indyspirits Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 When our mechanical contractor installed our glycol loop we were informed it was a thermostable / high temp plastic. It is not. Looking to see what others who have an open loop system (that is, the glycol is returned to a reservoir tank at atmospheric pressure). If you'd like, please complete this very short poll. What is your glycol loop made of? https://goo.gl/forms/zP0BQhlTe81Tqiqy1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenlyon Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Our loop consists of copper within the building and 400' of 1" plastic water pipe submerged in the cooling pond. Although we designed the system originally for glycol, in the end we used water mixed with about 15-20% denatured ethanol. This has proven to be a very efficient system that's easy to disconnect and modify. Even if some of the water escapes, we have an automatic pressure tank to re-fill the system as required. With this system we can run two stills and our heat exchange/cooler at the same time without any problems. Also, we have the hot water return running through the floor of the tasting room which in turn serves to use some of that waste heat on heating the room in the winter. Works great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indyspirits Posted May 13, 2018 Author Share Posted May 13, 2018 3 hours ago, Glenlyon said: water mixed with about 15-20% denatured ethanol Are you concerned at all about contamination into your product. With PG & water, at least it's foodsafe. Probably worried about something with a .001% incident rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenlyon Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 I was quite concerned about that up front and had a number of discussions with the plumber and associated inspectors around the topic. However, it has proven to be an excellent system and it is completely closed. It would take a (no doubt predictable), series of unfortunate events to get the cooling water to mix with the product and if that happened, I would consider human error as the prime suspect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK2 Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 Schedule 40 steel pipe (still under construction, told it was going to be threaded pipe, haven't seen it yet). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starcat Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 The Easiest thing to run for average smaller systems is Type-L Copper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indyspirits Posted May 16, 2018 Author Share Posted May 16, 2018 Our story: mechanical contractor told us it was schedule 80 cpvc. We were on a budget. Clearly it's PVC not CPVC. We've had leaks, deflection, it's a mess. We're in the midst of replacing it now. We've had quotes for copper, cpvc, and black pipe w/ grooved (victaulic specifically) fittings. Bottom line: trust but verify the first time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudson bay distillers Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 pex is still the easiest to run and way cheaper than copper , temp rated to 180 f and ethyl alcohol compatible , seems like a no brainer lol tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenlyon Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 Pex is perfect - but, the copper looks way cooler when mounted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudson bay distillers Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 https://mrpexsystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/MrPEX-Chemical-Resistance-Chart.pdf here some info on pex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudson bay distillers Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 ya thats true ours is in the walls and in cement or under ground . tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indyspirits Posted May 16, 2018 Author Share Posted May 16, 2018 I've never seen 3" pex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now