Oldvines new attempt at water cooling

[Oldvine Zin]

My old setup - a big bucket and a harbor freight fountain pump was fine for my pot still, not so good for the new flute. So...
Had a 50ish gal used olive oil drum, free from my local grocery store, a free BMW radiator,found a surplus 220 volt pump,and an old box fan.

All tri clamp connections for an easy break down. I have a run almost ready to go and will try this setup in a couple of days.

[pythonshine]

looks like it will serve you well! let us know how it works (of course) ambiant temp. Temp of outlet/inlet. and temp change over run. Looking forward to updates. like all of your work Zin, it looks very neat and well thought out

[Snackson]

I just picked up a radiator off eBay to hook up to a box fan. I already have a submersible pump along with a 55 gallon barreL. I'll post picture when I get it all worked out.

[Oldvine Zin]

Cool, since it was a used radiator I ran vinegar through it and then baking soda water for a few minutes

[shadylane]

You could add dye to the cooling water,
So if there's a leak in the condenser and coolant is getting in the shine, you'll know it.

[Swedish Pride]

You could add dye to the cooling water,
So if there's a leak in the condenser and coolant is getting in the shine, you'll know it.

Always one for the simple elegant solutions, I would never have thought of that one

[cranky]

Damn Zin, what grocery stores do you shop at? Nothing like a little overkill Most people would be fine with a 55 gallon drum or a radiator but not both. Watch the pressure on that pump and make sure you have a relief valve, I have a pump that puts out so much pressure I don't dare use it with my current setup.

[Oldvine Zin]

You could add dye to the cooling water,
So if there's a leak in the condenser and coolant is getting in the shine, you'll know it.

Great idea - now to decide what color

[Oldvine Zin]

Damn Zin, what grocery stores do you shop at? Nothing like a little overkill Most people would be fine with a 55 gallon drum or a radiator but not both. Watch the pressure on that pump and make sure you have a relief valve, I have a pump that puts out so much pressure I don't dare use it with my current setup.

+1 on the relief valve - just noticed that they have another empty drum sitting out back

[cranky]

Maybe I need to go pay you a visit of course it would probably piss the wife off and I don't want to do that

[Oldvine Zin]

Maybe I need to go pay you a visit of course it would probably piss the wife off and I don't want to do that

Ha Ha you are always welcome here - should I pick up that drum for you?

[BentJar]

You wont need the blue barrel water supply. Whats in the radiator and cooling lines is all you need if you put the fan on.


bent

[bearriver]

I ran a 55 gallon cooling barrel with a radiator and fan on top for over a year. I still had to dump it on hot days. That really got under my skin, so I scrapped the radiator and now use the drum to store grain.

For irrigation, I now use the hot exit water to start my next ferment. None of the heat is wasted and the irrigation water comes in at a constant temperature.

[Euphoria]

You wont need the blue barrel water supply. Whats in the radiator and cooling lines is all you need if you put the fan on. bent

I too have been using both a 55 gallon barrel and a fan/radiator in the return line from my still. Originally, I had just used the barrel itself with my 13 gallon pot still and it worked okay, but when I got the 4" flute and a 25 gallon boiler, I found that the barrel, by itself, wasn't keeping my cooling water quite cool enough. That's why I built the fan/radiator gizmo. So now, it works really well at keeping my coolant temps consistent and well managed.

But now, after reading your post, it got me to thinking...(yes, I know that can be a dangerous thing.) It was like the "light bulb" coming on over my head. An epiphany!!!

Comparing it to the cooling system setup used in most vehicles, where there isn't any extra reservoir in the car's cooling system other than what exists in the radiator and water jackets of the engine, I'm now wondering if maybe I had a case of "tunnel vision" when I set this Rube Goldberg contraption up, just because I already had the tank in service. I might have to try a new configuration for my cooling system which would take the reservoir barrel "out of the loop" so to speak and hook my submersible coolant circulation pump, (which can also be configured to run with a threaded end fitting with a hose barb on the intake instead of the strainer that's on it now,) directly to the fan/radiator and see if it will maintain enough heat dissipation without the reservoir.

Early on, I just used the sheer volume of the reservoir to carry off the heat produced, or at least slow down the rate of heat increase in my coolant lines until I finished my run. And it worked great until I upgraded to bigger stuff. Now I'm wondering if I can achieve enough cooling capacity with only the fan/radiator assembly hooked to my still.

Boy, if it works and I can get rid of the reservoir tank from within my distilling area, I can gain back a nice chunk of real estate for something else to buy or make.
(One of those Murphy's Law things...The amount of stuff you collect is directly proportional to the amount of room you have for stuff.)

I feel an experiment coming on...

[cranky]

Maybe I need to go pay you a visit of course it would probably piss the wife off and I don't want to do that

Ha Ha you are always welcome here - should I pick up that drum for you?

I don't see myself making it over your way any time soon Hell, I've been trying to find my way over to Bearrivers since late Nov and can never seem to find the time. I might pick up a 60 gallon barrel from the barrel guy next time I'm out near him for cooling but I've also been thinking about making or buying a radiator or 2 to see if I can reduce my cooling footprint as well. I'm kind of concerned with a car radiator for fear of the possibility of a leak and contamination.

[Euphoria]

Cranky,
Mine is just a copper finned radiator, 16" X 16", and hasn't been used for anything else. Got it off of Amazon. I would be hesitant to use a car radiator too. They also sell bigger ones as well.

[Oldvine Zin]

I've also been thinking about making or buying a radiator or 2 to see if I can reduce my cooling footprint as well. I'm kind of concerned with a car radiator for fear of the possibility of a leak and contamination.

I was concerned about that also that's why I did the cleaning runs on the radiator (vinegar, soda, alcohol, then a steam purge). I'm also anal about setup and pressure test everything before a run including both condensers, and have put coloring in my cooling water. If this experiment works I'll probably build a food safe radiator from scratch.

ovz

[Oldvine Zin]

For irrigation, I now use the hot exit water to start my next ferment. None of the heat is wasted and the irrigation water comes in at a constant temperature.

I like that idea BR - that insures that you have the perpetual ferments going

[raketemensch]

Man, I had a wrecked VW Cabrio towed out of the driveway late last year, and forgot to pull the new radiator out of the passenger's seat before it left. I kicked myself then, but am kicking even harder now.

[Oldvine Zin]

From my last Jimbo's ag ferment I did a sugar head wash with the spent red wheat. Ended up with 16 gal of racked and finished wash, divided it in half for two runs.

Got all the new plumbing connected, pressure tested - the only leak was the cheap ss needle valve, lots of ptfe tape later and no leaks.That was the start to my problems with this valve

My first runs with Anna I had a ball valve controlling the defleg, after reading some suggestions on better control I decided to try a needle valve.

Fired her up refluxed for a bit, pulled fores, started collecting at 90% dropped to 80 cranked up the needle to full, and the output continued to drop in abv . That valve was not letting enough flow through to the rc and it felt like I was running a glorified pot still. Collected down to 30% and turned her off. After a heads and tails cut I ended up with about a half gal of 65% on that run.

Round 2

Changed out the needle valve for a ball valve (ha, having everything tri clamp makes changing so much easier) recharged the boiler and fired her up for the second time. Pulled fores, started collecting at 90 and continued at 90 and 90 ... wow what a difference almost like it was a completely different wash and still! Ended up with almost a gal at 90% I'm sold on the ball valve, I had no trouble driving her with that valve, but that's Anna your results may vary.

The radiator blue tank combo worked great, after a few hours of running the water temp was no hotter than a lukewarm bath. I may try just the radiator alone next time or maybe not since it works great as is and doesn't take up much room.

As a side note I packed my first gen gin basket with crushed juniper and zest of Buddha's hand for both of those runs, the nose and taste makes me smile