Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Inline reef chillers?

evil_lurker - 11-4-2007 at 04:44

I snagged a nice new chemglass 1000ml modified stillhead offa day bay for a couple hundred clams (Chemglass price @$350).

Now I almost have all the parts needed for a dedicated sodium benzophenone ketyl still... well maybe not, still need nitrogen/argon bottle, heating mantle, maybe a new alihn condensor....

Those can be had fairly easily.

What I need is a way to keep the darn thing cool for extended periods of time... ice just ain't practical for long runs, especially when your making the ether. (I've been known to go thru 30 pounds in a 6 hour time).

I was thinking of using a reef chiller... how many HP do I need?

I was thinking I might be able to get away with 1/4HP... ideally I'd like to have the coolant running a frosty -10ºC.

[Edited on 11-4-2007 by evil_lurker]

bio2 - 11-4-2007 at 11:49

.........I was thinking of using a reef chiller... how many HP do I need? I was thinking I might be able to get away with 1/4HP... ideally I'd like to have the coolant running a frosty -10ºC........

I built one for a vapor recovery unit once. The plate type evaporator was in a big cooler (48 qt) full of antifreeze.
and would pull down to minus 20. IIRC it was about 1/4 hp
say 2amps at 120v.

What you need is a " freezer" rated compressor these are
designed for low suction pressures. A n airconditioner
compressor won't last long in those temperatures

You could scavenge one of those type refrigerator/freezer
units that have the freezer compartment made from an aluminum evaporator folded into the freezer box.