Pool Pump for Jacketed Base?

I recently started running a 6×6 jacketed collection base. I used a sous vide and a high powered magnetic drive fishtank pump. It worked for that run but now I’m thinking of ramping up the water speed exponentially.

So if anyone here uses/used a pool pump for recovery please share some experience and knowledge. Mostly jw if it’s a good idea or not.

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If the object of the game is moving hot water there are a whole slew of pumps explicitly sold for that purpose.

$100 will get you a usable example. $200 will get you one you can rely on long term.

$350 for Taco or Grundfos on the high end. Low end is probably in the $70 range.

I like the 3 speed ones… actually found an application that required low speed recently.

Most pool pumps are going to be way bigger than you need…

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Just go with a sub pump from a hydroponic store I use two one 396 GPH for my collection vessel then the same 396 GPH pump for my molecular sieve

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How do the hydro pumps hold up against heat? Most standard pumps you see have a 100-140 F max temp rating.

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https://www.amazon.com/Manufacturing-Supreme-Aqua-Mag-Magnetic-Aquarium/dp/B001BO50ZY

I’m using one of those. My bucket with the vide and pump were also hosed a solid 12 ft away from the collection base so there was a distance. I’m not brave enough to put anything 3 ft near my system.

My other problem was keeping the water warm as it flows back into the backet so I think I’m gonna need to figure out a way to keep temperature.

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I bought a Home Depot one and it gives out when it gets warm. I was running the temp at 135f and it just shut off.

I was considering https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mighty-Mammoth-In-Ground-Pool-Pump-1-5HP-2HP-High-Performance-Flow-Rate-/292443461723

Not the right pump. should work for cooling water on a still or FFE.

Here’s your $70
https://www.amazon.com/Trupow-Water-3-Speed-Circulation-Circulator/dp/B078RYTP6G/

Pair it with whatever size tankless water heater you need to achieve your desired evap rate. (The maths are around here somewhere). 5kW probably isn’t a bad place to start. But I’ve been evaporating ethanol not butane recently, so that guess is not as informed as it once was.

There is probably a 1k word substitute with all the plumbing shown on In hot water...

There will also be links to a couple of other relevant threads…


I’ve also just made a “tankless water heater” out of a 10” length of 2” black gas pipe and a handful of fittings from home despot.

A tee, a couple of 3/4” barb adapters and the appropriate bushings or reducers.

A 1500W (or 4500W if you do 220V) water heater element will thread into npt. and a water heater thermostat will regulate in the correct temp range.

If your sous vide wasn’t up for the task, you’ll want to step up to 220V heating.

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What about a bucket heater attached to a temperate control unit? I can’t do anything 220, my house isn’t equipped to handle that.

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It’s about the watts.

A bucket heater will get you 1500W
You might squeeze 1950W out of a 20A 110V circuit.

Adding a 220V circuit is not difficult or expensive. You can power a 4500W element on a 20A circuit, and electric stoves or clothes dryers are often on 30A or even 50A circuits.

rubbish! check this: How To Get 220V/240V From Two 120V Outlets. No Electrical Panel Work Required... - YouTube

or how easy it is to do right… https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=adding+a+220+breaker+to+a+panel

Edit: 6x6 base… 1500W should be plenty

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Use the pump @cyclopath linked, that one works well. For the heater part you can use a beerkeg with a hot water heating element, control it with a pid and your rocking.

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Thermal overload. The motor only knows it’s hot and shuts down. As previously mentioned, taco makes good pumps for hot water applications

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How would I go about doing that?

I’m still fairly new to the jacketed base. I’m only doing runs once or twice a month depending on if I’m doing a diamond run that month… Still though if you can point me in the right direction to help me make this happen I would highly appreciate it.

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https://www.glaciertanks.com/tri-clamp-nps-and-npt-adapters-22mp-g100-200-nps.html. allows you to clamp a domestic hot water heater element to an unmodified beer keg. although they don’t sell the gasket to achieve that.
https://www.brewershardware.com/F1GASSIL.html

all that really gets you is a bomb…

you’ll need more holes in your keg to make it into something useful

if you have to hire it modified you’re probably better off building from iron pipe (stainless works too :wink: )…and you could also build with triclamp.

or find a keggle on craigslist

edit: the bits you posted would get you most of the way there.

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  1. get a beer keg make sure it is stainless steel
  2. get 2x stainless nipples I like 1/2 npt
  3. get a pid control from ebay, you want one with a type k theromcoulple and a solid state relay.
  4. get a water heater element kit from home depot, make sure it comes with a “bung” that is threaded.
  5. take your keg and remove the dip tube that was used to dispense beer, remove this you wont need it. google the instruction on how to remove it, it is pretty simple.
  6. drill two holes in your keg one near the top on the side and another below it close to the bottom. Drill these holes the same as the outside diameter of your 1/2 npt nipple.
  7. weld the two nipples into the holes.
  8. cut a hole in the side of the keg near the bottom big enough for the water heater element to slip in, and weld the bung to the hole. Then you may install the element by threading it into the bung.
  9. drill and tap a hole near the bottom of the keg to allow the type k thermocouple to be installed.
  10. wire your pid controll to the theromcouple and solid state relay, connect the solid state relay to the water heater element.
  11. attach your hot water pump to the lower nipple on the side of the keg, the top port is the water return.
  12. you may want to make an enclosure for the pid control to make it look purdy.
  13. you should be able to fill it with h20 and plumb it to your jacketed base, I like pex tube for this purpose.
  14. now tune the pid, boom done!
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Two different implementations of “tankless water heater” built with 2” iron pipe.

Used the lower one for a couple of years to power butane recovery on a MK III terpenator.

Note PRVs.

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https://www.morebeer.com/products/stainless-keggle-153-gal-58l.html

?

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Yeah, but getting one for $50-100 off craigslist, makes the build less expensive.

I used a CL keggle with the heater shown up thread.

Circa 2014

The collection pot went in the keg, and the heater was 20feet away.

The ring supporting the 10” collection base in the keg is the door off front loading washer :wink:

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This was last run I had to crop the pic into two pics

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Less hose.
Possibly larger diameter.
Insulated.

I like the flexibility of blue silicone heater hose, but the black rubber stuff from home despot or kragen’s will work.

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