Closed loop water cooling (aircool) for reflux rig?

[joeymac]

I see some people run air cooling on potstills. Currently I'm just running an aquarium pump in a sink on my reflux... when the water gets very warm, I open the drain until there is minimal water in the sink and the top it off with cold water again. It works alright, but I probably go through 60 gallons for a run though.

Would it be possible or economical to run a closed loop air-cooled water circuit on a reflux rig? That way I could recirculate maybe only 5 gallons. I'm thinking like a small radiator, maybe 24"x24" with a few fans on it might be able to shed 5000W of heat input. Better yet, has anyone ever heard of air-only cooling for a reflux?

[Euphoria]

I'm sure there are several good fan/radiator cooling set-ups out there, but this is the one I just recently built. The radiator is 16" X 16", mounted to a 20" box fan. I run a 50 gallon plastic tank reservoir to cool my 4 plate 4" still with a 25 gallon boiler. Having it to do over again, I probably would opt for the 20" X 20" radiator, simply because it would be less work to mount it to the standard 20" box fan. Other than that, this is how I roll. YMMV

[shadylane]

I see some people run air cooling on potstills. Better yet, has anyone ever heard of air-only cooling for a reflux?

I've done a little bit of experimenting with an air cooled reflux condenser. Their much bigger and heavier than a water cooled RC.
All that bulk on top of a column presents a problem. But that can be worked around.
I hung the air-cooled RC in the rafters of the shop with the fan blowing up into it.

[Hound Dog]

60 gallons of water seems like a lot. I use a 32 gallon trash can and before I put a radiator set up on top, I doubt I went through enough water to change it twice. But as far as that goes how is your water bill measured? How water conservative are you about other aspects of your home?

"Washing laundry is a significant use of water in the average home; accounting for 15% to 40% of the overall water consumption inside the typical household of four persons. The average American family washes almost 400 loads of laundry each year.
Water Factor:
Because washers come in various sizes and capacity, the water efficiency of clothes washers is rated using the term "Water Factor" to accurately compare water use. Water Factor (WF) is measured by the quantity of water (gallons) used to wash each cubic foot of laundry.
Older Washers:
An old school washer will use approximately 40 to 45 gallons (151.4 L to 170.3 L) of water per load and have a water factor of 10 or higher. A family of four using a standard clothes washer will generate more than 300 loads per year, consuming 12,000 gallons (45.4 m3) of water annually."

Did you upgrade to a high efficiency washer? Toilets use even more water per week,

"Potty Smarts: Know Your Toilet:

In a home with older toilets, an average flush uses about 3.6 gallons (13.6 liters), and the daily use is 18.8 gallons (71.2 liters) per person per day. In a home with ultra-low-flow (ULF) toilets, with an average flush volume of 1.6 gallons (6 liters), the daily use is 9.1 gallons (34.4 liters) per person per day. A family of four using an older toilet will use approximately 26,000 gallons (98.4 m3) per year in toilet flushes, while a family with a ULF toilet will use approximately 11,000 gallons (41.6 m3) per year in toilet flushes, achieving a savings of 15,000 gallons (56.7 m3) per year."

You don't still have that super flusher from the 80's do you?

See, your still hardly uses any water!
Justify my man, justify......

[DAD300]

Recycling cooling water is the right thing to do if you have an easy sufficient storage bin...but do this...

Place the water storage bin above the still level so that in case of an electrical failure/outage, gravity will feed your condensers at least long enough to get the still shut down!

Nightmare is electric pump providing cooling water fails and the hot boiler makes vapor for another few minutes. Or worse the propane powered boiler makes vapor for another hour.

[Euphoria]

Sounds like plausible ideas, and I agree with the points you made as safety considerations, but logistically, for me anyways, it is a bit more complicated. My depheg and Liebig are about 6 feet up above floor level and I don't know how I would manage wrangling a 50 gallon poly drum 7 feet in the air. Heck, I don't even have that much height in my garage anyway. On the upside, I do have a Honda 2000 watt generator sitting nearby, which I can press into service if need be, to run my recirc. pump and fan until things cool down. It has been converted to run on propane, so I can go for a long time on a tank. My boiler heater is electric (240vac 5,500 watt), which will cool rather quickly without power running to it.