Coolant

edited August 2021 in General

Those of you that are using a drum or tote and recirculating coolant water to the condensers..... Do you add an additive to the water?

Or how often do you change the water out?

Comments

  • I change the water fairly often, I asked about using some boiler additive here before, but did not get a consensus, I think if you add a touch of something to keep it above 7.0 is is best for metal... electrolysis is a real thing, and if you see degradation of any part, bonding them together to earth ground might be a good idea.

    I also run my PC water slow and get it to 170+ on stripping runs, so that kills a few things, but then it is put back in the tank, so not perfect. things...

    Ideally, I would like to have the cooling system really clean, add the water needed for the next batch, use it for cooling, then use it for mashing/diluting molasses, and drain the cooling system and refill

  • I'm researching using Potassium Sorbate/Potassium Metabisulfite/Sodium Metabisulfite. They are cheap and doesn't take much to do a huge volume. Combined it should last a long time in a closed system. I need to check acidity once I get all of them combined. As my build is a few months off I haven't done that yet. Most of what I plan on using is stainless. Unless it's wildly acidic I'm not going to be concerned.

  • You can install a UV light in the storage tank and not have to worry about using chemical You can find them pretty inexpensive on ebay

  • Sorbate only inhibits yeast and sulfites are corrosive and acrid smelling. Look at using quats, quaternary based sanitizers are both long lived and cheap and non corrosive. Get em at your local restaurant supply store.

  • edited August 2021

    What is the chemical treatment for boiler maintenance? Wouldn't that be adequate?

    Nalco water treatment.

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • Just keep in mind the need to dump the tank.

    You don’t want to make a hundred gallons of hazmat.

  • Another benefit of using cooling water, even with a bit of Ph+, is that you can use it in mash/wash a few days later, which makes for positive community relations... Hang a sign that says: 'We waste no water, nothing goes down the drain without being used at least twice'. make no mistake, that kind of warm-fuzzy feeling goes a long way...

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