Cooling water set up

Anything cooling/condenser related.

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Stainlessdoctor
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Cooling water set up

Post by Stainlessdoctor »

Ok...I just purchased a 16 gal flute and I’m curious to see what you guys have for the cooling water set up...any input is appreciated.

Thanks!
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acfixer69
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Re: Cooling water set up

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http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 87&t=66690

use the forum google search many ideas there

AC
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Yummyrum
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Re: Cooling water set up

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Are you refering to how to plumb the still or types of cooling .

What sort of water supply do you have ? Town water , Tank water , well ,pool or are you thinking a recycling tank next to the still ?
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Euphoria
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Re: Cooling water set up

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Rather than waste water, I use a 50 gallon plastic drum, a submersible garden fountain pump, clear braided tubing, and a radiator fashioned from a core and a box fan. Works well with my 13 gal. and 26 gal. boilers, both of which have 5,500 watt heating elements. I find the fan to be essential when running the larger boiler due to the extended run time. The water will get quite warm by mid-run without it. All my cooling hoses are color coded, (red-hot, blue-cold,) and have stainless steel quick disconnect ends for ease of assembly and breakdown. I also have a "Y" for splitting the supply cooling water for both the condenser and the dephlegmator. Individual control for each helps regulate temps in both components.
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Stainlessdoctor
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Re: Cooling water set up

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Yes...this is what I want to do! What’s the scoop on the Cooper piping behind the fan? Did you build or buy that?
Stainlessdoctor
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Re: Cooling water set up

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Yummyrum wrote:Are you refering to how to plumb the still or types of cooling .

What sort of water supply do you have ? Town water , Tank water , well ,pool or are you thinking a recycling tank next to the still ?
I would like to use a plastic barrel and recirculate the water.
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Euphoria
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Re: Cooling water set up

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Stainlessdoctor wrote:Yes...this is what I want to do! What’s the scoop on the Cooper piping behind the fan? Did you build or buy that?
The copper fittings I sweated onto the existing inlet and outlet ports on the cooling coil I bought off of Amazon. They are just standard copper plumbing fittings from the hardware store, and they route, via quick disconnect fittings, my warm water from the still back into the radiator for cooling before returning it to the plastic reservoir tank, then the pump recirculates my cooling water back through the still again via the submersible pump in the tank.
Last edited by Euphoria on Tue Jan 23, 2018 1:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Stainlessdoctor
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Re: Cooling water set up

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Great job! I’ll get on amazon and see what I can find
Stainlessdoctor
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Re: Cooling water set up

Post by Stainlessdoctor »

Euphoria wrote:
Stainlessdoctor wrote:Yes...this is what I want to do! What’s the scoop on the Cooper piping behind the fan? Did you build or buy that?
The copper fittings I sweated onto the existing inlet and outlet ports on the cooling coil I bought off of Amazon. They are just standard copper plumbing fittings from the hardware store, and they route, via quick disconnect fittings, my warm water from the still back into the radiator for cooling before returning it to the plastic reservoir tank, then the pump recirculates my cooling water back through the still again via the submersible pump in the tank.
about how many gallons do you typically get from your 16G flute?
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Euphoria
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Re: Cooling water set up

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That will be pretty much dependent on how high your initial ABV in your mash is and how high a proof you want to bring off. With whiskeys and rums, generally starting at about 8~10% alcohol in the mash, if you shoot for a lower (80~120 proof finished product coming off,) like you would want in whiskey or rum, then your probably going to pull off about 3/4 of a gallon to maybe a little over a gallon per run. If you distill to a higher ABV, such as for making a neutral spirit, (aka Everclear,) where you'll be pulling it off at 180~190 Proof, you'll obviously realize a smaller yield, but higher alcohol content. Don't forget to toss the first cup (foreshots) as they are poisonous. Also, I would recommend that if you want to retain the flavors that you worked so hard to achieve in your mash, (as in making good flavorful whiskey or rum,) to limit your column to no more than 2-3 plated sections. The taller your column, (i.e. more plated sections,) that you use, you will raise your alcohol content, but at the expense of stripping all your flavor out. There is flavorful and there is "neutral," but you won't be able to get both at once. Distilling is just managing all your "trade-offs," where you gain in one area at the expense of losing in another.
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