Water recycling for cooling.

[MrCat]

Does anyone here use a pump to recycle the cooling water ??
I\'m thinking about using a computer and PC water cooling water pumps to control the cooling water flow but I think it would work better if I used some sort of reservoir and there is no where near a tap I can set my PC up.
Ok - what size reservoir are you using ? Will a 33 litre fermenter do ? I will be using two different feeds so the column gets it\'s own feed so I\'ll be using a fermenter for each feed.
Does anyone have a manual for the Brewcraft water pump to see what they sugegst ??
Cheers

[H2SO4.5]

I\'m using a bog standard kitchen bowl, probably holds 2 gallons of water then a 20 Watt fish pump off ebay for a fiver to pump it around. Works out at some 250 litres an hour into my 600mm copper condensor. Seems to work fine up to the 2 hours use I have given it. I\'m only using a kettle as a pot still until I can source something better but I don\'t think that should be factored in.
I\'d guess that a 33 litre container is more than adequate. Maybe one of those recycle tubs would be a good idea? Careful though as some have holes in the bottom!

[foRUM warrior]

i am planning on using a caravan water pump i got off ebay, a old PC water cooling heat exchanger with fan, a 12v power supply, and a 25L container for water.

[scrappybill]

Plenty of pumps on eBay, I made a Water chillier from an old desktop fridge freezer.

Get a long length of bigish diameter copper pipe (Bendy type) around 10-12mm.

Coil it up by slowly wrapping / winding it around something like a fire extinguisher,

(As long as it can be put in the fridge/freezer) or however big you need it.

Use Silicon based pipe to join on the ends to get into the outside world- pump water from a container through the silicon and copper pipe - whilst in the fridge freezer, it drops the water temp significantly, as low as 2-3 Deg when in freezer section, but you have to clean pipe out- or blow it out after or it freezes easily.

Other option is Old car Radiator and fan setup, a reducer on each end- of outlet/inlet power up fan with water being circulated via pump and container etc.

You'll be surprised how much it drops when fan is spinning fast.
Obviously it doesn’t matter so much in the winter, but helps a lot in the warmer summer days when water temp is high.

Colder the water - better the condensate action.

Hope my ideas and inventions help !!- They can be Cheap and easy

[Bottleofrum]

Hello Mr Cat. I think I can help you on this matter, I have a brewcraft distillation water saver pump that I imported from AUS. They recommend a 60ltr container with home made ice blocks in for good measure, a 33 ltr container will simply not do, belive me on this one. I have had a few snags with the water tempeture once the ice blocks melted(used about 3 x 2 ltr bottles), The pump is very good with holding a stable pressure. If you need anymore info or pictures please feel free to ask.
BoR

[H2SO4.5]

BoR wouldn't it depend on how large the boiler is and how much heat is applied or needs to be dispersed as to what size pump and how much water is needed? How large is your setup?

[MrCat]

Thanks BOR
I think BOR has a SS reflux the same as me. I\'ve found an 85 litre water tank normally used for window cleaning (etc) that is a sensible size and will fit quite happily in my brew area. I then spotted a 100 litre water butt at B&Q for £25 which would sit quite happily on the floor. I think that\'s the one.
The pumps I\'m looking at will deliver a 4m head of water so I should be able to get the feed right out of the bottom of the butt.
The control unit should be able to increase the flow quite easily and I think I can put a radiator in with fans so as the water temp rises I can apply more cooling

[H2SO4.5]

Thanks for that MrCat. I\'m new to the hobby. How much does an SS hold? Got a link to where they are sold?
BTW I have a 56 gallon rain barrel in the garden. If I ever get around to the big stuff I will run some tubing through and use that for the cooler.

[MrCat]

The SS reflux holds 25 litres. Ace bit of kit
You can get them here Wineworks
I\'m getting a turbo 500 soon so mine will probably be up for sale towards the end of october if you aren\'t in a hurry.

[Bottleofrum]

Hope some of these pictures help.
BoR

[MrCat]

Thanks
I see it says that it is submersible - does it actually go in the water?

[Bottleofrum]

Yep, then the plastic tubing has a bayonet connection to the tap adapter for the SS reflux.

[MrCat]

Ok - I\'ve just been ordering some stuff - this should be fun.
Ordered a programmable controller so that I can monitor various temperatures and set responses so as the temp hits 40 it will switch the pumps on, then as the vapour temp rises it will increase the water flow to the column. Not sure if I can make it up the water flow so the column \'pauses\' at about 70 degrees to have 100% reflux but maybe it will If I can program in a water flow for a specific period of time that would be ace. Then I can get it to keep the temperature as stable as it can by altering the volume of coolant.
All I should need to do is to drop the element power once it\'s up to temp and then swap the output jars.
I\'ll pop past B&Q on saturday and get a 110 litre water butt

[Bottleofrum]

Nice one mate, include a picture of your set-up when you have completed it. Ill be very intrested!.Thanks
BoR.

[scrappybill]

Mr Cat.

What’s your background? Job- Training.etc

You need A PLC with Analogue inputs from either RTDs or similar thermocouples and SSR s for the heater PID Controlling!

If you understand what i just said then you should be ok with what you are trying to do.

There are good temp controllers on the market for/with Pid Controls, with various outputs and even integration to comms and a pc with relevant software.

Where you @ ,-- UK? etc., Where abouts