Water cooling idea

[jollyroger]

I recently acquired an air conditioner that had been punctured and rendered useless. I was gonna just harvest all of the wiring and radiators for scrap, then the mad scientist in me kicked in. Since I have been trying to figure out a cheap solution to a water chiller, I thought I might be able to rig this up to work. I have the cord, the fans (2) and the radiators (2). I am thinking that if I can mount the radiators opposite each other with the 2 fans between them blowing opposite each other, then join the outlet of one radiator to the inlet of the other, I could pump my hot water out of my Leibig into the first radiator. This would allow it to circulate through 2 radiators and come out very cool into my reservoir, thus reducing the amount of water used and saving me from having to buy more equipment. The smaller radiator has what looks like 3/8" coils running through it, and the larger radiator has what looks to be maybe 1/4" coils. I could be wrong on the measurements, though. Do ya'll think this will be efficient using a small $20 pond pump and say 18 gallons of water for a 15 gallon still with a 40" 1 1/4" head and 24" 3/4 over 1/2" Leibig on a warm day? Running during cold weather without the rads and fans, 18 gallons was just barely enough to keep it cool for a single run.

[Cardinalbags]

I would suggest the pond pump will not put out the required pressure to overcome the resistance of the radiator tubing if they go as small as 1/4". I would suggest a fractional hp pump, say 3/4 that can put out up to 40-60 psig. By the time you put that much resistance in front of a pump like that, you will have somewhere near 2-3 litres per minute flow rate.

While pond pumps put out a good flow they only do so at low head pressures, 4-5 psi. I would expect those radiators to have at least 20 psi delta P.

[jollyroger]

That is what I was afraid of. Do you think that if I got a different pump that that set up would be efficient for cooling my output water enough to keep the vapor knocked down in warm/hot weather? I don't wanna spend the money on a pump if the rads and fans won't keep up. I may try to find a bigger radiator as well, if need be.

[Cardinalbags]

It sounds like it would do the trick, but without knowing exact details of surface area and fan SCFM rating, couldnt say for sure.

Do a search on dishwasher pumps. I recall recently reading where a member used a DW pump with radiator and worked just fine. Lots of examples on here of people using radiators for cooling water recirculation. Im looking around for some of the same kit myself as i cannot use my underground cistern this time of year... the water lines to the pump suction are all frozen

[jollyroger]

I ended up with this stuff for free, so I thought I might give it a try. I'm not really trying to sink any money into it if I don't have to. If I can find a DW pump in some junk, I will surely give it a go, though. Most of the stuff I have used in building my still have been found, free, or very cheap. I am trying to maintain that aspect of it as much as possible, and still be able to run a decent product. I may even be putting the cart before the horse with this cooling system. I am not 100% certain that I will have problems keeping it cool, but I think I might, therefore trying to nip a problem before I have it, so to speak.

[Cardinalbags]

15 gallon still and only 18 gallons of water... by those numbers the water will get plenty warm on any run lasting two hours or more. I have been running 15 gal boiler with 30 gallons of water recirculating and it was getting warm enough to start failing the vinyl water tubing to and from the water barrel. Ive since switched to a combination of heavy duty garden hose and reinforced clear hoses.

If I am doing a reflux run over a longer period of time, I will eventually drain the barrel by directing the condenser discharge out the door and onto the ground and then just before I lose suction as the barrel empties, I refill the barrel with new colder water to finish the run.

[jollyroger]

What I may try, if the radiator idea doesn't work, is using a larger receptacle for my water, and use something like a wort chiller going through ice or ice water before finally exiting to my receptacle again. This way it will keep the water cool, but not shock cool my condenser. I just really can't afford to be wasting water.

[jollyroger]

Well, I have to scrap the radiator idea. My dumb ass knocked 2 huge holes in the biggest radiator while cutting some crimps off of it. Back to the old drawing board...

[S-Cackalacky]

Maybe you're over thinking it. Just move to a larger reservoir - maybe double what you have. That may be enough to get you through your runs. If not, keep 5 or 6 five gallon buckets of water handy for cooling it down if necessary. Also have a couple empty buckets available to catch the hot water from the top of your reservoir. Use a piece of hose with a big funnel to feed cool water to the bottom of the reservoir. Pour in a bucket of the cool water and catch the hot water overflow in one of the empty buckets.

I've been using the same 15 gallons of water for about 6 months. I bought a jug of concentrated chlorine bleach at Lowe's and add about a cup to my reservoir each time I do a run, or series of runs. You could also probably use the chlorine tablets used for hot tubs.

S-C

[jollyroger]

You are probably right with the over thinking part...hehehe. I do that from time to time. I was just trying to rig something up out of free parts I had instead of going the simple way.

[bearriver]

I just recently fixed an old radiator on top of a rain barrel with a fan on the radiator, then put a drain on it so after its empty I have a place to store the radiator, lines, and other still stuff. Its an old idea from around here and it works like a champ.

Was dumping that 55 gallon drum out > 3 times in 12 hours to cool it..... :p

[jollyroger]

Well, I got a larger receptacle for my water. I went with the 32 gallon trash can that some on here are using. I will give that a try and see if I need to add anything to keep it cool enough. I am going to be ordering a small pond pump next. I should be back up and running again in about 2 more weeks!

[BentJar]

Jollyrodjer, continue with you radiator cooling system, so you crapped out, mine is working like a champ. The pump to use is from a dishwasher and makes no noise.

[jollyroger]

If I can find a radiator, I might still use that idea, but for now, it has to just be a larger receptacle. I ruined the small radiators that I had, which were undersized anyway.