Question about condenser coils

[Mel Gibson]

When people run their condensers without a pump, is it due to the heated water raising causing a siphon effect?

[olddog]

I did not know you could run a condenser without a pump, unless you have a coil in a bucket type.


OD

[Mel Gibson]

I thought I read some where on here a few days ago. I try to find it and reread it maybe I just misunderstood it. So, It's not possible for the heated water to rise until it's out of the coil and flowing back down to the reservoir causing it to suck up more cold water? It made sense rattlin around in my tiny little mind.

[olddog]

No it's not, I think what you were refering to, is that someone posted that when your pump is borderline in its headroom capacity, by drawing the water through the coil by suction will make it syphon, this does not mean you can do without a pump altogether, you still need to get the water close to the maximum headroom. There's no free lunch unfortunately.


OD

[Mel Gibson]

I see. Aw yes, young grasshoppa have much to learn!

[Braz]

On my rig I have a pump in a 5 gal bucket of water and a hose running into the bucket to maintain water level. The output from the condenser runs through a hose outside to the ground, lower than the level of the bucket. When I shut down and shut off the pump the water continues to siphon through the condenser till the bucket is empty.

So, in theory anyway, you could once you got the flow going run by siphon effect alone. But I'm not sure you could get enough rate of flow to keep the condenser cool.

I'm going to set up in pot mode today for a strip run. I might try turning the pump off during the run just to see if the flow is sufficient for the liebing condenser on the pot head.

[agooga]

I have a small stove-top still rig that I set up for test runs and such. This rig has a little glass condenser that sits down closer to ground level. I have a 5 gallon bucket up on the counter that feeds the condenser thru a 1/4" tube and discharges into another 5 gal. bucket on the floor. When the top bucket is empty I just swap buckets and start the syphon up again. No probs!

[Braz]

Quoting myself here:

I'm going to set up in pot mode today for a strip run. I might try turning the pump off during the run just to see if the flow is sufficient for the liebing condenser on the pot head.

Well, it worked and it didn't. I had to fiddle with the drain hose routing a little to get rid of any air traps. After that it circulated water by siphon effect alone but at a very reduced flow rate. The condenser got pretty hot pretty quick and I switched the pump back on.

[MuleKicker]

Braz, why dont you run strait off of your water pressure? it would eliminate that pump/bucket. just put a fine adjust valve with a coupler on the end of the hose, hook that straight to yer still.

[Braz]

Braz, why dont you run strait off of your water pressure? it would eliminate that pump/bucket. just put a fine adjust valve with a coupler on the end of the hose, hook that straight to yer still.

Just damn laziness. I set it up with the bucket & pump thinking I'd recycle the water and cool it with a chunk of ice now and then. That turned out to be more trouble than worth so I just put a ball valve on the end of the hose and let the hose replenish the water in the bucket. I have quick disconnect fuel line fittings on the water lines so I can easily switch between pot and column heads and I'd need to "engineer" a reducer from the garden hose to the QD fitting. Doable if I ever get a round tuit.