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Old 05-25-11, 12:01 AM   #17
Weed Dog
Lurking Renovator
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Wisconsin
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Default Re: Sump water for cooling

Are you designing it as a gravity drainback system? That is, when not in operation, will the radiator and return pipes drain all the water they contain back to the sump well? The pipe that supplies the radiator could be left “charged” by installing a backflow prevention valve, like the kind used in many sump pump installations.

The whole loop might remain charged if you succeed in purging air from the radiator and pipes...

If the radiator is situated at the high point in the loop, it may also become the reservoir for any air in the system, perhaps an undesirable state. Designing a “hump” in the supply pipe, not far from the radiator, and installing an air purge vent, might create a quieter system less prone to gurgling. Come to think of it, if you wanted the radiator to remain “charged”, while the return pipe is allowed to empty, you could design a second hump in the return pipe, at a height just above the top of the radiator, and install a valve to bleed air into the return pipe, when the pump stops.

Do you have any sense of the rate at which water flows through the radiator? It seems that data, plus the diameter and lengths of the piping, might influence the specs of the pump you are seeking...food for thought.
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