Controlling water flow for condenser on alembic pot still

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fsdowie
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Controlling water flow for condenser on alembic pot still

Post by fsdowie »

Hello,

I recently got a 5 gallon alembic pot still (copper) replacing (enhancing!) my old 2 gal stove top still. For my old still I was using a simple water pump for cooling the condenser. Two small switches (one for the incoming water and one for draining) in the condenser allowed me to control the water flow and keep it almost full during the distillation. This new pot still doesn't come with the switches so I'm struggling to keep the condenser full of running water using my old pump.

Does anybody have any recommendations on how can I control the water flow and keep the condenser full using a simple water pump?

Thank you!

Fede.
greggn
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Re: Controlling water flow for condenser on alembic pot stil

Post by greggn »

If by "switches" you mean "valves" then the solution is to get some ball valves, or needle valves, with barb fittings and install them in-line in your coolant hoses.

As is usually the case ... photos would help.
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fsdowie
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Re: Controlling water flow for condenser on alembic pot stil

Post by fsdowie »

Here's a photo that shows the water pump I'm using and hoses. It also shows the "switches" (should have said valves?) of my previous stove top still and you can also see what the new still condenser looks like.
pump2.jpg
Thanks

Fede.
Antler24
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Re: Controlling water flow for condenser on alembic pot stil

Post by Antler24 »

You need to modify one of those valves to fit the new condenser, or install an inline valve on the line that leads to the bottom fitting on the condenser (cold water IN)
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NZChris
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Re: Controlling water flow for condenser on alembic pot stil

Post by NZChris »

Heat rises, so pump the cold water into the bottom of the worm and let the hot water overflow out of the top. If you are using a reservoir, take the cold water from the bottom and return the hot to the top, avoiding turbulence and mixing as much as possible.

To maximize efficiency, control the condensate temperature out of the worm by using a thermostat to switch the pump. You may have to restrict the flow from that sized pump.
fsdowie
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Re: Controlling water flow for condenser on alembic pot stil

Post by fsdowie »

Thanks for your suggestions!

I finally got this from my local hardware store. Planning to cut the hose to fit it in (probably close to the condenser so I can control the flow on the fly). Thoughts?
valve.jpg
Thanks again everybody for your help.

Fede.
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NZChris
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Re: Controlling water flow for condenser on alembic pot stil

Post by NZChris »

That'll be fine.
greggn
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Re: Controlling water flow for condenser on alembic pot stil

Post by greggn »

> Planning to cut the hose to fit it in (probably close to the condenser so I can control the flow on the fly).


I suggest putting it on the pump side. Too close to your worm, without support, and the weight of the valve will cause the hose to kink.
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OtisT
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Re: Controlling water flow for condenser on alembic pot stil

Post by OtisT »

I have one more trick to getting the most flow from your pump. To the best of your ability, place your condensers, pumps, hoses and drain outlet at the same elevation. The pump becomes less efficient when it has to lift your water to a higher elevation.

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Bushman
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Re: Controlling water flow for condenser on alembic pot stil

Post by Bushman »

OtisT wrote:I have one more trick to getting the most flow from your pump. To the best of your ability, place your condensers, pumps, hoses and drain outlet at the same elevation. The pump becomes less efficient when it has to lift your water to a higher elevation.

Otis
Shouldn't be a problem on a product condenser but on a reflux still having a pump that has a vertical rise of 12' is almost a minimum.
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