EcoRenovator  

Go Back   EcoRenovator > Improvements > Geothermal & Heat Pumps
Advanced Search
 


Blog 60+ Home Energy Saving Tips Recent Posts Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-22-11, 08:48 AM   #41
Daox
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
Default

It shouldn't clog the pump due to the radiators being downstream of the pump, and there will be a filter on the inlet to the pump. I'll have to draw up a diagram soon to show the physical placement of everything. However, I'd imagine just for performance sake it would be a good idea to blast them out with the hose at least. Perhaps even run some vinegar through it?

__________________
Current project -
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.



To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
&
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Daox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-22-11, 08:52 AM   #42
S-F
You Ain't Me
 
S-F's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Northampton MA
Posts: 662
Thanks: 6
Thanked 71 Times in 58 Posts
Default

Another thing discovered by water coolers is that vinegar left in the radiator for too long will turn blueish indicating that it's eating the solder. So don't leave it in there for too long. honestly I don't know how one would go about cleaning a radiator out properly.
S-F is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-22-11, 09:05 AM   #43
Daox
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
Default

Haha, good to know! Perhaps I'll just flush it out with the hose and be done.

I did take a few minutes to come up with a diagram of what I'm looking at. The radiator is the only part of the system that will be upstairs. The rest of the components will be in the basement.

Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	diagram.jpg
Views:	1661
Size:	27.5 KB
ID:	1650  
__________________
Current project -
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.



To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
&
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Last edited by Daox; 07-22-11 at 10:24 AM..
Daox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-22-11, 09:42 AM   #44
Piwoslaw
Super Moderator
 
Piwoslaw's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Posts: 960
Thanks: 188
Thanked 110 Times in 86 Posts
Default

The pump you ordered has a flow of 120GPH, and since you'll have about 2x55+24=134 gallons in the system (2xbarrels+croc, not counting what's in the plumbing and radiator), then you'll pump your whole system throught that rad within 1.5 hours. I wonder how long it'll last, ie how many times it can go through the rad before the water is too warm? Maybe letting it cool off in the basement for the whole night will make up for working it for 4-8h during the day? It'll be interesting to see how it works out.
__________________
Ecorenovation - the bottomless piggy bank that tries to tame the energy hog.
Piwoslaw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-22-11, 10:17 AM   #45
Daox
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
Default

Well, at ~12ft/3m of head, we're looking more at 280LPH/74GPH. So, I should have a bit more capacity and I'm hoping that will help with keeping the drums cool. If I can get the 20F temp drop across the radiator I'm looking at a pretty decent 12,000 BTU/hr for around around 1.75 hrs.

__________________
Current project -
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.



To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
&
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Daox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-22-11, 10:27 AM   #46
Daox
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
Default

Now that I look at the chart, I'm actually not sure what rev my pump is... I just assumed the newer one. I guess if I get the older one I just get a little bonus to the flow rate.
__________________
Current project -
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.



To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
&
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Daox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-25-11, 11:06 AM   #47
Daox
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
Default

I should be getting the pump today. So, I'll be picking up the rest of the components on the way home from work tonight. One part I've had a hard time finding is the check valve to keep the pump primed. I want one with a really low opening threshold. I talked about this project with an engineer here at work and he suggested another solution the the pump priming issue. That is to stick the pump in a PVC pipe that is capped off on one end. Then, put the capped off end of the PVC pipe into the water to get the pump below the water level. Its a very simple solution and is probably cheaper than the check valve considering I have a pipe, so I just need to get a cap. It also doesn't rely on a mechanical device that moves and will eventually fail. The downside is that it will displace some water.
__________________
Current project -
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.



To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
&
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Daox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-27-11, 07:51 AM   #48
Daox
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
Default

Well, work hasn't been progressing on this front very quickly. I did get one of the barrels setup earlier this week. However, lately its been dropping down into the 60s over night and thats plenty to cool the house down to a reasonable level. Still, I have all the bits for the project, I just need to put them together. I also really want to measure things and see what kind of BTUs this simple setup will put out.
__________________
Current project -
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.



To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
&
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Last edited by Daox; 07-27-11 at 07:55 AM..
Daox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-28-11, 06:57 AM   #49
Daox
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
Default

Today is supposed to be pretty hot and very muggy out, so that gave me the drive to work on this last night. I got quite a bit of the setup in. I have the main tubing run from the radiator down to a single barrel and then back to the sump. The pump dry well is in place. It is 3" PVC with a cap on the end, but it looks like it is leaking. Does anyone have any good ideas on how to seal that up? Silicon? With the dry well leaking I didn't get a chance to prime up the pump and test it out.

I do have pictures, but I didn't have time to get them off the camera. I'll post them up tonight though.
__________________
Current project -
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.



To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
&
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Daox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-28-11, 09:39 AM   #50
Piwoslaw
Super Moderator
 
Piwoslaw's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Posts: 960
Thanks: 188
Thanked 110 Times in 86 Posts
Default

How will the radiator be plumbed - cold input at the bottom and warm exit at top?

__________________
Ecorenovation - the bottomless piggy bank that tries to tame the energy hog.
Piwoslaw is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Tags
a/c, air conditioner, diy, geothermal

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:14 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Ad Management by RedTyger
Inactive Reminders By Icora Web Design