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Old 04-16-09, 02:50 AM   #11
AC_Hacker
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Default How to make a heat pump out of junk...

jwxr7,

First the disclaimer:

I am not an HVAC technician. In fact, I am barely a hacker. Some of the things I describe may be against the law in the country or state in which you live. I do not encourage anyone to do anything that is unlawful. Additionally some HVAC equipment contains gases that are known to cause lasting damage to the atmosphere and also to cause global warming, so the manufacture of these gasses, the utilization of these gasses and the venting of these gasses into the atmosphere is also unethical and immoral. As if that were not enough, working with HVAC gasses in an enclosed space can be very dangerous because they have little or no odor and while they are not leathal of themselves, they can displace oxygen in the lungs, causing you to pass out and possibly die. Also, refrigerant gasses are under very high pressure, when they rapidly expand, can instantly cause frostbite of the fingers, and if they sprayed in your face, could cause loss of eye-sight. So, be warned, be very careful, do not work in a confined space, do not work without eye protection, do not work alone. This is serious stuff. You should familiarize yourself with proper and legal methods of handling refrigerant gasses. Act as if your life and physical intregity depend on what you do. Because my friend, it is true.

Now if you read all of the above, you should have a bit of respect for the process.

Having said all that, I have learned most everything I know about creatively re-purposing HVAC equipment, from German children. That's right I said German children. There are some fantastic blogs out there where German children describe in precise detail how they were able to take old air-conditioners and re-configure them and re-charge them with propane (aka: r-290; Barbeque Gas, etc), all so that they could super-cool the CPUs on their video games and play video games faster. I stand in awe of German children.

I would urge you to go on a Google-frenzy and search out what these kids have done.

Here are a few suggested terms:
* Extreme Systems
* Vapor Phase Change Cooling
* the term "German Children" will not be very useful

...be creative...

You're also gonna need some tools:
* Copper tubing cutter (cheap)
* A Manifold Gauge Set ($5 to $100)
* A good brazing tourch. I suggest Mapps gas, it's hotter ($35)
* Brazing rod with silver content from 10% to 40%. No, solder or silver solder is not good enough because refrigeration systems vibrate and solder does not have the physical strength. I've even heard HVAC folks use the term "solder" (like "...solder it back up."), but on inquiry, found out that they were actually referring to brazing.
* A good vacuum pump with fresh vacuum pump oil every time you use it. I got my vacuum pump for free, a friend of mine bought it off ebay, the rotor was stuck so he just gave it to me. I freed up the rotor, put fresh oil in it, let it run for about 8 hours and tested it and saw that it would pull down to about 80 microns.
* When you're serious, a micron vacuum gauge (ultra low pressures). I built my first system without a micron gauge, but I was never quite sure if I really got the vacuum low enough, or if my equipment which was all second hand was really any good. If you can borrow a micron gauge to test your equipment, that would be a big help.

...ebay and garage sales and pawn shops are good places to start looking.

Some things to keep in mind:
* go for Air-Conditioners or de-humidifiers, they're more robust than refrig compressors
* Make sure you start with a working unit. Try it out. Make sure it runs & gets cold.
* A neighborhood AC shop could extract the refrigerant for a modest cost, when you're ready to go, they might even do the recharge, if they like you and are interested in what you're doing. I have heard that it is even possible to use a spare refrig compressor for an extractor, but I have no first hand knowledge of this.
* don't 'open' the system until you are actually ready to convert it to your purposes. Refrigeration systems last a long time if their internal atmosphere is just gas & oil and NO WATER. Refrigeration oil loves watrer and will absorb and hold moisture in the air. So when you open the system the clock is ticking. Try to get it together, brazed, tested, vacuumed and re-charged ASAP.
* In my experience, a lot of the people who are in the HVAC trade are not so very happy to see new people experimenting with refrigeration. They may be blunt, maybe discouraging, might even threaten to turn you in to the HVAC police. But, if you find someone in the HVAC trade who is heplful, treat them with all the respect you can muster, they're your lifeline.
* I have noticed that there are loads of HVAC manuals, etc. floating about in the Peer-to-Peer world. If torrents won't locate anything useful, eMule just might.

Here is a link to a Danfoss manual on the basics of refrigeration, good information.

(NEXT POST: Selecting a likely candidate for building a heat pump.)


Last edited by AC_Hacker; 01-07-11 at 03:28 AM..
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air conditioner, diy, gshp, heat pump, homemade

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