Thread: Off topic need to build a Recirculating water system for my still ideas and opinions?

Originally Posted by rambo-6mmrem

Yeah a 12volt pump would be easy as to sort out so not worried about that
And yes you are correct the temperature of the water exiting the still has nothing to do with the function as long as the condenser temperature is correct as you know
But in this case the out water will go into the Reservoir and will warm up the water in the Reservoir and eventually increase the temperature of the still head easy to sort with ice
But im trying to work out how big tank needs to be so the water has time to cool before being pumped back into the still

Assuming your water comes on at 15C and if you are 60C outlet temp there is 3.14kW heat to remove.
Latent heat of freezing for ice is 334kJ/kg.
That’s around 35kg of ice over an hour. To get your surface area up your going to want to add ice in smaller amounts over time.
Servo bag of ice is 3kg and $5 a pop. So you need 12 bags of ice or spend $60.
Fill a tank. Drain to waste. Forget the ice. Forget the pump. Do it simple.