catalanotte
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2014
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I followed a lot of advice here and rather than a single pass immersion chiller opted to build out one with a standard submersible pond pump. I saw a lot of discussion on the right size pump, with a number suggesting you go as big as you can afford.
I assembled and tested the system with cold water for flow rate and here is what I got.
60ft of 3/8 OD (1/4 ID) Copper Tube
330 GPH Tetra Fountain Pump (Max 6.5 ft head)
3 ft of 3/8 ID poly tube for each conection with hose clamp.
Tested system with inlet and discharge at same level and produced a flow rate of 1/2 GPM (30 GPH). I expected about this much due to the effective head loss of 60 ft of copper tube. If I raise the discharge just 2 ft, flow drops to about .25 GPM (15 GPH).
At this slow flow rate, I am loosing a lot of cooling efficiency with a 60 ft coil. Could anyone who has solved this problem comment on the below two options I am considering.
1 - Bigger pump (about a $40 cost increase) should up flow rate through system. Not sure if the extra cost is worth it.
2 - Split coil into 2 - 30 ft coils and use a barbed tee fitting to run both coils in parallel. I assume the pump can push a lot more volume if I can cut the back pressure down. But, will 30 ft be long enough for heat exchange to get the discharge water temp up to near the wort temp?
Any suggestions from folks that have built similar systems.
I assembled and tested the system with cold water for flow rate and here is what I got.
60ft of 3/8 OD (1/4 ID) Copper Tube
330 GPH Tetra Fountain Pump (Max 6.5 ft head)
3 ft of 3/8 ID poly tube for each conection with hose clamp.
Tested system with inlet and discharge at same level and produced a flow rate of 1/2 GPM (30 GPH). I expected about this much due to the effective head loss of 60 ft of copper tube. If I raise the discharge just 2 ft, flow drops to about .25 GPM (15 GPH).
At this slow flow rate, I am loosing a lot of cooling efficiency with a 60 ft coil. Could anyone who has solved this problem comment on the below two options I am considering.
1 - Bigger pump (about a $40 cost increase) should up flow rate through system. Not sure if the extra cost is worth it.
2 - Split coil into 2 - 30 ft coils and use a barbed tee fitting to run both coils in parallel. I assume the pump can push a lot more volume if I can cut the back pressure down. But, will 30 ft be long enough for heat exchange to get the discharge water temp up to near the wort temp?
Any suggestions from folks that have built similar systems.