Condenser water cooler.

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Zeotropic
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Condenser water cooler.

Post by Zeotropic »

I am planning on switching from a flake stand to recirculating water with a liebig condenser.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by Zeotropic »

IMG_20210110_213647184.jpg
IMG_20210110_213202515.jpg
I got this school bus heater for free and it is 80,000 BTU capacity with built-in fans so I'm thinking of using it as the cooler.
I am thinking about plumbing it with a submersible pump in a 5 gallon bucket pumping the water through the liebig and then the heater core then back to the bucket. I figure that if I keep the condenser discharge water as hot as possible the bus heater should have plenty of capacity to cool it back to room temperature.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by acfixer69 »

It will be a help and assist the cooling but how many btu's are you heating with will determine if it is enough.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by Zeotropic »

acfixer69 wrote:It will be a help and assist the cooling but how many btu's are you heating with will determine if it is enough.
I use gas so i don't know. I haven't calculated it from water production yet.
I run pretty slow so i doubt it would have any trouble at all.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by Zeotropic »

Screenshot_20210110-220409.png
I am thinking this might work as the recirculation pump.
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jward
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by jward »

You might consider having the hot output from the liebig go to the heater core and then go to the bucket. The hottest water will give up its heat better.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by zed255 »

Be aware of the specs of your pump. I have one that looks just like the one pictured and it is only rated to run for 15 minutes at a time according to its manual. I think it could run longer as it is only warm after 15 minutes, but that would be against manufacturers recommended use. It is also loud.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by Zeotropic »

jward wrote:You might consider having the hot output from the liebig go to the heater core and then go to the bucket. The hottest water will give up its heat better.
That is my plan.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by Zeotropic »

zed255 wrote:Be aware of the specs of your pump. I have one that looks just like the one pictured and it is only rated to run for 15 minutes at a time according to its manual. I think it could run longer as it is only warm after 15 minutes, but that would be against manufacturers recommended use. It is also loud.
Yeah I found a cheap hot water circular pump that might work better.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by Prairiepiss »

That pump In the pic above is not designed to do what you are wanting it to do. And is a pore choice to use as a cooling recirculating pump. I would advise against it.

Best way to do it is just get a bigger Water reservoir. 5 gallons is just not enough. How big is your boiler? I wouldn’t consider anything less the 2 times as big as your boiler. 3 or 4 times as big being even better. And I would place that heater in-line after the condenser befor returning to the coolant reservoir. So you are putting as little heat back into the reservoir as possible.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by Zeotropic »

Prairiepiss wrote:That pump In the pic above is not designed to do what you are wanting it to do. And is a pore choice to use as a cooling recirculating pump. I would advise against it.

Best way to do it is just get a bigger Water reservoir. 5 gallons is just not enough. How big is your boiler? I wouldn’t consider anything less the 2 times as big as your boiler. 3 or 4 times as big being even better. And I would place that heater in-line after the condenser befor returning to the coolant reservoir. So you are putting as little heat back into the reservoir as possible.
My current boiler is 4 gallons of usable capacity but i plan to upgrade to a keg.
I know more water is better and would definitely be my backup plan but I really like the idea of just cooling the water off with an effective cooler. I know it's possible and I also know it's almost never done on here so I wanted to try it. I figured if a bus heater works is good as it looks like it would to me then I may have just found a cheap source of condenser water coolers for everybody. I'm pretty sure every schooly owner rips the heater out to make room for interior cabinetry and such so these heaters should be a dime a dozen. Also I figure if I hook it up with long enough hoses I can drag it outside in the summer so that it doesn't heat my shop but in the winter I will have a nice little heater to huddle over.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by acfixer69 »

Many here use automobile radiators to cool water circuit with good success. The fact that they are large and hold a large capacity of water and large CFM air flow helps over come there low efficiency. That heater is rated at 80,000 BTU's with a different pressure and water temperature into the heater. As I mentioned earlier in this thread it will help but I don't believe it will solve your cooling problem.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by Zeotropic »

acfixer69 wrote:Many here use automobile radiators to cool water circuit with good success. The fact that they are large and hold a large capacity of water and large CFM air flow helps over come there low efficiency. That heater is rated at 80,000 BTU's with a different pressure and water temperature into the heater. As I mentioned earlier in this thread it will help but I don't believe it will solve your cooling problem.
You are probably right.
I got it for free so when I get all the parts together i will try it with a water run and report back. One reason you are probably right is that it is designed to put out really hot air woth a high water flow, it is not designed to cool the water down significantly.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by Zeotropic »

What do youall recommend for a pump?
Here is another i found but i am not sure if it is right either.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B081W5PT ... UTF8&psc=1
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by Desvio »

I have been using this for about 5 years now with no problems, I did however replace the plastic output barb with a brass one, it broke way too easy.
Good pressure and volume, mine sits in the bottom of a blue 55 gallon barrel, extra cooling comes from a large trans-cooler with fans on it.

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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by Zeotropic »

Desvio wrote:I have been using this for about 5 years now with no problems, I did however replace the plastic output barb with a brass one, it broke way too easy.
Good pressure and volume, mine sits in the bottom of a blue 55 gallon barrel, extra cooling comes from a large trans-cooler with fans on it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017R ... UTF8&psc=1
Nice that's an excellent price. Thanks.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by WithOrWithoutU2 »

Just a consideration...depending on where you live and cost of water versus electricity, you may want to look into the overall cost of actual water use. I am on city water, and the city I live it front loads the water bill with fixed cost and fees. So whether residents use a lot of water or not, the city still charges a significant bill. My variable cost is less than 1/2 cent for per gallon of water. So for me, I can use 200 gallons for $1.00. The cost for a pump, a radiator, hoses, electricity, time and effort to set up the recirculation for me is not worth it. And for something like reflux distillation having a nice steady temp is a definite plus.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by Zeotropic »

WithOrWithoutU2 wrote:Just a consideration...depending on where you live and cost of water versus electricity, you may want to look into the overall cost of actual water use. I am on city water, and the city I live it front loads the water bill with fixed cost and fees. So whether residents use a lot of water or not, the city still charges a significant bill. My variable cost is less than 1/2 cent for per gallon of water. So for me, I can use 200 gallons for $1.00. The cost for a pump, a radiator, hoses, electricity, time and effort to set up the recirculation for me is not worth it. And for something like reflux distillation having a nice steady temp is a definite plus.
Yeah water cost is not a consideration at all for me because I am on flat rate water and I pay $75 a month no matter what. I just would rather have the option of dumping the heat into my shop in the winter and I like playing around so I really don't have a need for this it's just something I want to try. Also I don't really like puddles in the yard and I don't have a drain handy where I want to distill.
Anyway I'm going to figure out if I can make this work and then anybody who comes after me will know.
With an efficient enough cooler my water temperature should be as steady as the air temperature so if it works like I want it to I shouldn't have a problem with water temperature stability.
When I first got into this hobby I really thought I wanted to build a reflux still right away because I wanted to make gin but I couldn't afford it so I built a pot still and then I started trying whiskeys and I found out I really like whiskey and I don't like my favorite gin anymore so reflux is somewhere down on the to do list but it's not even on the back burner anymore. [emoji16]
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by Zeotropic »

I just picked up a 5-ft stick of 1/2 inch and 3/4 copper and some fittings so I will have a liebig built pretty soon.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by Winnipeg204 »

I find running my t500 with a pump is SO much easier than using city water. I was constantly adjusting with city and with a pump i can do a whole run adjusting less than 5 times.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by Zeotropic »

IMG_20210112_161106916~2.jpg
Zeotropic wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 12:57 pm I just picked up a 5-ft stick of 1/2 inch and 3/4 copper and some fittings so I will have a liebig built pretty soon.
I didn't think i would get it built that quick. 😁
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by acfixer69 »

Looks fine. I would have put the union in the horizontal leg to make the angle adjustable. That's easy fix if wanted
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by Zeotropic »

acfixer69 wrote:Looks fine. I would have put the union in the horizontal leg to make the angle adjustable. That's easy fix if wanted
Yeah I just put this together real quick to mate up to my current still. I just got to order a pump and I should be able to test this all pretty soon.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by acfixer69 »

Be sure your two union halfves mate before you are ready to run cause they all are not interchangeable. Just a heads up.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by Zeotropic »

acfixer69 wrote:Be sure your two union halfves mate before you are ready to run cause they all are not interchangeable. Just a heads up.
So true. I'm pretty sure I got matching sets but I'll definitely double check.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by Zeotropic »

It just occurred to me that I will need a tripod to hold up the end of that condenser.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by zed255 »

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Re: Condenser water cooler.

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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by Phathead »

here is my set up. pump in bottom of condenser pot with pick up tube just under the surface. return water is pushed thru and exists tube just above pump cooling it. stripping runs top 3rd of condenser is very hot steams pretty good but still knocks the vapour down. spirit runs very slow just little bit of heat on water surface no steam.
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Re: Condenser water cooler.

Post by The Baker »

Zeotropic wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 4:33 pm It just occurred to me that I will need a tripod to hold up the end of that condenser.
Or a piece of string to hang it from, say, a rafter.

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