EcoRenovator - View Single Post

AC_Hacker · 12-08-11, 08:04 PM

Wow, what a story!

Some woman who saw my ad on a dating site, and saw that I was interested in heat pumps contacted me and offered to give me her no-longer-working heat pump for free.

Turns out it wasn't exactly free, she wanted me to perform oral sex on her (true story). When I declined her generous offer (in her case, declining the offer was pretty easy), she gave me the heat pump anyway.

You just never know what's going to happen when you start hacking heat pumps.

* * *

But I did end up with some interesting hardware.

It was a portable heat pump. Apparently they sold a lot of them and for whatever reason, many of them are hitting the used ads, thrift stores, etc. They have loads of good parts, arranged very interestingly. From looking at this one, I'm not expecting cutting edge performance, but some interesting hacking.

This is the compressor view... yea, the photo is upside down, but I didn't want to grovel on the floor to take the pic.

It has a 1 Ton compressor, expansion valve and refrigerant-to-air HX.

One thing that is of great interest is that the top, with fan, HX and controlls (AKA: inside unit) can be easily separated from the bottom (compressor, fan, HX (AKA: outdoor unit)... and by adding some extension tubing for the refrigerant (AKA: line set), and wiring (AKA: wiring) you could end up with a mini-split heat pump at an amazingly modest price. So far, it looks like my expense will be the cost of a starter capacitor ($5). Not bat at all. Craig's List is crawling with these things and most of them are for sale for about $200. More than I want to pay, but compared to a mini-split, not so bad.

Here is the reversing valve. This is the valve that re-directs the flow of refrigerant, so that the heat pump can become a cooler or a heater. I have wanted to get one of these because it would be useful to get my heat pump to select between Air Source or Water Source, because where I live, there are significant days in the winter when there is more heat available in the air than in the ground. They can be gotten surplus for about $30, but here it is!

Here is the top unit, showing the fan motor and fan...

Here's the top showing the HX...

Here's the top showing the control board...

A lot of fun stuff to experiment with... and it is R-22!

Good thing I escaped with my honor.

-AC_Hacker

12-08-11, 08:04 PM	#91
AC_Hacker Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 4,004 Thanks: 303 Thanked 723 Times in 534 Posts	Interesting "New" ASHP for free... Wow, what a story! Some woman who saw my ad on a dating site, and saw that I was interested in heat pumps contacted me and offered to give me her no-longer-working heat pump for free. Turns out it wasn't exactly free, she wanted me to perform oral sex on her (true story). When I declined her generous offer (in her case, declining the offer was pretty easy), she gave me the heat pump anyway. You just never know what's going to happen when you start hacking heat pumps. * * * But I did end up with some interesting hardware. It was a portable heat pump. Apparently they sold a lot of them and for whatever reason, many of them are hitting the used ads, thrift stores, etc. They have loads of good parts, arranged very interestingly. From looking at this one, I'm not expecting cutting edge performance, but some interesting hacking. This is the compressor view... yea, the photo is upside down, but I didn't want to grovel on the floor to take the pic. It has a 1 Ton compressor, expansion valve and refrigerant-to-air HX. One thing that is of great interest is that the top, with fan, HX and controlls (AKA: inside unit) can be easily separated from the bottom (compressor, fan, HX (AKA: outdoor unit)... and by adding some extension tubing for the refrigerant (AKA: line set), and wiring (AKA: wiring) you could end up with a mini-split heat pump at an amazingly modest price. So far, it looks like my expense will be the cost of a starter capacitor ($5). Not bat at all. Craig's List is crawling with these things and most of them are for sale for about $200. More than I want to pay, but compared to a mini-split, not so bad. Here is the reversing valve. This is the valve that re-directs the flow of refrigerant, so that the heat pump can become a cooler or a heater. I have wanted to get one of these because it would be useful to get my heat pump to select between Air Source or Water Source, because where I live, there are significant days in the winter when there is more heat available in the air than in the ground. They can be gotten surplus for about $30, but here it is! Here is the top unit, showing the fan motor and fan... Here's the top showing the HX... Here's the top showing the control board... A lot of fun stuff to experiment with... and it is R-22! Good thing I escaped with my honor. -AC_Hacker Attached Images __________________ I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker... Last edited by AC_Hacker; 12-08-11 at 08:09 PM..