in distilation , how is a condenser set up?

after watching a video made by nurdrage and realising i could use a condenser to distill various chemicals like ammonia water, i was wondering, how is a condenser set up.

now ive looked at a lot of images, and all i see is the top of the condenser where the gas enters, thenthe bottom where the gas exits as a liquid.

now what i dont nderstand is the two middle middle nozzles, ive looked at many setups and theres usually nothing attached to them, or they have a hose attached to them that goes nowhere and you cant see where they end, so i must ask, what are they for, in the sense, what do they do? and what, if anything, are they attached to?

whoever answers my question properly and makes sense will receive a best answer.

also, i will just add, ive searched through google and wikipedia, and found zilch that made any sense to me.

sort by: active | newest | oldest
Kiteman6 years ago
It sounds like you are talking about a Leibig condenser. The two "extra" connections are for the cooling water. It is usual for the in-flowing water to be connected to the lower end, so that the cooling water flows against the flow of vapour.

Look at part 6 and 7 in this diagram.
oldmanbeefjerky (author)  Kiteman6 years ago
hold on, so in those condensers, the water that enters and exists never actually makes contact with nthe gasses correct? because in those images, it looked like there was a whle nother chamber there in which the water would flow , seperate from the original chamber? odd, in nurdrages videos i never noticed that second chamber at all, but after watching again i fully understand how it works, thankyou

kiteman you get best answer
Kiteman6 years ago
(Thanks for the "best")
lemonie6 years ago

A condenser is a chilled-tube.

E.g. https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-still/

NachoMahma6 years ago
.  You may find more info by using "heat exchanger" in your search.
orksecurity6 years ago
A condenser is basically a cooling mechanism. See, eg, the graphic for the "distilling basics" instructable under the Related column at right, which shows one classic design -- a coil of tubing inside a container of ice or cold water or whatever's appropriate for what you're trying to extract.

The "middle two nozzles" allow coolant to be pumped through the cooling jacket, removing it as it warms up and replacing it with more at the lower temperature.