The Homemade Heat Pump Manifesto

[AC_Hacker]

Originally Posted by launboy

I wish I had the resources some of the people on this board/thread do. It seems everyone knows someone in the HVAC/R trade, but scouring my brain I don't believe I do, unfortunately.

Don't forget car freaks. That was my first equipment loan, I have a friend who got good at fixing the family car A/C's. Might be worth asking around. And even though I make a huge deal of having a micron gauge (I absolutely love mine, wouldn't be without it), you can hack without one. You can even build your own vacuum pump out of a couple of refrigeration compressors in series.

Originally Posted by launboy

...I am wondering if it'd be of any advantage to me to use two of them either run in series or parallel? I think series would be better if I did this, and the coil is free, from a window unit with a leak, but would there be any advantage to it in my application? This would effectively double my evap size.

Yes, the force is definitely with you.

Originally Posted by launboy

Could I just cut the fins off the tubing? It would be an annoying process I'd imagine, but since I already have the coils, it's copper I wouldn't have to buy.

The fins aren't as useful in water as in air, since water is so much better at heat transfer. If you're going to use this for a hot tub, you will have dissimilar metals together and the boron stuff that gets put in hot tub water will probably accelerate galvanic deterioration.

Originally Posted by launboy

Just thought about the controls aspect, I have a dehumidifier control that senses when ice forms on the coil and shuts the unit off so it can melt, maybe this could act as a sort of defrost board so I could let it run when I'm not out there to check on it. If that doesn't work I can always fall back on the old put it on a timer that shuts it off for 5-10 minutes every half hour or however long it seems to take on average. As far as temp controls go, having the Spa Pack makes that easy. It has a temp sensor, thermostat, and contacts for the heating element already installed. I'm just going to disconnect the terminals from the heating element and reconnect them to an outlet. It's designed to handle the element so it should have no problem with an A/c drawing half that. I'm so impatient to get back home and try this out!

You might be on to something here.

Originally Posted by launboy

This summer I fully intend on becoming a full fledged hacker and learning to braze and charge my home made heat pumps.

Give, 'em hell Adam!

BTW, seek out the forums where people have built refrigeration devices to chill computer CPUs... Gobs of great hardcore DIY info there.

I think you are standing at the door to insanity, we're here to help pull you through.

-AC_Hacker