Long recovery times with active closed loop

hi everyone,

i just started using closed loop extractor and i'm doing some butane cleaning cycles. recovery takes 45-60min for 5-6lbs. this doesnt seem normal and i feel like i'm killing the pump.

there is a 10x14 spool, to a five foot 3/8 hose to filter drier, to a one foot 1/4in hose, to TR21 pump, to MT69 cooler (2foot 1/4 hose on both sides of the cooler), to 50# recovery tank. theres about 22lb in the tank.

pot is about 85-90F in 130F hot water. cooler is in cold water and tank is in ice bath.

please help, thanks!

What leve

TR-21 runs pretty hot, so recommend using a 3/8" X 50' coil of stainless tubing instead. Google stainless steel jockey box tubing.

The colder the better. Stick it in alcohol and dry ice for the best recovery, but iced brine works too.

I hook a 1/4" female flare to 3/8" male flare directly to the pump, and go 3/8" from there on.

Check your tank for trapped air, which slows things down as well.

Any restrictions will slow things. As mentioned by @Fadedawg 3/8" lines are preferred over 1/4". Look at the orifices on your 5 foot hose connectors and make sure they don't excessively taper and become restrictive.

Colder temperature on recovery side always speeds things up imo.

thanks guys,

reading around last night, i noticed a longer and larger cooling coil is much better like you said, and it would perform better in dry ice. definitely better to have as high a differential as possible with as low temps as possible on the recovery side. i'm going to find the 3/8 adapter for the TR-21 and see how that works first and take it from there. no kinks or tapers in the 5foot recovery hose, its 3/8 straight thru.

Sorry to get off topic

but the 'cooling coil' is what ? ? for the reclaim so the pump does not run liquid ? ?

LIBERTYCHICKEN said:

Sorry to get off topic

but the 'cooling coil' is what ? ? for the reclaim so the pump does not run liquid ? ?

Click to expand...

Condense solvent for speedy recovery.

so ordered a 3/8 50' coil and i had the ends come out vertically on both sides, like perpendicular to the winds.

i saw someone place a coil into a cooler with the output running through a hole drilled in the bottom of the cooler. the whole thing was raised above the recovery tank for gravity assist. i'm basically going to do that.

can the coil be used to store the solvent? or can it handle full/close to full vac? either way, i don't mind evacuating the coil at the end of the run but of course leaving it in there would just be easier and simpler. the MT69 manual says no storage.

The 3/8" coil and fittings are rated for something in excess of 2400 psi with either a Parker or a Swageloc compression fitting, so are suitable for holding butane between cycles.