Jump to content

Buried pipe for condenser water


Svej

Recommended Posts

We are planning for our ranches distillery build in the spring and I am looking into a system of buried pex or poly pipe as a means of cooling our condenser water. Space is not an issue, cost may be depending on length of pipe needed. Has anyone gone this route or is a tank and chiller a cheaper/ more efficient option? Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tanks would be interesting. I got the idea from some of the ground source heating systems for floor heat. I am hoping to have it plumbed into and underground grid of pipe outside for maximum surface contact to cool faster. I am also going to try to have and option to shoot it through my floor heating system so i dont waste the heat in the winter. I am just wondering about pump/pressure issues that i might run into with having to push water through all that pipe rather than just in and out of a tank with a chiller. I'm pretty sure it will be withing most standard pressure ratings and not high pressure or anything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am waiting for results for an underground tank set up with an air cooled glycooler I recently supplied.

It can be done both ways but the issue is more with the mash cooling where the demand is quite concentrated, so you still have to add a chiller which I will do for the distiller mentioned for summer duty, it might just be a bit smaller.

You still will have to install a reservoir tank - especially if you're doing mash cooling-

There won't be enough mass of fluid in the tubing without it.

Contact me if you would like me to send you more info on the glycooler.

Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We are ranchers so I do have the backhoe and access to excavators and I like to run them and there is lots of land to bury pipe. I suspected that i might still need a reservoir tank but do you still think i would need a glycooler if there was sufficient surface area to do the cooling underground. I'm not opposed to having one i'm just curious because i don't have much knowledge on that end of things but i have helped build some shop/home systems that both heated and cooled by buried pipe and ground temperature. I would be interested in the information on the glycooler though and appreciate the input.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I even considered running cold water from my well into my cooling systems, out into a pipe system to get some cooling and then out to the field behind the distillery for irrigating. That way cooling wouldn't be as much an issue other than getting the warm water to a temp that's not lethal to plants.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I personally wouldn't pump to waste cooling water, but I live in the middle of a serious drought. Still that's a seriously wasteful way to go about it. Unless your irrigating from that well anyways? i think you could easily do the underground piping/reservoir tank idea( with some real good planing) for cooling water on the still. My set up is above ground 3k gallon tank for still cooling, and I'm not worried about that. I have cool enough nights even in summer here though. I think the one issue you really need to get down to the #s on would be mash cooling (like MG Thermal mentioned) you need to reliably cool that mash in a reasonable amount of time to pich yeast and not be worried about anything wild getting started first. Would suck to loose ferms on occasion to lack of that ability. I suppose if that was happening you'd get motivated to go the chiller route. I like your ideas, and would love to here more as you progress on this. I've got lots of ideas on reclaiming heat at my place too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the one client I had did look into the ground piping set up, but when he added up the cost of pipe and labor, he figured the underground cistern (ribbed poly type) would be a better way for him. He is located close to the boot heel in MO, so he figures he can have the ground keep the cistern between 55 and 60F until summer loads make him switch over to chiller.

You might do the calculations on the material for both and see how it comes out, tho.

Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the replies. I would be irrigating out of that well anyways but I think a closed loop is a safer way to go. We are high desert so it gets 20 below in the winter and over 100 in the summer but our ground temp is fairly constant because we have cool nights in summer. Pipe will all be re purposed from water trough projects.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...