Pump flow rate for 1/4" IC?

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FatDragon

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My 10m IC has a relatively small inner diameter of 6.5mm, about 1/4". I'm looking at aquarium pumps to pump ice water through it for the late chill when the 31C tap water just isn't cutting it. Any suggestions on flow rate for that size of IC or the best way to find my optimal flow rate? I suppose I could hook it up to the sink for a couple minutes and measure how much water it's using, but I'd prefer not to waste that much water if I don't have to.
 
You don't have to waste the water. Use it for strike water or cleaning. Or just time how long it takes for one gallon to flow through and divide that time by 60 should get you gallons per minute.
 
You don't have to waste the water. Use it for strike water or cleaning. Or just time how long it takes for one gallon to flow through and divide that time by 60 should get you gallons per minute.

You're probably on to something here. I kept thinking to myself that I would need to run some crazy amount of water (like, ten gallons) through the IC to get a decent picture with relatively accurate figures, but in reality the pumps I'm looking at are offered at intervals of 1000 liters per hour - 800l/h, 1800l/h, 2800l/h... with that wide a gap between options, I could run half a gallon to tune the flow to a rate I like and then time the next gallon and the numbers should be accurate enough for the application. I suspect the bottom model - 800 liters per hour - will be plenty.

Bonus: I plan to chill to ~40C with my 30C tap water, then recirculate ice water in a 25L bucket to get my 6 gallons of wort down to ~18C. Will two five kilogram bags of ice be enough? Should I get my wort down to a certain threshhold before recirculating the ice water back into the bucket?
 
I run tap water through my IC until it cools down. I don't take a temp. Reading I just go by how it feels. Then I hook up my pump and use a bunch of frozen water bottles in the ice bath and have extras on hand to replace the thawed ones. I save the warm water from the outlet side for clean up at the end of the day.
 
you will also need to measure the pressure in the water system of your house to get a better idea on what kind of pump to get. For instance.....if you hook up to a garden hose,and you end up getting like 3 gallons per minute out if your IC, then you will need a pump that can supply the same pressure that's at the hose to get the same result.
 
you will also need to measure the pressure in the water system of your house to get a better idea on what kind of pump to get. For instance.....if you hook up to a garden hose,and you end up getting like 3 gallons per minute out if your IC, then you will need a pump that can supply the same pressure that's at the hose to get the same result.

Is there a way to do that without any special equipment, or would I need some kind of pressure gauge to measure the system pressure?
 
you can go to most any home improvement store and get one or even make your own...its nothing complicated......standard garden hose threads are 3/4 x 11.5 threads per inch.......just get a cap with a threaded hole in the center to fit the gauge you want to use....will look like this either way you go:

gauge1.jpg
 
then just thread it on any spigot and open the valve and see how much pressure you have in the system...it my house for instance my hose flows at 5gpm and i have a house pressure of about 35psi.......depending on how far you are from a pump house supplying water to the community.....you can be anywhere from 30psi all the way up to 80psi...
 
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