Upgrades

[Stonecutter]

In the process of swapping SS for copper. My riser was the first to get the treatment. 12”+ First time soldering anything. I think I did pretty good for a newbie. The reflux column (red arrow) will be next.

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[Deplorable]

Looks real good.
I started with the same kinda rig, and within a few short months of getting it I
cut the little liebig off and built a new 42' copper one that attached with a 1.5 in TC.
Then I scored a section of 2" copper pipe and built a complete modular setup. The only thing left of what I started out with is a 20 inch SS spool and the 13 gallon boiler.

[Stonecutter]

Thanks Deplorable! Looks like there’s hope for me after all! I’m going to do as much modification as I can. The test between copper and SS has officially started. I’ll be packing the riser with the same copper mesh as I had before.
The pursuit of a better drop continues!

[Stonecutter]

Starting the upgrade on my cooling system. The ?“duct box”? was free…well it cost a couple rides in the elevator but that’s nuthin. The sheet metal is large enough that I can eventually attach it to a stand of some sort. I’m going to be pulling through the fins into the box instead of pushing into the box if that makes sense. Any suggestions on airflow would be appreciated. There’s a foam gasket around the box but I’ve added a couple more bolts to try and make it more airtight. Right now I’m going to be using this to chill water leaving my condensers heading towards a cooler filled with ice water. As the weather grows colder I’m thinking about placing the unit outside where it will stay dry and the cold air will really chill the water flowing back into the reservoir. My other thought was mounting it on the lid to the cooler to make use of the cold air inside. Any thoughts on that would be great as well. The unit could be used in many different ways and this is just a start. I’m pretty stoked to get this up and running.

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6.5” deep housing.

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14” radiator fan $30

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15”x19” fin and coil box dimensions. Copper piping is 5/8” OD and 9/16” ID

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12v 90W fan spec push/pull type

[Ben]

If you mount the cooling stack in the shop wall you can reverse the flow, heat the shop in the winter

[jonnys_spirit]

You may not have enough flow coming out of the condenser to effectively fill the tubes with liquid. If you run your PC with a nice gradient. Might be better to dump your hot water into a ln intermediary bucket with a float switch connected to a pump that runs it through the coil when it gets so full - maybe a valve on the output to get the flow just right for best heat exchange then have that empty back into your primary reservoir. That just adds a bucket a pond pump a float switch and some tubing.

Cheers!
-j

[Stonecutter]

That’s a great idea Jonny. I was wondering about that exact problem. The switch and tubing are fairly inexpensive and I already have an extra pond pump. I’ll just have to make sure that my primary reservoir will hold enough for the whole system.

Ben- I’ll have to see if it’s worth the trade off between using cool air to chill my water or the warmer air to heat my surroundings. I do currently use an electric element and still indoors so the outside air isn’t too much of a concern.

Thanks for the input guys.

[Stonecutter]

You may not have enough flow coming out of the condenser to effectively fill the tubes with liquid. If you run your PC with a nice gradient. Might be better to dump your hot water into a ln intermediary bucket with a float switch connected to a pump that runs it through the coil when it gets so full - maybe a valve on the output to get the flow just right for best heat exchange then have that empty back into your primary reservoir. That just adds a bucket a pond pump a float switch and some tubing.

Cheers!
-j

What if I put a valve on the outlet side to reduce flow thereby increasing water volume in the system? Might have an added benefit of cooling the water down more. Obviously I don’t want to rupture any connections but I’m not really pushing to hard with my small pond pump.

[jonnys_spirit]

Valve on the output side of the fan condenser? Try that first since it’s less parts and easy. If it get’s air in it just open it up all the way to flush then tighten down to where you want it for your PC/RC.

You could also maybe have the separate cooling loop/return through your primary reservoir and run it all the time to hopefully keep primary temp consistent.

I don’t know the math but cooling BTU’s should be equal or more than heater power btu’s to keep the coolant temp stable?

Cheers!
-j

[Stonecutter]

Yes, valve would be placed on the out going side of the “fan condenser” unit. Before returning back into my water reservoir. I currently use a temp probe and ice in a cooler but in order to keep a consistent temperature, within a degree or two, I’m having to add handfuls of ice every 5-10 minutes. It’s a little monotonous I’m only running 6 gallons in an 8 gallon boiler right now, so maintaining CM temp hasn’t been too much of a problem. This fan setup is going to be for my 26 gallon plated column. I’m hoping the fan will simply extend the time between adding ice and help reduce the total volume of reservoir water I need for a 16-20 gallon run.