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Re: Cooling for 4 inch 4 plate bubbler

PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2018 8:29 pm
by db1979
Just get a 1/2" gate valve from the big green shed.

Re: Cooling for 4 inch 4 plate bubbler

PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2018 8:33 pm
by Ned
db1979 wrote:Not enough control for an RC, better off with a gate valve. You don't need to have a large gate valve, 1/2" is fine. Pressure loss occurs when you have a small diameter over a long distance. If it's just a small section of the cooling lines it won't affect it. And when you're collecting product you'll find the valve is almost completely closed anyway.

Okay good info :text-thankyoublue:

Re: Cooling for 4 inch 4 plate bubbler

PostPosted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 10:19 am
by Aussiedownunder01
I thing you are making it to complicated on mine the water comes out of the tap into the bottom of the pc out the top to the rc then out of that to the garden or fruit trees
I have a temp gauge on the rc water and above the rc as soon as it heats up i can dial in the temps i want 29.6 rc and 77.4 above aA mate came around to see a run he was amazed how i didn't touch a thing for the run he has a t 500 and he has to watch it like a hawk i have done a few runs :oops: no problem and if i want a striping run just no water in the rc

Re: Cooling for 4 inch 4 plate bubbler

PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 9:18 am
by Ned
Aussiedownunder01 wrote:I thing you are making it to complicated on mine the water comes out of the tap into the bottom of the pc out the top to the rc then out of that to the garden or fruit trees
I have a temp gauge on the rc water and above the rc as soon as it heats up i can dial in the temps i want 29.6 rc and 77.4 above aA mate came around to see a run he was amazed how i didn't touch a thing for the run he has a t 500 and he has to watch it like a hawk i have done a few runs :oops: no problem and if i want a striping run just no water in the rc


Sounds good to me
Just setting mine up.
Any chance of a photo interested how you set up your temp gauge.

Re: Cooling for 4 inch 4 plate bubbler

PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 9:25 am
by The Stig
Just dont set it up the wrong way round Ned :laughing-rolling: :teasing-neener:

Re: Cooling for 4 inch 4 plate bubbler

PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 12:42 pm
by Ned
The Stig wrote:Just dont set it up the wrong way round Ned :laughing-rolling: :teasing-neener:



Thanks very much for the vote of confidence :text-lol: :text-lol: :violence-stickwhack:

Re: Cooling for 4 inch 4 plate bubbler

PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 12:48 pm
by Matt_Pl
Sorry mate I missed your question.

Needle valve for the RC and the dodgy gate valve for the PC.

The 19mm irrigation line is just the standard cheap poly line from Bunnings. I used 19mm barbed elbows to 1/2” bsp fittings so the line won’t kink as it bends to enter the RC and PC.

When I replaced my braded lines I doubled the flow through the still. It made a huge impact.

Cheers
Matt

Re: Cooling for 4 inch 4 plate bubbler

PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 2:26 pm
by bluc
Matt_Pl wrote:
When I replaced my braded lines I doubled the flow through the still. It made a huge impact.

Cheers
Matt

I may have to do that also...

Re: Cooling for 4 inch 4 plate bubbler

PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 2:46 pm
by db1979
Braided lines look cool but aren't great unless you're running a powerful pump. The longer the braided lines, the worse it is. My little fountain pump works great with 19mm lines.

Re: Cooling for 4 inch 4 plate bubbler

PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 4:29 pm
by The Stig
Think I’ll be off to bumming Friday to see if I can get all the fittings to change over from braids

Re: Cooling for 4 inch 4 plate bubbler

PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 7:09 pm
by bluc
I am doing a mod in my shed to enclose everything in a cupboard. I may hard plumb it with 19mm copper.. :D

Re: Cooling for 4 inch 4 plate bubbler

PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 8:00 pm
by Sam.
The Stig wrote:Think I’ll be off to bumming Friday to see if I can get all the fittings to change over from braids


That sounds painful :laughing-rolling:

Re: Cooling for 4 inch 4 plate bubbler

PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 8:04 pm
by coffe addict
I have a small 65w solar hot water pump. Very cheap on fleabay and use 1/2in hose onto 1/2in copper on my pc and rc with around 15m at a guess of hose and get heaps of flow.
3/4in is probably overkill but it sure won't hurt. Pumps generally hate restrictions.

Re: Cooling for 4 inch 4 plate bubbler

PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 8:38 pm
by bluc
My pump is a fish tank hailer 1700gal/hr. Has an inch output my rc pc have 1/2" lines so may just stick to 1/2" to keep cost down..

Re: Cooling for 4 inch 4 plate bubbler

PostPosted: Thu Oct 25, 2018 7:12 pm
by Ned
Aussiedownunder01 wrote:I thing you are making it to complicated on mine the water comes out of the tap into the bottom of the pc out the top to the rc then out of that to the garden or fruit trees
I have a temp gauge on the rc water and above the rc as soon as it heats up i can dial in the temps i want 29.6 rc and 77.4 above aA mate came around to see a run he was amazed how i didn't touch a thing for the run he has a t 500 and he has to watch it like a hawk i have done a few runs :oops: no problem and if i want a striping run just no water in the rc


How do you get on if you want to do an all grain whiskey or rum with this set up, do you just take out the packed section and still use the RC and of course the PC.
If you do a stripping run and have not water running to the rc how does your water drain if you close off the rc.

Re: Cooling for 4 inch 4 plate bubbler

PostPosted: Thu Oct 25, 2018 8:02 pm
by bluc
Only strip with neutral + packed section. . Whiskey rum use rc and plates...

Re: Cooling for 4 inch 4 plate bubbler

PostPosted: Thu Oct 25, 2018 9:29 pm
by coffe addict
No need to drain the rc it'll just heat up to the same temp as the vapour. This creates a small amount of reflux initially which helps condense the fores.
No need to strip for brown spirits though some still do. Ie combine one strip done midweek with wash and Get twice as much on Saturday.

Re: Cooling for 4 inch 4 plate bubbler

PostPosted: Fri Oct 26, 2018 6:00 am
by db1979
Closing off your RC valve won't drain it if it already has water in it. Closing it off before you turn on your pump will keep water out of it. I drain mine by rocking my still (and boiler) on its side slightly (easier when boiler is empty). Doesn't need much of an angle.

Having an empty RC isn't necessary for stripping but it makes heatup faster as water requires lots more heat than copper to heat up. It's a simple and effective way to cut time out of the run.

Re: Cooling for 4 inch 4 plate bubbler

PostPosted: Fri Oct 26, 2018 8:15 am
by EziTasting
db1979 wrote:Having an empty RC isn't necessary for stripping but it makes heatup faster as water requires lots more heat than copper to heat up. It's a simple and effective way to cut time out of the run.


I don't use an RC when I strip... I don't even strip using plates ... Hard & Fast - reduce 180L into 45+L in half a day. On the spirit run, I use everything for neutral, Plates/packed section with scrubbers & RC....

I use 2 different water sources when doing a spirit run (now anyway as it get mildly warm here now in summer ~ 45*C+), PC is on recycled water (180L drum) and on the RC I used tap water as that remains cooler.

Will be putting effort into a completely recycled water source soon, either using some sort of cooling tower or radiator set up. While i have room for an IBC, I don't have the equipment to move it around in our yard so will be avoiding that for the time being. SWMBO is happy for my hobby to me mobile at the moment because that way it can be removed and hidden when visitors come around.