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 12-08-11, 08:04 PM   #91
AC_Hacker
Supreme EcoRenovator
 
AC_Hacker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 4,004
Thanks: 303
Thanked 723 Times in 534 Posts
Default 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 Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	compressor-view.jpg
Views:	2324
Size:	29.7 KB
ID:	1917   Click image for larger version

Name:	reversing-valve.jpg
Views:	3625
Size:	26.8 KB
ID:	1918   Click image for larger version

Name:	top-back.jpg
Views:	2165
Size:	33.8 KB
ID:	1919   Click image for larger version

Name:	top-HX.jpg
Views:	2013
Size:	36.5 KB
ID:	1920   Click image for larger version

Name:	top-control-board.jpg
Views:	1995
Size:	31.5 KB
ID:	1921  

__________________
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..
AC_Hacker is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-09-11, 12:19 AM   #92
Geo NR Gee
Journeyman EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Seattle
Posts: 326
Thanks: 109
Thanked 23 Times in 18 Posts
Default

OH MY..........

All for the love of hacking.......
Geo NR Gee is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-09-11, 08:05 AM   #93
MN Renovator
Less usage=Cheaper bills
 
MN Renovator's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 939
Thanks: 41
Thanked 116 Times in 90 Posts
Default

"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."

The exact thing that I'd expect to cause absolutely nobody to contact you.

"...When I declined her generous offer (in her case, declining the offer was pretty easy)"

Sounds like one of a kind, lol.

Nice score on the heat pump, just don't let it leave nasty uncleanable drippings on your mattress that'll make you wish you never picked her up.

MN Renovator is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


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 03:20 PM.


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