Finned tube copper for dump zone
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WoodNotOil
Minister of Fire
Call your local heating suppliers and ask if they have any that have been damaged etc. that they are willing to sell to you cheap. Sometimes it is even just the covers that have been scratched and they will sell it to you for very little. You could also contact salvage yards or scrap metal places to see if anyone has gotten rid of any.
Trzebs13
Member
Wondering what you ever came up with on this I am looking for some my self and the damaged scratched ect is not that easy to come by. Any one?
shoeboxlen
Member
I have an extra zoe in my basement set up with 4 old steam radiators coverted to hot water. if I need to dump heat I just crank that zone and open the basement windows. house stays warm cools the boiler fast as those old radiators take alot of water ;-) and they are very easy to come by at salvage yards. system could probably be more automated but I dont need to dump heat off the boiler very often these days. now that I got the hang of how much wood to put in and settings to run on the eko.
I tried the local scrap yard and HVAC dealers unsuccessfully. I ended up using 1 1/4 inch smooth copper. Once I am up and running I will let you know how it works. I believe Hotrod mentioned one could make the fins for the copper pipe. I might do that if the smooth copper doesn't work.
Terry
Terry
One method I tried in my never ending search for the ideal heat exchanger... I cut a bunch of scrap copper tube into 1" long pieced. Then I ked_word">tok a hack saw and cut them in half so I had two half moon shaped pieces. I soldered these right onto the copper coil. So I had mini fins made from and excellent conductor, right out of the scrap barrel. I'll see if I still have some pictures when I get back home this weekend.
I agree the smooth coils, maybe some small ridges are better then finned coils for water HX. That stainless tubing, like gas flex, is replacing smooth copper. it gives you a bit more smooth surgace area, but also some turbulance inducing feature inside.
It looks to me like HX tube manufacturers are spending a lot attention to the inside of the HX tube. I see AC condensor tube with rifleing and all sorts of treatment to the inside to promote turbulence and better ked_word">HX without increasing pressure drop penalties.
A great HX detail on the outside is limited by how the fluid "sees" the inside. Not unlike the turbulators we add to the fireside HX tubes, ked_word like the EKO version for example.
I agree the smooth coils, maybe some small ridges are better then finned coils for water HX. That stainless tubing, like gas flex, is replacing smooth copper. it gives you a bit more smooth surgace area, but also some turbulance inducing feature inside.
It looks to me like HX tube manufacturers are spending a lot attention to the inside of the HX tube. I see AC condensor tube with rifleing and all sorts of treatment to the inside to promote turbulence and better ked_word">HX without increasing pressure drop penalties.
A great HX detail on the outside is limited by how the fluid "sees" the inside. Not unlike the turbulators we add to the fireside HX tubes, ked_word like the EKO version for example.
Trzebs13
Member
Pictures are worth a thousand words. What whould you say would be the min diameter you could go with? I'd love to se a pic of what you got there.
Couderay80
Member
Trzebs13
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