Surface condenser with vertically separated tube bundles

A system for condensing a gas comprising a housing having a gas inlet into the top wall of the housing, at least one vertical column of vertically spaced separate tube bundles, said tube bundles being separated from the longitudinal walls of the housing defining gaps between the longitudinal walls and the sides of the tube bundles so that gas entering through said inlet will flow through the gaps as well as into the space between the tube bundles, a separate valved water conduit connected to each tube bundle, a condensation collection tray located beneath each tube bundle which is above the lowermost tube bundle, conduit means at least partially disposed in one of said gaps for flowing condensate from each tray into the bottom of the housing by way of said one gap, a condensate collection means below the lowermost tube bundle for receiving condensate from each tray, and the separate tube bundles being vertically aligned with the width of the tube bundles being progressively larger from the top tube bundle to the lowermost tube bundle whereby the gas condensing capacity of said bundles increases and said gaps progressively decrease from the top tube bundle to the lowermost tube bundle.