dephlegmator water temp

[whiskeytango]

I'v seen both types of set ups.  

1 running water from the main condenser back into the dephlegmator so your getting a warm water into it 

and

2 running fresh water (cold) into it and just running very little so that the water warms up in the dephlegmaor  

 

Anyone have any pros or cons for each? 

 

 

[Silk City Distillers]

Split product condenser and dephlegmator is easier to operate as changes in power input don't impact the dephlegmator set point.

One caveat though, if your coolant is very, very cold, split feed can create a situation where the dephlegmator is a bit more difficult to operate, as very small changes in flow rate can create very large changes in the reflux rate.

[indyspirits]

13 hours ago, Silk City Distillers said:

Split product condenser and dephlegmator is easier to operate as changes in power input don't impact the dephlegmator set point.

What this guy said! However, we opted for a proportional valve rather than solenoid as our input water is 45 F and our initial solenoid valve resulted in herky-jerky temps.