my still

[Spike]

Cooling the condenser water is a major problem for us over here. As our water tanks are roof mounted the incoming water temp can often be in excess of 30C and with ambient air temp generally around 24C inside (40C plus outside) this is an issue. Since flushing cooling water away is wasteful, expensive and (most importantly) draws attention because of the high consumption, we have developed simple-to-construct cooling towers using polyethylene water carriers, colanders (as a sparger), dish cloths (as evaporator plates) and a room fan. With this arrangement we can easily dissipate 2kW and the water entering the system is positively chilly. This also has the advantage that we can operate our units anywhere there is an electrical outlet and not just where there is a water supply (which upsets the lady of the house as it blocks sink/bathroom/utility areas). I might add that this concept wasn’t my idea, but that of a colleague.