Condenser widening advice

[jasonfhk]

Hi Everyone!

I've been reading the forums and seen bits and pieces noting there's a possibility of getting a small boost in reflux by increasing the height and width of your condenser if you do it right.

My setup is a T500 copper condenser and I was wondering your thoughts on adding a 2" thread (for lid) to 4" tri-clover converter, then two or three 4" sight glasses with bubble caps, then 4" to 2" converter...or separately just a 2" to 4" converter with 4" packed copper pipe, then back down to 2" to attach to the condenser. Picture attached for visual concept.

I've been looking for hours and haven't been able to find any other threads on this specifically and google has not been helpful, most likely because I have no idea what terms to search for specifically.

Any thoughts and advice on either or both ideas would be appreciated because even a negligible increase of percentage output would be cool, however if there's a major risk of reduced output then I should know that too.

I think it'd be a fun project for some benefit but I don't want to invest that money, time and effort into something that would do worse 8-} .

2-4-2 boiler concept.png

[The Stig]

4" tri-clover converter, then two or three 4" sight glasses with bubble caps, then 4" to 2" converter...or separately just a 2" to 4" converter with 4" packed copper pipe, then back down to 2" to attach to the condenser. Picture attached for visual concept.

1 - Your going to crush your boiler unless you upgrade to a keg or milk can.
2 - The T500 coil condenser will not cope with the extra
3 - The 2000w element in the T500 wont produce enough heat to drive 1 4" plate let alone 2 or 3 and forget a 500mm x 4" packed section
Realistically, you can add an extra 2" x ???mm pipe to extend the T500 and add more packing but thats about it and your not going to get any real massive improvements.
If you want a 4" column, do it the right way

[jasonfhk]

4" tri-clover converter, then two or three 4" sight glasses with bubble caps, then 4" to 2" converter...or separately just a 2" to 4" converter with 4" packed copper pipe, then back down to 2" to attach to the condenser. Picture attached for visual concept.

1 - Your going to crush your boiler unless you upgrade to a keg or milk can.
2 - The T500 coil condenser will not cope with the extra
3 - The 2000w element in the T500 wont produce enough heat to drive 1 4" plate let alone 2 or 3 and forget a 500mm x 4" packed section
Realistically, you can add an extra 2" x ???mm pipe to extend the T500 and add more packing but thats about it and your not going to get any real massive improvements.
If you want a 4" column, do it the right way

Awesome, that's a pretty helpful reply.

1. That's a good point, wouldn't want to crush it.
2. Good to know, that was one of my concerns.
3. I didn't know that would have been a problem, I thought it would have still created enough pressure to push through, so also good to know.
4. It's not that I wanted a 4" column, it was seeing if my idea was plausible as I'd seen people throw around on here that wider and taller is better for more reflux, so it was a thought :)) .

Now to check out the forums for research on what will best suit me when I decide to do it right ^_^

Thank you for the insight Stig, I appreciate it! :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Wellsy]

Jason I highly recommend you give 5 star a call as it will save you 100s of hours searching for answers. We all keep saying it because it is true mate, you will get honest advice and a good idea on the cost. A call does not mean you are ready to buy, just that you are doing research, you won’t get any pressure sales because the stuff sells itself when you are ready to buy. We have all been there and can reassure you you won’t get pressure.
Good luck

[The Stig]

people throw around on here that wider and taller is better for more reflux

Wider and taller = Faster but you cant really turn a 2" (actually a T500 is 1.5" ) into a 4" column