post by Kegg_jam »

Brutal wrote:That looks pretty great. What is it about it that's not perfect?
Since it sucks so bad, you will just have to send it to me for testing....


Edit: Kidding of course, it looks good to me.
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by Deerhunter »

There are no kinks in it, but it did flatten a bit. Also want to make the ends longer so I can put a bend on them. Was thinking of using a cooler filled with ice water with a pond pump to recirculate the water. Would 1/4" clear tubing be sufficient to supply the water to the coil?
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by rad14701 »

If you become one with the copper there is no need to fill it with anything to wind coils successfully... Remember, the less you mess with the copper the better... Leave it coiled as purchased until you wind it from being coiled to being coiled... Anything else simply work hardens it which causes more issues...

There's nothing crazier than visions of someone trying to pour salt into a straightened 20 foot long piece of copper from an attic window so they can wind a coil... Had they just wound the coil without all the fussing and work hardening the process would have been a lot smoother and quicker...

Any condenser that can pass 1 - 2 quarts/liters of water per minute is free-flowing enough in my opinion...
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by Deerhunter »

I tried pouring salt in the tube and gave up on that idea. Even borrowed my wife's vibrating egg to get the salt to run down the tube. I think I would have been there for a few hours trying to fill up a 20 foot roll.
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by Deerhunter »

Finished my condenser today. Now going to try 3/8 OD for my Graham. I'm sure it won't be as smooth.
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Brutal
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by Brutal »

On your product condenser it is always recommended to use at least 1/2" tube.
Steam injection rig http://tinyurl.com/kxmz8hy
All grain corn mash with steam injection and enzymes http://tinyurl.com/mp6zdt5
Inner tube condenser http://tinyurl.com/zkp3ps6
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by Deerhunter »

I'll be running reflux with a slow drip. I could understand 1/2" when running a detuned Boka, but for that I plan on building a liebig. If my take-off is 3/8" I think a 3/8" Graham shouldn't give me a problem. Then again, what the hell do I know I'm still wet behind the ears. Was hoping I could stick with all 2" throughout my build. Being that this is just used as a product condenser I'm hoping I can get away with it. I have read several post here where it was said 3/8" would have to be the minimum.
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Danespirit
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by Danespirit »

3/8" (9,5 mm) is absolutly minimum when you make a Graham condenser.
Like Brutal..i would prefer 1/2" (12,7 mm). It's up to you..
Think of it as "a worm in a shell" instead of a flakestand.
Now you would be dealing with liquid here, which is a big difference to vapor (on a VM for example).
Liquid requires much less space than vapors that have to be condensed, hence you can get away with a smaller diameter.
I made myself a "aftercooler" Liebig style for a LM project..works great with 12 mm inside tube diameter.
Edit..oh..i forgot: Really nice work with that rig and your coil.. :thumbup:
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by shadylane »

Deerhunter wrote:Finished my condenser today. Now going to try 3/8 OD for my Graham. I'm sure it won't be as smooth.
Just a thought, you could make a Dimroth product condenser.
The cooling coil is just like the reflux condenser you just made.
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Deerhunter
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by Deerhunter »

I can't see how a 1" x 24" Liebig with a 3/8" inner tube can cool your product but a 2" x 12" Graham with a 3/8" coil inside can't do the job. This is what I planned on doing but I guess I wasted some money thinking this would work. Here was my setup.
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2" Boka with 3/8" take-off
2" Boka with 3/8" take-off
2" x 12" Graham with 3/8" coil inside.
2" x 12" Graham with 3/8" coil inside.
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by rad14701 »

There's no reason why that Graham shouldn't be cooling adequately if it has enough coils inside and there is ample coolant flow... One thing I have yet to understand is why folks place their water stubs so close together... If I had made that Graham I would have drilled through the double wall of the reducer and outer jacket so the stubs were as far apart as possible... You should be able to keep that product condenser cool even with smaller 1/4" stubs with them far enough apart... You might be getting an air pocket above the top exit stub...
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by Deerhunter »

Good point Rad! I may just end up putting a bleeder on the top of that fitting. Hate to waste that piece of 2"
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by Deerhunter »

Ok, wound my 3/8" coil and this was not easy by any means. Had to use salt this time. Managed to get 11 turns roughly 7 ft. of tubing in the 12" piece of 2". Trying to make this coil fit inside was a big pain. But I guess I finally became one with the copper.
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by rad14701 »

That's one big water path up through the center of that coil...!!! Some sort of baffling would help, like copper/ss scrubber...
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by Deerhunter »

You think stainless would be better then copper being this will be soldered closed? I don't pack it in there to tight, just want it to take up some of that space?
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Re: Condenser Jig

Post by rad14701 »

Deerhunter wrote:You think stainless would be better then copper being this will be soldered closed? I don't pack it in there to tight, just want it to take up some of that space?
Either will work but copper has better thermal transfer properties and less chance of creating a reaction between dissimilar metals... :idea:
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