What have you built with the HD copper tubing?

[Epimetheus]

Recently HD put copper tubing on sale, perhaps they were switching suppliers. Many people here took advantage of the low prices. So, what have you built with the tubing you got on sale?

Here is my effort. It is 1/2" OD tubing, double coil, 22 ft per coil. The water flows through both at once, not sequentially, so the wort is exposed to more cold water. The ruler is 18 inches long, for proportion.

Inner coil was wound around a 6 5/8 inch diameter gallon bottle

Outer coil was wound the opposite directin around 8 7/8 inch dia. sonotube

Here they are nested

They were joined with 3/8" sweat fittings, T fittings join the coils. It is heavy! the outer coils were stitched together with 12 gauge electrical wire.

 

[revansCAAD8]

Very nice! I also got in on the HD copper deal with a 1/2" OD x 50' and a 1/2" ID x 60ft coil(s). Still trying to decide which to use for a new IC. I like your dual coil design. Did you use a website and/or video as a reference on building yours?

Robert

 

[brewcephus]

I'm looking at building something like this with my HD copper score. Haven't started on this project yet, but I need to get busy soon.

 

[jrgtr42]

I got the 1/2" x 50" coil deal. I'm planning on building an IC for it - probably using the "rib cage" design as seen in a few threads here.

 

[MindenMan]

Recently HD put copper tubing on sale, perhaps they were switching suppliers. Many people here took advantage of the low prices. So, what have you built with the tubing you got on sale?

Here is my effort. It is 1/2" OD tubing, double coil, 22 ft per coil. The water flows through both at once, not sequentially, so the wort is exposed to more cold water. The ruler is 18 inches long, for proportion.

Inner coil was wound around a 6 5/8 inch diameter gallon bottle

Outer coil was wound the opposite directin around 8 7/8 inch dia. sonotube

Here they are nested

They were joined with 3/8" sweat fittings, T fittings join the coils. It is heavy! the outer coils were stitched together with 12 gauge electrical wire.

E-man, that is one bad ass IC. I have the 5/8" od x 50', and was looking around the house for a "bobbin", and didn't even think about a 1 gallon jug, of which I have a couple free. My narrowest (30qt) BK is 11" across, and I was wondering what would be the largest diameter coil I could use in it as well as my 40qt BK. I saw your scale, but can't really see how tall the coils are. Thank you for getting me out of the box I was stuck in. My plan is to make a ribcage IC, and using a gallon jug will allow me to do that. Yeah. I do wonder though, if the water entering the IC comes in from the top, where the hottest liquid is "sort of", if I make a rib cage style, the cold water goes into the top and then comes back out of the top, is that the best flow design? I thought about putting a tee in the bottom of the coil, and a tee at the top, so all of the water goes in the top, and out at the bottom. Is this idea more efficient than in one side and out the other? Suggestions/ideas are requested.

 

[Justdrumin]

Recently HD put copper tubing on sale, perhaps they were switching suppliers. Many people here took advantage of the low prices. So, what have you built with the tubing you got on sale?

Here is my effort. It is 1/2" OD tubing, double coil, 22 ft per coil. The water flows through both at once, not sequentially, so the wort is exposed to more cold water. The ruler is 18 inches long, for proportion.

Inner coil was wound around a 6 5/8 inch diameter gallon bottle

Outer coil was wound the opposite directin around 8 7/8 inch dia. sonotube

Here they are nested

They were joined with 3/8" sweat fittings, T fittings join the coils. It is heavy! the outer coils were stitched together with 12 gauge electrical wire.

NICE! I was lookin at making a dual coil design too, but I LOVE yours! Could you tak a closeup of how you joined em? I didn't think about it but it will be a lot less effective if you didn't do it your way. Well done sir.

 

[Epimetheus]

Very nice! I also got in on the HD copper deal with a 1/2" OD x 50' and a 1/2" ID x 60ft coil(s). Still trying to decide which to use for a new IC. I like your dual coil design. Did you use a website and/or video as a reference on building yours?
Robert

Thank you for the kind words. Nope, no website. I thunk of it meself.

geek warning: thermodynamics
The most water-efficient design is a single pass 50 ft tube, whether the coils are nested or not. The water picks up the maximum amount of heat from the surrounding wort. As the water inside gets warmer further along the tube, it picks up heat more slowly. My design send the cold water through two parallel tubes. The exiting water is not as hot, BUT the temperature difference from inside to outside is greater, steeper if you like. It is a steeper temperature gradient. Just like a ball rolling down a steep slope, the heat travels faster to the cold side. It uses more water but it cools the wort faster.
/end geek

It is two short coils because a long coil would stick waaay up out of the wort. Higher than my small 32 qt kettle. They are between 6 and 7 inches high.

I used a spreadsheet to calculate the spool diameters. No need to post it - here are the important bits.

• Spool ID is d, takes PI*d length per loop.
• If I do 15 loops, I need num.loops * PI * d inches.
• I want about an inch all around between coils, so the big coil ID has to be d + 2 inches + 2* tubing diameter.
• Then for 15 loops, I need (same as above, bigger diameter)
• Add the two. Crud, over 50 ft. Recalc with fewer loops. It works at 10 with those diameters with some left for risers. Yay!

OK, so I decide roughly how big a coil can fit in the pot. That's the max width of the big coil. Take a WAG at the smaller. Plug in the ACTUAL diameters of the forms. Go the HD and find a Sonotube that roughly complements the randomly-decided gallon jug. Wind jug one way, cut, wind tube the other on the Sonotube. Solder. Check for leaks. Find some. Cuss. More solder and cussing. Sealed! Return undamaged Sonotube.

It really does not make that much difference if the water enters the top or bottom. The wort temp diff from top to bottom ain't significant compare to the cold water.

You can make better connectors than I have. A 1/2" ID garden hose fits perfectly on the 1/2" OD tubing. Get a cheap garden hose and cut it in half. A 1/2" garden hose female repair end ($2) will fit your faucet adapter. If you only find a 5/8" dia. hose and you have 1/2" tubing, use a 3/8" to 1/2" sweat on fitting. Add a short length of actual 1/2" ID copper, which is 5/8 OD. Now your hose will clamp on.

 

[Justdrumin]

Thank you for the kind words. Nope, no website. I thunk of it meself.

geek warning: thermodynamics
The most water-efficient design is a single pass 50 ft tube, whether the coils are nested or not. The water picks up the maximum amount of heat from the surrounding wort. As the water inside gets warmer further along the tube, it picks up heat more slowly. My design send the cold water through two parallel tubes. The exiting water is not as hot, BUT the temperature difference from inside to outside is greater, steeper if you like. It is a steeper temperature gradient. Just like a ball rolling down a steep slope, the heat travels faster to the cold side. It uses more water but it cools the wort faster.
/end geek

It is two short coils because a long coil would stick waaay up out of the wort. Higher than my small 32 qt kettle. They are between 6 and 7 inches high.

That's why I wanted to make a dual coil as well. Mine would stick out quite a bit. My question is, would your design be more efficient than the one below? I am not even gonna begin to understand thermodynamics and the efficiency of the two designs. I wouldn't have a clue.

I decided to brew 2 extract batches at a time to save setup and cleanup time, so I figured I'd need a chiller. After searching/reading what others here have made, I decided on 50' of 3/8" pipe and made it with 2 coils. I got the pipe at Menards for about $40.
The inner coil is wrapped from the top down, and the outer back up. I first wrapped the inner coil around a small water jug. Then I wrapped a couple towels around the coils to increase the size, and wrapped the outer coil back up around the towels. Hose connection is 3/8" compression to 1/2" female pipe, then 1/2" male pipe to male garden hose. The exit end has no hose connection.
It cooled 2.5 gal of extract to 80 deg in less than 10 minutes. Yes, thats snow on the ground, so the water was about 60 deg.
The chiller works great, and made wort chilling so much easier.

 

[revansCAAD8]

Thank you for the kind words. Nope, no website. I thunk of it meself.

geek warning: thermodynamics
The most water-efficient design is a single pass 50 ft tube, whether the coils are nested or not. The water picks up the maximum amount of heat from the surrounding wort. As the water inside gets warmer further along the tube, it picks up heat more slowly. My design send the cold water through two parallel tubes. The exiting water is not as hot, BUT the temperature difference from inside to outside is greater, steeper if you like. It is a steeper temperature gradient. Just like a ball rolling down a steep slope, the heat travels faster to the cold side. It uses more water but it cools the wort faster.
/end geek

It is two short coils because a long coil would stick waaay up out of the wort. Higher than my small 32 qt kettle. They are between 6 and 7 inches high.

I used a spreadsheet to calculate the spool diameters. No need to post it - here are the important bits.

• Spool ID is d, takes PI*d length per loop.
• If I do 15 loops, I need num.loops * PI * d inches.
• I want about an inch all around between coils, so the big coil ID has to be d + 2 inches + 2* tubing diameter.
• Then for 15 loops, I need (same as above, bigger diameter)
• Add the two. Crud, over 50 ft. Recalc with fewer loops. It works at 10 with those diameters with some left for risers. Yay!

OK, so I decide roughly how big a coil can fit in the pot. That's the max width of the big coil. Take a WAG at the smaller. Plug in the ACTUAL diameters of the forms. Go the HD and find a Sonotube that roughly complements the randomly-decided gallon jug. Wind jug one way, cut, wind tube the other on the Sonotube. Solder. Check for leaks. Find some. Cuss. More solder and cussing. Sealed! Return undamaged Sonotube.

It really does not make that much difference if the water enters the top or bottom. The wort temp diff from top to bottom ain't significant compare to the cold water.

You can make better connectors than I have. A 1/2" ID garden hose fits perfectly on the 1/2" OD tubing. Get a cheap garden hose and cut it in half. A 1/2" garden hose female repair end ($2) will fit your faucet adapter. If you only find a 5/8" dia. hose and you have 1/2" tubing, use a 3/8" to 1/2" sweat on fitting. Add a short length of actual 1/2" ID copper, which is 5/8 OD. Now your hose will clamp on.

Thanks but you lost me on some of your abbreviations and figuring the coiled tube lengths... I'm looking at a 10.75 diameter outside coil and a 8.75 diameter inner coil, 1/2" OD x 50ft. Pot/kettle is only a 32qt so hope to keep the coil height at 8-9in max.
I assume you had to reverse the coil direction of one of the inner or outer, so the ends lined up? Then sweated/soldered a Tee fitting in? Size Tee? Can you provide more details/pictures and/or parts list that you used? I understand 3/8 copper fittings can be hard to find in box stores, so thought about using mainly 1/2" fittings (elbows,tee's) and 1/2" ID pipe for the risers? Oopps guess I would need a couple 1/2" to 3/8" reducers too.

Thanks for any help,
Robert

 

[Epimetheus]

That's why I wanted to make a dual coil as well. Mine would stick out quite a bit. My question is, would your design be more efficient than the one below? I am not even gonna begin to understand thermodynamics and the efficiency of the two designs. I wouldn't have a clue.

Sure you would have a clue. You deal with it all the time. Drop one ice cube in a drink and it gets colder. Wait until it completely melts and you have efficiently gotten all the possible use from it. In contrast, drop two ice cubes in a drink and pull them out half-melted when the drink is cool enough, throw them away.

Same thing as single-pass and dual pass.

A dual pass uses more water so it cools faster. Done.

The bad part of an immersion cooler is wort circulation. Somehow, you gotta move the wort around so it touches the coils. I was thinking of a small stirrer on a slow electric drill.

fitting sizes
Normal copper pipe
1/2" is 1/2" ID, 5/8" OD
3/8" pipe is 3/8 ID, 1/2" OD

Refrigerator tubing
1/2" is 1/2" OD, just like 3/8" PIPE, so use 3/8 fittings

Schlep the whole big roll back to the store and try various fittings. I did. the 1/2" sweat fittings will be too large.

Yeah, it uses Ts at top and bottom. If you make single pass nested, make 2 coils in the same direction and connect the bottom ends with a straight slip coupling.

 

[revansCAAD8]

Yeah I plan to build a dual pass. Where did you find the 3/8 fittings (elbows, T's)? Local HD doesn't have them in 3/8. Ace has limited 3/8 supply here and is why I considered using the larger 1/2" Pipe and fittings for the risers. Of course using a reducer (x2) to go from 3/8 to 1/2 for that part.

Thanks again!
Robert

 

[revansCAAD8]

Either that I could use my 1/2" ID x 60ft Type L tubing (5/8" OD) for the build but thought bending/coiling that stuff would be a bear and would be overkill for our smallish 5-6gal batches. Although all the fittings (1/2") would be much easier to find!

Robert

 

[iaefebs]

My suggestion would be to point the inlet and outlet to the outside of your pot and not the inside. The hose connections are the most likely to leak and being centered over your pot the drips would be into your wort.

 

[MindenMan]

Yeah, I was wondering where all the 5/8" fittings were at HD. Partially brain dead from a long day... So I checked and the 1/2" pipe fittings fit the 5/8" tubing so problem solved. I put a couple of major kinks the first couple of windings around the 1 gallon jug. One kink I had to cut and splice, the other I got round enough to not worry about. I noticed each wrap of the jug is right at 2 feet, but with 50 feet, no worries. I have decided to make a rib cage IC, with the tops and bottoms teed together, so water has one way in, and one way out.

 

[Epimetheus]

The hose connections are the most likely to leak and being centered over your pot the drips would be into your wort.

Oh, I wondered why they all point outside. It is much easier to store with them pointing inwards. I have had zero problems with leaks and now I understand the risk. I may swivel them around.

3/8" fittings were at HomeDepot. It varies between stores. They might be able to order from another store for free, you have to ask them.

Kinks in the 5/8 tubing - yeah, I wondered if wrapping large tubing around the small diameter gallon bottle would cause problems for you. Nice recovery.

There is better circulation and cooling if the coils do not touch. That is the reason I laced the tube stack with electrical wire. It was difficult to bend the tubes to meet each other. They were a little skewed which caused leaks that were later fixed.

Some people asked for a closeup.

 

[revansCAAD8]

It is two short coils because a long coil would stick waaay up out of the wort. Higher than my small 32 qt kettle. They are between 6 and 7 inches high.

I used a spreadsheet to calculate the spool diameters. No need to post it - here are the important bits.

• Spool ID is d, takes PI*d length per loop.
• If I do 15 loops, I need num.loops * PI * d inches.
• I want about an inch all around between coils, so the big coil ID has to be d + 2 inches + 2* tubing diameter.
• Then for 15 loops, I need (same as above, bigger diameter)
• Add the two. Crud, over 50 ft. Recalc with fewer loops. It works at 10 with those diameters with some left for risers. Yay!

OK, so I decide roughly how big a coil can fit in the pot. That's the max width of the big coil. Take a WAG at the smaller. Plug in the ACTUAL diameters of the forms.

Any chance you could share that calculator/spreadsheet?

PS. picked up a few more fittings at another local hardware store. Boy is 3/8 copper stuff expensive! Didn't find everything I wanted but should be able to make due.

Robert

 

[Brewskii]

Wow. Came late to that party! I didn't see the thread and i dont have a need for it but I was at HD today and saw the empty shelf and the shelf tags...$70 of tubing for $20...no wonder!!. HD never does great deals like that anymore.

 

[poislb]

still gotta sweat the inlet and outlet together, and the fittings...once my arms recoup...damn, bending 5/8 copper sucks...

 

[JayUnt]

Can you just have the outer coil go right into the inner coil? So the water would go down using the outer coil and then up and out using the inner coil. What is the advantage of having them seperate? I feel like the water would be in the wort longer and be able to cool it off less wastefully with the one longer chiller than the two seperate chillers.

 

[Justdrumin]

Can you just have the outer coil go right into the inner coil? So the water would go down using the outer coil and then up and out using the inner coil. What is the advantage of having them seperate? I feel like the water would be in the wort longer and be able to cool it off less wastefully with the one longer chiller than the two seperate chillers.

I am having the same dilemma. From what I could gather, with the outer one going right to the inner one, the water will warm up on the first round and not do a whole lot of cooling the second round. With his design, the water is going through both at the same time. So they are cooling equally, making it more efficient. I'm no scientist, but that's what I was thinking. I was originally going to do it the first way until I found this thread. I've never soldered copper though and I don't have a torch, nor do I want to spend money on one because I'll never use it again. Compression fittings maybe? I'll have to go to HD.

 

[Justdrumin]

It is two short coils because a long coil would stick waaay up out of the wort. Higher than my small 32 qt kettle. They are between 6 and 7 inches high.

This is also why the OP didn't want to do one single coil. I would have the same problem as well, which is why I went searching for other designs to make with my $37 roll of 60' of 1/2".

 

[JayUnt]

I am having the same dilemma. From what I could gather, with the outer one going right to the inner one, the water will warm up on the first round and not do a whole lot of cooling the second round. With his design, the water is going through both at the same time. So they are cooling equally, making it more efficient. I'm no scientist, but that's what I was thinking. I was originally going to do it the first way until I found this thread. I've never soldered copper though and I don't have a torch, nor do I want to spend money on one because I'll never use it again. Compression fittings maybe? I'll have to go to HD.

That makes sense. Thanks! I have seen another one where the pipe is split with a t outside of the kettle and then is joined again with a t when the water comes out again. Ill look into doing something similar so I don't have to have connections in the wort.

 

[Epimetheus]

There is a difference between efficient and faster. JayUnt nailed it exactly - the dual coil chills faster, it does not use the cool water with the greatest efficiency per volume. The dual uses more water, not a problem unless you are concerned about water rationing.

BTW, it works very well. Today I chilled a batch for the first time.

Yes, compression fittings will work. One type is Sharkbite - you simply push the tube in and it makes a watertight seal. They are rated to 180F (82C). The traditional compression fitting with a brass pinch collar is rated above 212F. In any case, I found it difficult to bend the tubing so they face each other straight-on, which is necessary.

 

[Epimetheus]

still gotta sweat the inlet and outlet together, and the fittings...once my arms recoup...damn, bending 5/8 copper sucks...

Very clean work!
Yeah, I can only imagine trying to bend 5/8 tubing. The 1/2" was difficult.

 

[revansCAAD8]

Finished our Dual Coil build today. This one we used the huge 1/2" ID x 60ft (5/8 OD) copper we got for $35. Can you say overkill, LOL! Also this was my first time sweating/soldering copper but no leaks so far. Thanks for the help OP & gang!

Robert
GypsyBrew

 

[Ted75]

Made a rib cage style IC from my 50' 1/2 inch tubing. Went fairly well for my first time but I did manage a tiny start of a link as I meshed the two coils together. Won't affect performance but I had to leave that small section alone after so it isn't as neat as I would like.

 

[hnycrk]

How do you guys get such nice coils? I kinked mine pretty bad, I'm pissed. Going to try and score another roll tomorrow and scrap this one.

 

[MindenMan]

I hate you guys. No, really, I hate you guys. How in the world do you get such pretty coils? Here are a couple of fugly pictures of my abomination IC. This is an example of what not to do. I wound both coils going the same direction and I had to splice the outer coil because it kinked. When I get the top finished, I will post more photos.

 

[hnycrk]

I would love to know the same thing! I was able to score two more rolls of 1/2 but its getting hard to find. Once its gone its gone.

 

[hnycrk]

I would love to know the same thing! I was able to score two more rolls of 1/2 but its getting hard to find. Once its gone its gone.

 

[worxman02]

I bought a nylon paint stirrer from HD to use on my drill to create a cheap whirlpool chiller. See my thread here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/cheap-whirlpool-immersion-chiller-system-sucess-384060/

It works really well, just remember to keep it slow to prevent aeration.

Sure you would have a clue. You deal with it all the time. Drop one ice cube in a drink and it gets colder. Wait until it completely melts and you have efficiently gotten all the possible use from it. In contrast, drop two ice cubes in a drink and pull them out half-melted when the drink is cool enough, throw them away.

Same thing as single-pass and dual pass.

A dual pass uses more water so it cools faster. Done.

The bad part of an immersion cooler is wort circulation. Somehow, you gotta move the wort around so it touches the coils. I was thinking of a small stirrer on a slow electric drill.

fitting sizes
Normal copper pipe
1/2" is 1/2" ID, 5/8" OD
3/8" pipe is 3/8 ID, 1/2" OD

Refrigerator tubing
1/2" is 1/2" OD, just like 3/8" PIPE, so use 3/8 fittings

Schlep the whole big roll back to the store and try various fittings. I did. the 1/2" sweat fittings will be too large.

Yeah, it uses Ts at top and bottom. If you make single pass nested, make 2 coils in the same direction and connect the bottom ends with a straight slip coupling.

 

[Ryfi]

Working on building a stove top herms using 25' of the 50' 1/2 od tubing. I will be using a stc-1000 to control a motorized ball valve allowing the wort to bypass the hex coil when no extra heat is called for.

 

[sar_dog_1]

Ryfi. Could you explain a little more on the valve with the controller? I have access to few of those and would like to incorporate into my sytem I an designing but I don't know how to wire/control them. Can you use the stc to throlle them?? Thanks and cheers!!

 

[MindenMan]

Before I pull out what little hair I have, what is the "home remedy" for cleaning copper? As in I want to get my solder/fitting joints shiny clean w/o using an abrasive cleaner?

 

[revansCAAD8]

Before I pull out what little hair I have, what is the "home remedy" for cleaning copper? As in I want to get my solder/fitting joints shiny clean w/o using an abrasive cleaner?

First I brushed flux back over the soldered joints and wiped with a rag and they cleaned up real nice. Then I soak chiller in my kettle with 1 cup White Vinegar/per 5 gal water. I then heated all the way to boiling and cooled. Nice and clean.

Hope this helps,
Robert

 

[JayUnt]

Finished our Dual Coil build today. This one we used the huge 1/2" ID x 60ft (5/8 OD) copper we got for $35. Can you say overkill, LOL! Also this was my first time sweating/soldering copper but no leaks so far. Thanks for the help OP & gang!

Robert
GypsyBrew

That is a thing of beauty. I'm going to attempt to make mine like that. Its not going to be anywhere as nice looking, but that's my goal. Thanks for sharing.

 

[revansCAAD8]

How do you guys get such nice coils? I kinked mine pretty bad, I'm pissed. Going to try and score another roll tomorrow and scrap this one.

Man, I was scared of the same thing. Couple things....
1)Our 1/2 ID (5/8 OD) x 60ft roll came coiled in a flat single layer starting from the center out (unlike our other roll). This made it easier to simply put our small 2.5keg (full) in the middle and start coiling it around it. Our second roll: 1/2 OD x 50ft is coiled different with two layers and with both cut ends on the outside of the coil$#!$#! We haven't opened it yet so, not sure that is a big deal or not but would assume it make it much harder.

2) Make sure you have a second person with you! The boss lady was a huge help as there was times I would hold the coil/keg from moving while she the pushed/pulled the copper around. Smooth it around. Like smoothing out a wrinkle in a rug. I am still sore from coiling day! LOL

3) Per another post I saw: Grab about 2-3 feet out onto the feeding line and bend it PAST the cylinder I'm wrapping it around to produce a smooth curve. Several small, intermediate bends is what will mess up the copper. Just patience and a little practice. Diagram here: Bending Copper

Hope this helps,
Robert
GypsyBrew

 

[revansCAAD8]

That is a thing of beauty. I'm going to attempt to make mine like that. Its not going to be anywhere as nice looking, but that's my goal. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you! This was our first chiller build and first time sweat/soldering. So last night we cleaned it and tested in water. Boiling to 70 in 17mins without our whirlpool even on, not bad! Oh and that was with 64-66 degree well water. Much better then our old punier 20ft 3/8 chiller

Robert

 

[Ryfi]

Ryfi. Could you explain a little more on the valve with the controller? I have access to few of those and would like to incorporate into my sytem I an designing but I don't know how to wire/control them. Can you use the stc to throlle them?? Thanks and cheers!!

I haven't built this system yet I am waiting on all the parts to come in. The basic working of the system is; the wort runs from the mash tun to a pump that is constantly running. It then flows through a tee. One output for recirculation the other to the motorized ball valve that leads to the herms coil. The ball valve is controlled by the stc-1000, both of which are 12v. When the mash needs heat the ball valve opens and the wort is sent through coil. When it is at the set temp the valve closes redirecting the wort through the tee in to the mash tun.
To wire it , again I haven't made this yet, you need a 12 v power supply. The + wire from the power goes to the + (1) terminal of the stc-1000. The - wire needs to be split in two one lead going to the - or common wire of the ball valve the other to the - (2) terminal of the stc. The other two wires from the valve get connected to terminal 6 and 8. Since the stc is just a switch controlled by temperature it should activate the valve open or closed based on the set temp. I know the stc-1000 has a delay for cooling for compressors on refrigerators but I think that can be worked around somehow.
As far as throttling the valves if you mean open to 1/4 or 1/2 open as far as I have designed it it is either full open of full closed but there will be a manual ball valve on the pump to control flow.

Sorry for the long response its the first time I put it all in writing.

 

[sar_dog_1]

Awsome!!! Thanks!! It will be quite some time before I can build mine but I am doing what I can when I can. Please keep me in mind when you test it.

The only thing I see with your design however is the tee for recerc/ heating. Keep in mind that watet will take the path of least resistance. If it is easier to flow on the recirc side, it will. Mabey anouther remote valve set to close when that one opens?? My two cents.