Building A Heat Exchanger

[Tim F]

Hey all,

I've picked up most of the bits to make a heat exchanger but just wondering about a few things.

Whats the best way to plumb the coil into my hot water vessel? I picked up some 15mm brass nipples, compression nuts and olives, so that bit should be right - thinking I'd just drill into the vessel and then use silicon washer + nut to secure the nipples? But then what's the best way to hook the other side of the nipple up to 10mm ID silicon hose - is there such thing as a 15mm female thread > hose barb fitting? I couldn't see anything like that at Bunnings.

I'm going to use this for a sous vide water bath more often than for brewing - does it make more sense to plumb the hot water out from the HEX into the bottom of the water bath when using for sous vide? Or won't it make much difference?

 

[Doogiechap]

Hey all,

I've picked up most of the bits to make a heat exchanger but just wondering about a few things.

Whats the best way to plumb the coil into my hot water vessel? I picked up some 15mm brass nipples, compression nuts and olives, so that bit should be right - thinking I'd just drill into the vessel and then use silicon washer + nut to secure the nipples? But then what's the best way to hook the other side of the nipple up to 10mm ID silicon hose - is there such thing as a 15mm female thread > hose barb fitting? I couldn't see anything like that at Bunnings.

I'm going to use this for a sous vide water bath more often than for brewing - does it make more sense to plumb the hot water out from the HEX into the bottom of the water bath when using for sous vide? Or won't it make much difference?

Hi Tim,
You can get female 15mm/ 1/2" BSP to barb. I purchased a 20mm version a few years ago from a local supplier but Pirtek or an equivalent should be able to look after you. I think your plumbing direction sounds fine for the bath, I'm assuming that you will circulate upwards through your coil to take advantage of a hotter upper layer in your HEX vessel
Cheers
Doug

 

[Tim F]

Cheers, that sounds like the go. Tracked some down on ebay
And thanks for the tip on flow direction, I was wondering about that too.