Boil kettle condenser - no overhead ventilation needed

I used a 1.5" solder on Tri Clamp from brewhardware to mount the steam condenser on my kettle. If you have minimal soldering skills this is easy to do.

 

I'm very interested in this set up, as I don't have running water in my garage. Would a small expansion tank between the pump and condenser help with the pump?

 

You could pump it from a bucket or tank. Need a small pump (nearly no flow is needed) but >40 psi required.

Also, it won’t work to recycle the liquid unless it’s back to ambient temp.

 

Thanks. I've been going over pumps and tanks this evening.
I'm thinking 5 gal bucket to cheap 12v pump to expansion tank to condenser. Depending on pressure, maybe a small PRV between the tank and condenser.
I'm at the beginning of converting to 240v so this project is a ways off, but I like to research prior to execution.

 

Great stuff, thanks Brundog!

Question about sizes: I fully understand why a larger the spray chamber is preferable, but what about the pipe connecting the kettle with the spray chamber? Is a 1.5" Pipe preferable, maybe to create more suction? Or a 2" maybe, to maximise air flow? Or it really does not matter?

thanks!

 

Yes the steam slayer (instead of a ventilation system) some of us built our own with parts but the slayer is put together. you still need a hole saw bit to drill the hole in your pot, a 1.5" weldless tc bulkhead and TC clamp to clamp to your pot.

 

the answer I got from Brundog was to go with 1.5 & that you wont see any improvement in steam flow with a bigger diameter pipe-to-kettle at least with <30g pots. I built mine and its 1.5-to-2" T.

 

Could you run it through a radiator?

I happen to know that a 2004 Sentra radiator and fan assembly is just $101.58 at Rockauto.com

 

Maybe with an insanely large fan blowing through it but then you're adding heat to the air and making a bunch of noise.

 

Just completed my second brew with the pump being feed from the hlt. Same steps as before only a few modifications to the setup. I changed the ball valve on the bypass return to the hlt to a stainless 3 piece with a camlock on one end so I can now plum it into the hlt return port (whirlpool arm at top of tank). I was able to back drive pressure to the the spray head by controlling the amount or water that is in bypass back to the hlt with the ball valve. This was in place before just with PVC and the return was just dumped in the tank. It's locked in place now so I no longer have to worry about the hose pooping out. This change allowed for me to close the valve off with a little more control and therefore I was reading 35-38 psi at spray head side of the tee. I know the flow and pressure were on as I dumped the drain bucket at 4 gallons twice and the bucket has almost 2 gallons in it now after the 60 min boil. At the start I added 12 gallons of tap water to the hlt and I was draining off the bottom when I was done. I am dropping my power on the 20 gallon kettle with a 5500w element to 28% and maintaining a nice boil with no steam escaping.

 

As for the recycle aspect. I cool my plate chiller via my AC chiller https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/ac-chiller-wort-chiller.673640/ and have been considering pumping the return into it and then back to the hlt as a closed system. Once I was done with the boil and before cooling I would recirculate starsan in the plate to clean it up before wort is run into it.

 

@Bobby_M Steam Slayer is out of stock again. Do you have insight on a restock date? I’m looking forward to give this a try with the new brew kettle.

 

Just added 5 more.

 

How does this compare with the brew boss condenser?

 

So what if you applied the same principle and used a cooling loop with a swamp chiller. Use a large volume reservoir for the cooling loop and using a 6” pipe with air blowing through it let the water fall down into the reservoir. This will have a significant cooling action and works very similar to a cooling tower. May add a little humidity but not as much as the steam from the kettle.

 

Thanks Bobby! I just put my order in. I’ll start drilling in preparation for the installation. If you have some spare 1.5” TC dust caps let me know. They were out of stock.

 

I have the Brew Boss condenser. I had a new Spike kettle and couldn't wait for another delivery of Steam Slayers. It works great; does the same things as the SS. As far as I can see there's no real difference. Love mine!

 

Disregard.

 

Any updates on the larger size?

 

I have 50 of them on the way but I'm afraid the shipment didn't get out of China before the New Years shutdown. It may have shipped but I won't know exactly when it will arrive.

 

The main contrast between the products is that every piece of the Condenser boss is off the shelf part. It makes the full assembly a little more bulky than it needs to be. The Steam Slayer is a CAD designed and manufactured solution so it's more compact and more attractive looking if that matters to you.

The one design choice I don't agree with is having to run a full size garden hose all the way up to the top. The amount of water flow required is a trickle so my choice to go with 1/4" PE tubing makes more sense.

The size of the orifice out of the pot is a pretty big difference and I'm amazed that a 5/8" inside diameter is enough. I have not tested for any real world difference between various opening sizes but I should be able to do so on my next batch simply by inserting a makeshift bushing into my TC port to reduce it down. If the waste water temperature goes down with the restriction, it would indicate a performance decrease. I'm not suggesting that the smaller orifice doesn't work, it's just a matter of how much energy can be moved through it.

 

The 6 gallon nozzle is no longer available. There is a brass version available.

 

Bobby, have you seen the kettle handle clamp from a company out of Germany. It clamps the condenser to a kettle handle for a condenser that is mounted through the lid. This allows for the who lid and condenser to be rotated up for hop additions without having to hold the whole assembly.

Here's a link to a facebook post about it: https://www.facebook.com/groups/homebrewnetwork/permalink/2531735993621900/

It's through a German company that won't ship to the US, but I'm sure its something you could figure out!

 

Can’t get the Facebook post to load. Really curious

 

try this. It’s the German companies website: https://www.crafthardware.de/en/product/steam-condenser-kettle-clamp/