Suggestions for a pump for a 1/4" coil

[Limitedsky]

Another trick would be to raise your reservoir up to the height of your reflux head. That would eliminate the static head at least. You still have flow friction to contend with, but your little pond pump may actually pump water. It's worth a try, huh?
ss

Yeah, can't really get it much higher, 400mm from top would be best I could do. I tried putting the coil on ground level with the pump my mate gave me ( probably around 1500LPH at ground level) and thing produced a steady trickle, but nowhere near enough to cool this rig.

[bitter]

Part of the problem is most aquarium type pumps are not meant to run much PSI. The 1/4" is a huge restriction and will quickly cause the pump to heat up as they are not designed to work under pressure.

Even a lower pressure well pump puts out about 45-50psi, some city water setups can be as high as 90-100psi (most are over 60-70psi though here). I higher pressure aquarium pump is stretching to hit 5-6 psi, this combined with head high (How high you need to pump water up to the top of the column) is going to adversely affect flow. You can get differently designed water pumps for putting a sump in the basement and say pumping water to the second floor for an aquarium. These might work but at pricey.

Rather than using 1/4" copper why not make a coil out of lager stainless like dad300? http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 5&start=20

The larger diameter coil will make the pump function easier and require less PSI.

B

[Bushman]

On my VM that went through a 1/2" tube to liebig then out the top and to a 1/4" coil I used a pond pump that was rated for a 12' rise (this is important) and I had no issues with it. With my old set up I had a propane burner with a keg boiler and 4' column so rise capability is important. The pond pumps were not all that expensive and I believe I bought mine at a Fred Meyers Store.

[BaxtersDad]

I just bought this pump at Harbor Freight this morning, which is the last piece I needed to inaugurate my VM column still, 42" of 2" copper pipe filled with copper stuff that looks like Chore Girl scubbing pads (!), built for me by Mount Si Homebrew Supply, Snoqualmie, WA. It has a 1/4" tubing single coil at the top of the column and a Liebig condenser. The pump sends cooling water to the distal end of the Liebig, then the water is routed from the proximal end of the Liebig to the inlet connection of the coil and the from the outlet of the coil back to the reservoir. I timed a one minute flow into a container, got 1.75 quarts, which I think is about what I want.

I will probably do a vinegar-water cleaning run tomorrow. I have had this still for about 2 years just gathering dust, and figured it was about time to try to do something with it. They also made me a little pot still as well. I have had a quarter bbl keg that I was going to use as the boiler, but I just bit the bullet and bought a nice 8 gallon milk can boiler from Mile Hi, The milk can will be easier to fill and clean than the keg would have been.

Pump was about $40 at Harbor Freight. Specs are 620 GPH and 11.5 head lift, as Cranky notes, not sure what exactly they mean in reality but it appears to at least be adequate for my purposes.

I recently switched to this pump from harbor freight http://www.harborfreight.com/620-gph-su ... 68393.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
11.5ft head lift. I am running about 6.5ft high and with less restrictions than a 1/4" coil but when my return line came out of the reservoir it emptied 25 gallons of water all over the floor of my garage before I even realized it had happened.

[Hound Dog]

Pump was about $40 at Harbor Freight. Specs are 620 GPH and 11.5 head lift, as Cranky notes, not sure what exactly they mean in reality but it appears to at least be adequate for my purposes.

The most important spec you have is the Head Lift. It is important to understand this because this is how high your pump will be able to lift water. You need it to reach the top of your still. Since your still is probably not 11.5 feet tall, you are in good shape. The 620 gallons per hour you will not attain with a 1/4" tube coil. That's 10.3 gallons a minute.I wouldn't want to be in front of a 1/4" stream coming out at that rate . You don't need much volume anyway, just keep it moving.

[cranky]

The most important spec you have is the Head Lift. It is important to understand this because this is how high your pump will be able to lift water. You need it to reach the top of your still. Since your still is probably not 11.5 feet tall, you are in good shape.

This was the reason I chose this pump. I still haven't measured the height of my setup but it's well over 6ft maybe 7-7.5ft. I am currently using a Dad300 style condenser on my flute with 1/2" corrugated SS and the flow out of the reflux condenser can be about the same as my garden hose. Anybody south of Seattle might be interested to know that for the past couple months Home Depot in Renton/Kent and in Federal Way have both had 48" corrugated SS lines on closeout for $6.30 each and they really have some knockdown power. I myself have also gone to using 2 pumps, one for each condenser, for $35-40 it's well worth keeping both of them separate instead of having to try to balance one pump between 2 condensers.

[Danespirit]

The most important spec you have is the Head Lift. It is important to understand this because this is how high your pump will be able to lift water

+1 Hound Dog.
If the pump can't maintain a reasonable waterpressure, it will be likely to cause problems with smaller diameter tubing.

[BaxtersDad]

When this pump was connected to my still (just doing water runs right now, have some issues to address before alcohol), with pump connected to the far end of the Liebig, out the top of the Liebig to the reflux coil, and then out the reflux coil back to the reservoir, this pump gave a measured flow of 1.75 quarts per minute, which I think is adequate on a VM still.

The most important spec you have is the Head Lift. It is important to understand this because this is how high your pump will be able to lift water. You need it to reach the top of your still. Since your still is probably not 11.5 feet tall, you are in good shape. The 620 gallons per hour you will not attain with a 1/4" tube coil. That's 10.3 gallons a minute.I wouldn't want to be in front of a 1/4" stream coming out at that rate . You don't need much volume anyway, just keep it moving.

[cranky]

this pump gave a measured flow of 1.75 quarts per minute, which I think is adequate on a VM still.

I'm guessing it will be plenty.

[bearriver]

Had a third horse Little Giant push through a very long 1/4" RC on a tall column with adequate results. It was overkill, being my complaint. $114.95

I use city water to a drain now, for what it is worth.

[DFitz]

Perhaps considering a typical Marine grade RV wash down pump. The only drawback to this pump is the 12v requirement.
Look at this on eBay:

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... ID=EBAY-US" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

70 PSI Washdown Deck Wash Pump Kit 12V 5.5 GPM Boat Marine bb Caravan