Pump recommendation to supply water to condenser?

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Pops33
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Pump recommendation to supply water to condenser?

Post by Pops33 »

Hi all,

I think I should have posted this here instead of novice distiller topic.

What do you use for a pump to supply water to the condenser? I have 10 gallon pot still with I'd say ~3 gallon condenser.
I just did a strip run and towards the end of the run my well pump ran constantly, So to not burn the pump I fed the condenser with snow. Once the snow is melted I'll need an alternative to keep the water in the condenser cool. I read about someone using a re-circulation pump on this forum but can't remember who. I'm planning on getting a 1000 liter tote soon(filling it with river water nearby) and either get a submersible pump or transfer pump to water the lawn and wash vehicles. I thought I could use it to supply water to the condenser but might be overkill, plus I'd have to run a garden hose from outside to the basement. So, which type of pump and what size pump should i be buying? 1/5, 1/4, 1/2 HP?
Thank you,
Pops33
Pops33
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Re: Pump recommendation to supply water to condenser?

Post by Pops33 »

After reading a bit more on what people are using, I think I'll get the 1000L tote and using head pressure/gravity to feed the condenser and a transfer pump to put it back in the tote.
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Durhommer
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Re: Pump recommendation to supply water to condenser?

Post by Durhommer »

Just use a 30 dollar pond pump from home depot that's what many of us use
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SmokyMtn
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Re: Pump recommendation to supply water to condenser?

Post by SmokyMtn »

Pops33 wrote: Mon Mar 29, 2021 2:00 pm Hi all,
I'm planning on getting a 1000 liter tote soon(filling it with river water nearby)Have you thought how you're going to unload that tote full of water? and either get a submersible pump or transfer pump to water the lawn and wash vehicles. I thought I could use it to supply water to the condenser but might be overkill,not at all, many members do the same plus I'd have to run a garden hose from outside to the basement. So, which type of pump and what size pump should i be buying? 1/5, 1/4, 1/2 HP? depends on condenser, how much lift, size of pipe, how far is it traveling?
Thank you,
Pops33
My 9" Shotgun Condenser


This hobby really is not so much about making alcohol. But bottling opportunities to make memories with Friends and Family.
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cranky
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Re: Pump recommendation to supply water to condenser?

Post by cranky »

Since you seem to be using a flake stand the capacity if the pump can be pretty minimal, The key thing is a pump that has enough head lift to get the water where you need it. I use a 55 gallon reservoir and have a Harbor Freight pump that was discontinued long ago that has a 9 ft head lift which works for me because I sometimes use a reflux still. When I run in pot mode I don't need so much lift so I have a second pump that feeds my condenser from the reservoir next to it with only a 5 ft head lift.
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Yummyrum
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Re: Pump recommendation to supply water to condenser?

Post by Yummyrum »

I got a 2000 litre tank for my still’n so on a par , I just replaced my old 350w Submersible that I’d had for near on 6 years with a 750w one . Very happy . Submersibles are very forgiving . You can throttle then back to a trickle to run a Liebig or they are happy to pump enough head to run a 4” reflux still 3 meters high .

You probably can’t get this model where you are but one of these .
https://www.bunnings.com.au/ryobi-750w- ... lsrc=aw.ds

Just drop it in the tank and away you go .

On a side note . Last weekend we lost power . Being on tank water , we had no running water . My little honda 3.5kva genny doesn’t have enough guts to run the household pump .

Dropped submersible pump in the house tank and pissy genny ran her just fine . Plugged it into the garden hose outlet and it pressured house water enough that Mrs Yummy had enough pressure for hot shower and toilet flushes .

Due diligence was rewarded :ewink:

Them's be a good pump :thumbup:
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NZChris
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Re: Pump recommendation to supply water to condenser?

Post by NZChris »

When running off grid, I bucket water into a header tank about 3' above the condenser. I have a 12V pump I could use to top up the tank, but haven't bothered trying it yet. If the condenser isn't undersized and your water is cold, it doesn't take a lot of water to do the job.
Pops33
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Re: Pump recommendation to supply water to condenser?

Post by Pops33 »

Thank you for your response
I'm planning on getting a 1000 liter tote soon(filling it with river water nearby)Have you thought how you're going to unload that tote full of water?
Yes, I have a 7000 lbs trailer and a 2" gas trash pump to pump water from the river in the tote. Back the trailer next to basement window or use the Tractor with forks to offload and position it next to basement window.
So, which type of pump and what size pump should i be buying? 1/5, 1/4, 1/2 HP? depends on condenser, how much lift, size of pipe, how far is it traveling?
The condenser is small, measures 8 1/2" diameter and it's 9" to the top of top outlet so about 8.37 litres or 2.2 us gallons. When I do spirit run the well can keep up because I'm using less heat on boiler, thus a trickle flow to the condenser. Strip run is another story. The tank would be ~20 feet away with ~7 to 8 feet head lift and I would be using a garden hose to let head pressure feed the condenser and garden hose to pump it back to the tote, 1/2" maybe 5/8"?
Yummyrum wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 12:28 am Submersibles are very forgiving . You can throttle then back to a trickle
How do yo throttle back the flow? use a ball valve to choke it a bit or do some have a dial on on it?
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Yummyrum
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Re: Pump recommendation to supply water to condenser?

Post by Yummyrum »

Pops33 wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 3:15 am How do yo throttle back the flow? use a ball valve to choke it a bit or do some have a dial on on it?
Yes , just a valve in outlet of condenser .
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SmokyMtn
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Re: Pump recommendation to supply water to condenser?

Post by SmokyMtn »

Check the specs before you buy. But a 1/4 hp submersible sounds like the right head lift. It will be more gph than you need.

I'm designing my cooling system right now. I will have two totes, 1/4 hp submersible pump 30 gpm @ 10 psi, after condenser will be a heat exchanger w/ cheap box fan

Then possibly 6 - 5 foot lengths of 3/4 over 1/2
Instead of hot wort, it would be the hot water from condenser/ heat exchanger.

I will have extra gpm from the pump and feed chiller. This in theory should lower cooling water to nearly ambient temps.

Overkill is my middle name.

Wasn't trying to be smart about unloading the tote. But it is a literal ton of water.. if you had two totes- one to fetch water, and one empty to pump into once home. Possibly redirect gutter downspout and fill tote?
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heynonny
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Re: Pump recommendation to supply water to condenser?

Post by heynonny »

I went to a boating supply shop & bought a bilge pump for about $50.00. I think it pumps about 360 gallons per hour. Lasts forever!
  
 
 
       Oh,look!! Its a hole in the space-time contuum!!
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