CHRIS25 - 29-5-2014 at 11:29
How do people, on a budget please, pump water into a condenser? the simplest obvious solution would be from a sink tap? Rubber hose and some
connector? Or is this really not an ideal solution. Confessing absolute ignorance here.
elementcollector1 - 29-5-2014 at 11:31
Garden hose, with specialized adapter from the hardware store.
Alternatively, an aquarium pump works well and conserves water.
Etaoin Shrdlu - 29-5-2014 at 14:12
Ditto on the aquarium pump, though I use a small generic submersible water pump. It's cheaper than most aquarium water pumps I've seen around pet
shops, very compact, and the same thing as what drives the water through the filter for those all-in-one aquariums. Something like this. I prefer it to a sink hookup because I can use actual ice water.
pichoro - 29-5-2014 at 15:23
If I were working at home or otherwise under a tight budget, I would definitely be using recycled water via an aquarium pump as well.
Hegi - 29-5-2014 at 22:25
I use aquarium pump as well with ice cold water placed in 30 liters container. It´s not noisy and also it´s power is only few watts but still enough
to use it also for refluxing.
S.C. Wack - 29-5-2014 at 22:46
From TFSE:
https://www.sciencemadness.org/whisper/viewthread.php?tid=12...
violet sin - 29-5-2014 at 22:47
I use a mini Styrofoam ice chest with a black garbage bag liner filled with ice and water, with a 14$ submersible pump from harbor freight. it works
well with the home made condenser. a copper coil through PVC water jacket with hose barbs. mainly used to recycle methanol. the top of the cheap ice
chest is cut to receive a weighted aluminum water bottle, make shift receiving flask, and keep it in the ice as well. only one spot to tend ice. the
black bag is in case the chest is kicked or otherwise cracks, it doesn't go all over the floor. everything fits in the ice chest when not in use (
except hot plate and hot water container )
it sounds kinda poorly thrown together, but it works great, was cheap, stores well and was made from commonly available materials. the pump has
functioned great for over a year so far with infrequent use, 6 or so times for a couple hours each. http://www.harborfreight.com/158-gph-miniature-submersible-f...
CHRIS25 - 30-5-2014 at 01:27
Well this makes things clearer. Thanks for all your tips and links. Much better idea about what to use now.
Actually as expected - impossible in Ireland, most USA do not ship to Ireland, most UK ebay sellers are from China and Thailand; one and only shop
within 100 miles charges 3 times the amount for something that is dirt cheap, and the only ones that were good from ebay then charge up to 3 times in
postage. Back to the tap and hose pipe I think.
[Edited on 30-5-2014 by CHRIS25]
zenosx - 2-6-2014 at 11:22
I picked up a small fountain pump at lowes for $14 and it works perfectly.
BobD1001 - 2-6-2014 at 14:29
Tiny aquarium pump and a small styrofoam cooler with ice and water. I previously used a small electrical pump from a ortho weed-b-gone electric
sprayer handle (these are not submersible, but cant beat free!) and it seemed to work just fine, however it was noisy and had a very low flow rate,
but still very useable for my 14/20 and 24/40 condensers.
subsecret - 3-6-2014 at 14:02
Personally I'd prefer a non-submersible centrifugal pump (like those used for computer cooling systems), because there'd be less water to deal with.
It could be permanently installed under the bench, along with a water basin. The system could be fitted with two hose barbs that stick up from the
surface of the bench, and a switch could be installed to turn the pump on.
I'm currently working on getting a commercial water fountain, which would server well as a cold water source. 