Condenser pump idea

[Sam.]

Cost of water isn't my main consideration. A set up that can be easily stashed away when not in use is my main objective.

The radiator idea looks great. But without a shed, convincing the boss to have a car radiator in the house is an argument I am not even going to try. I need a get up that can be unpacked and stashed away in a relatively unobtrusive fashion.

However, before asking out on a chiller, two barrels of water is going to be my first priority. But f anyone has any experience of knowledge of aquarium chillers can chime in, it would be great.


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If the cost of water isnt a problem and you want to save space, all you need is two hoses. One coming from your tap and the other going down the drain, or preferably on your garden or lawn :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Lupus]

Maybe I had better rephrase, it is not my main problem :)

Still would not like the large water usage drawing unwanted attention. I know recently a mate's neighbor got nabbed for running an in home whacky weed farm. What tipped the cops off apparently was massive increase in power and water usage over a period of time.

[Sam.]

Unless you have a serious way to cool your water then you are going to need a large amount of water to recirculate.

The radiator idea is probably the easiest and most effective.

If this doesnt suit then you are going to have to find a way to cool your water, a refridg setup may work but it will be costing you more in power as well.

[Lupus]

I understand. At the moment, I am thinking of recirculating two 44gallon barrels of coolant and hoping the increased volume and separate barrels with its increased surface area will help cool the water aster.

Failing that, I will look at chillers. That is the reason why I am carefully watching this topic to see if anyone gives it a shot before I need to look into it. :)


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[kelbygreen]

set up a glycol system :P be expensive but it will come out at a few deg :laughing-rolling:

Maybe one of THESE! :P would be smaller then a radiator and all fans can run off a old PSU from a old PC not sure if it would be enough but I got a single 120mm radiator on my pc and its a closed loop and no reservoir and it stays just above ambient all year round. So with a big radiator like that 9 x 140mm fans and a big drum of water sure it would cool it some what.

Not sure what a radiator cost to buy and set up from a car but thinking of a more compact system and quieter :P

[emptyglass]

My first still used the tap water to drain method. While I felt no guilt dumping perfectly good water down the drain, I thought of the cost.
Then, when the drought hit a few years back, I went with a worm and bucket. Worked real well for a little while, then I had to replace hot water with cold. This gave a thermal shock to the pot still, and changed the way it produced every time new cold water was added.
So I plumbed cold to the bottom and took hot water off the top, with a needle valve to control flow through the flake stand/bucket. Nothing new here, but I would make 50l of hot water for a 45 litre run if I didn't empty the bucket between runs.
Enter the bubbler. One look at the condensers on a bubbler and you know these suckers are going to want some water. A self contained system is really the best way to go. That could be a 1000 litre "pod" and a pump, but I'm told even that big and they start to heat up after a run.
A car radiator is the go. I run a pump out of a factory "swampy" or evaporative cooler, a 240 volt ceiling exhaust fan to move the air and a 50 litre tank (old kerbside recycling container). It takes up a lot less space than 2 drums do, and uses no water. Some is lost to evaporation but like 5 litres a month.

Blow the air, dont suck it. Use a cowl/shroud. Make sure the radiator runs full, don't just let it feed into the top and trickle down. With a lot of work, you could duct the hot air out of the radiator and feed it to the burner area, better efficiency, less gas used. I have had to elevate my tank when mucking around with tall stills to compensate for head height and its effect on the centrifical pump. :teasing-blah: :teasing-blah: :teasing-blah: