The Homemade Heat Pump Manifesto

AC_Hacker · 10-14-09, 01:32 PM

Here's a picture of the backyard.

The loop field is complete, it's fall, the leaves are falling on the buried loop field, nature is healing her scars. It's raining every day now.

I just wanted to finish off the loop field installation thoughts and then move on to hacking the air conditioner...

Now that I have done it, I have to say that it sure was a lot of work, to put it mildly.

If you live in an are where there is a sand/clay mix and no big rocks, the mud-drilling method is a great way to go. But the mud drilling method is not suited to rocky ground.

If you have the land, and access to a backhoe or bulldozer (rent them), the trench & slinky method is a good bet, but certainly not suited to hand digging.

If you live on a small lot like me, vertical is really the only choice.

But I do realize that if you need to go vertical and have no access to heavy equipment and aren't likely to buy or build your own power auger, hand digging is possible, soil conditions permitting. A combination of a hand-turned post hole auger that allows water-pipe extentions ($35) and a beefy shop vac, such s a Rigid 5HP, or bigger ($60) would work. If you set yourself the goal of one hole per week, it can be done (one day to dig, six days to forget how much work was involved). My boreholes were 17 feet deep when I hit rocks and then hardpan. I didn't sense that 17 feet was any kind of limit to the auger or the shop vac, once I switched to 2" ABS pipe (lower friction than small pipe). The deeper the better, soil conditions permitting.

* * *

So I'd like to thank the folks who helped me in this project with their physical effort, the fabrication of parts I had no way of making, their sage advice, the loan of just the right tool at a critical time, and last but not least, the folks who helped me by simply taking an interest in such a curious endeavor:

William_Hackerson
Ann-the-Flame
Howard-the-Machinist
Distant-Relative-Ken
Bruce-the-Pirate
Rhonda-the-Grandma
Daox
Hugh Jim Bissell
M. Dumois
All the other folks who left comments on the blog
...and the all the other folks who took time out of their lives to take 9,693 peeks into this very curious project.

You have all meant a lot to me.

So, now it's time to hack that air conditioner!

Best Regards,

-AC_Hacker

10-14-09, 01:32 PM	#11
AC_Hacker Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 4,004 Thanks: 303 Thanked 723 Times in 534 Posts	Loop Field Hook-Up... (Part #2 of 2) Here's a picture of the backyard. The loop field is complete, it's fall, the leaves are falling on the buried loop field, nature is healing her scars. It's raining every day now. I just wanted to finish off the loop field installation thoughts and then move on to hacking the air conditioner... Now that I have done it, I have to say that it sure was a lot of work, to put it mildly. If you live in an are where there is a sand/clay mix and no big rocks, the mud-drilling method is a great way to go. But the mud drilling method is not suited to rocky ground. If you have the land, and access to a backhoe or bulldozer (rent them), the trench & slinky method is a good bet, but certainly not suited to hand digging. If you live on a small lot like me, vertical is really the only choice. But I do realize that if you need to go vertical and have no access to heavy equipment and aren't likely to buy or build your own power auger, hand digging is possible, soil conditions permitting. A combination of a hand-turned post hole auger that allows water-pipe extentions ($35) and a beefy shop vac, such s a Rigid 5HP, or bigger ($60) would work. If you set yourself the goal of one hole per week, it can be done (one day to dig, six days to forget how much work was involved). My boreholes were 17 feet deep when I hit rocks and then hardpan. I didn't sense that 17 feet was any kind of limit to the auger or the shop vac, once I switched to 2" ABS pipe (lower friction than small pipe). The deeper the better, soil conditions permitting. * * * So I'd like to thank the folks who helped me in this project with their physical effort, the fabrication of parts I had no way of making, their sage advice, the loan of just the right tool at a critical time, and last but not least, the folks who helped me by simply taking an interest in such a curious endeavor: William_Hackerson Ann-the-Flame Howard-the-Machinist Distant-Relative-Ken Bruce-the-Pirate Rhonda-the-Grandma Daox Hugh Jim Bissell M. Dumois All the other folks who left comments on the blog ...and the all the other folks who took time out of their lives to take 9,693 peeks into this very curious project. You have all meant a lot to me. So, now it's time to hack that air conditioner! Best Regards, -AC_Hacker Attached Thumbnails