EcoRenovator - View Single Post - 24000 BTU AC Unit conversion to geothermal well water source

jeff5may · 11-18-16, 11:11 PM

Haven't been really active on the forums lately. I am on an 8 day a week schedule at the job, working 60+ hours a week, and besides a holiday shutdown before the new year, it looks like this will continue all the way through June or July. Meanwhile, 2 of my vehicles decided to break down on me. The gas-saver Saturn is troubleshot: previous mechanic's inadequate repair led to repeat failure. It awaits donor car seller to match my schedule, then it's getting an engine transplant. The Silverado/Sierra is similar: previous hot-rodder recycled too many old parts and/or didn't clean enough while it was apart, leading to coolant leakage out the tailpipe and other rubber things. Preliminary tests point to head gasket or cracked head.Maybe during the shutdown I will have time to fix them both, plus have time to have a life, maybe not. But I digress...

The literature you have linked to doesn't completely agree with what your unit nameplate says. Most or all of it says the units run with R-410a. The unit you have looks a little older. The general ideas and methods will be the same, but specific specs will differ. The documents describe a 13 SEER line of units that are not really built to heat well below about -10 degC outdoor temperature. Some of the units automatically quit when outdoor temp falls below -15.

When you get your outdoor unit, look at the compressor nameplate. The model number will tell us all kinds of stuff about what you really have. Since you need heat quickly, just rig it up in its stock configuration to make sure it works. You should be able to save lots of money this heating season with it. Going straight air-source with the outdoor unit, you will need a backup heat source when the temp drops below this threshold. Above maybe -10 degC, it should serve you well before you modify it. Plus, you will get hands-on knowledge of how well the existing controls are.

A plate heat exchanger may or may not work well with your water source. If your well water has anything strange in it, the plates will get coated and fouled with whatever is in the water. Not bad for an experiment, but to run the plate exchanger a lot requires flushing and cleaning on a schedule.

11-18-16, 11:11 PM	#20
jeff5may Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: elizabethtown, ky, USA Posts: 2,428 Thanks: 431 Thanked 619 Times in 517 Posts	Haven't been really active on the forums lately. I am on an 8 day a week schedule at the job, working 60+ hours a week, and besides a holiday shutdown before the new year, it looks like this will continue all the way through June or July. Meanwhile, 2 of my vehicles decided to break down on me. The gas-saver Saturn is troubleshot: previous mechanic's inadequate repair led to repeat failure. It awaits donor car seller to match my schedule, then it's getting an engine transplant. The Silverado/Sierra is similar: previous hot-rodder recycled too many old parts and/or didn't clean enough while it was apart, leading to coolant leakage out the tailpipe and other rubber things. Preliminary tests point to head gasket or cracked head.Maybe during the shutdown I will have time to fix them both, plus have time to have a life, maybe not. But I digress... The literature you have linked to doesn't completely agree with what your unit nameplate says. Most or all of it says the units run with R-410a. The unit you have looks a little older. The general ideas and methods will be the same, but specific specs will differ. The documents describe a 13 SEER line of units that are not really built to heat well below about -10 degC outdoor temperature. Some of the units automatically quit when outdoor temp falls below -15. When you get your outdoor unit, look at the compressor nameplate. The model number will tell us all kinds of stuff about what you really have. Since you need heat quickly, just rig it up in its stock configuration to make sure it works. You should be able to save lots of money this heating season with it. Going straight air-source with the outdoor unit, you will need a backup heat source when the temp drops below this threshold. Above maybe -10 degC, it should serve you well before you modify it. Plus, you will get hands-on knowledge of how well the existing controls are. A plate heat exchanger may or may not work well with your water source. If your well water has anything strange in it, the plates will get coated and fouled with whatever is in the water. Not bad for an experiment, but to run the plate exchanger a lot requires flushing and cleaning on a schedule. Last edited by jeff5may; 11-20-16 at 11:52 AM..