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Old 01-09-12, 12:16 PM   #1
AC_Hacker
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Default Where To Get Parts & Tools for Hacking Heat Pumps

It occurs to me that some potential HVAC hackers might not know where to start. In other words, where to get donor units upon which to perform our hacking transformations on, and the tools with which to do our diabolical work.

My first unit came from Goodwill, and it was a small de-humidifier and it cost all of $25. I probably got more out of my experience hacking that one unit than I did out of many of my much more expensive college courses. I continue to see de-humidifiers in thrift shops from time to time for under $50, some as cheap as $25.

My next units were purchased in garage sales. There are some sufficiently serviceable but seedy-looking units for sale very cheap in garage sales. I got a seedy-looking but functionally robust 1 Ton A/C for $10.

Then, because of word of mouth, other units, mostly dehumidifiers, began to show up on my front porch... I never knew where they came from, but they had parts I needed.

Only as a last resort, did it occur to me to look on Craigs List...

Right now on my local Craigs List searching for "air conditioner" (no photo), there are 74 used air conditioners for sale, 22 of them for $50 or less, and 5 for $25 or less. NOTE: winter is a bad time to sell A/C and a good time to buy A/C.

Searching under "heat pump", there are 12 units for sale, 2 for 150 or under. NOTE: some look so forlorn that haggling would certainly be called for.

Searching for "dehumidifier", there are 11 units for sale, 3 for $100 or less. NOTE: winter in Portland is a good time to sell dehumidifiers, a bad time to buy.

Also Searching in the FREE section under "heat pump", I did find a free heat pump, but I would need to take also the free hot tub that it is hooked to.

Searching in the FREE section under "air conditioner", I found one working A/C that was "big enough to cool a house".

It is best to find units that work, that tells you that the compressor is in good shape, and that the refrigerant circuit has no leaks.

If you are just going for air source HXs, the compressor doesn't have to work, but the HXs should be in reasonably good shape (no obvious damage, not too many bent fins).

Searching under "HVAC", I found some really excellent tools being sold by people leaving the trade... great quality tools, cheaper than pawn shop prices.

For HVAC tools, ebay can be very competitive, also for parts, searched for by name.

Happy hunting...


-AC_Hacker,

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Old 01-09-12, 08:25 PM   #2
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You must live in an area where Craigslist is very popular. Searching my area, and surrounding areas, I found no heat pumps, a few A/c's but most only like 5000 BTU.

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Old 01-10-12, 01:17 AM   #3
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You must live in an area where Craigslist is very popular.
Yeah, Craigs List is very popular here. And it does change alot. I find it easiest to find a search page that is bringing in the type of thing I am looking for and bookmarking that page.

That way I don't have to re-invent the search page every time I want to look for stuff.

Craigs list changes a lot, too. So if you're looking for something you need to look just about every day.

With the book marked search page, it's a snap.

I was able to obtain 10 solar water heating collectors for $600. In a very short time.

It's amazing.

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Old 01-10-12, 02:43 AM   #4
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I know all about the fun of Craigslist. I've bought three Jetskis off there. The way it's set up is annoying because I have to check three different cities, Racine, Milwaukee, and Chicago to cover the range I'm willing to drive. Also, I've learned to search multiple terms to get all the possible results. When I was looking for Jetskis, I wanted Seadoo's, so I had to search jetski, jet ski, waverunner, wave runner, Seadoo, and Sea Doo, because each of these(the main two I searched were Seadoo and Sea Doo) would return many of the same results, but each had a few of their own.

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Old 01-10-12, 08:00 AM   #5
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In this town, they have an appliance Recycling event about once a month.
You bring the stuff you don't want anymore. Stuff that's not allowed in the trash.
That's TV sets, ACs, & etc.

The Recycling group (volunteers) charge you 5 or 10 bucks, depending on what you drop off.

Anyways, the last time I was there to drop off an old (1973) dehumidifier,
I noticed that some of the stuff being dropped off, looked brand new!

My guess is, a person might be able to pick up used AC gear for free,
if they they had a few hours to wait around a school parking lot on a weekend..

I guess it will depend on how the event is being run..

Recycle Your Appliances Saturday - Woburn, MA Patch
Woburn Council Of Social Concern Appliance/Freon Bearing/CRT Device Recycling Event | SCI Woburn
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Old 01-10-12, 08:26 AM   #6
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The trouble with finding heat pump is that there are very few of them in the northern US like here in Minnesota because they are inefficient at even the average January temperature here, not to mention when we hit below zero and natural gas is cheap here to where you need a COP of above 3 for it to work out.

This is compounded by the fact that I've never seen a window or other non-permanent heat pump anywhere new at any store so finding a used one would probably mean finding one of the following: A 3 phase 72k BTU geothermal unit(useless for a home), a 2003 3.5 Carrier heat pump w/a-coil $600(would be great if I had a higher heat/cooling load but I won't wish for that, also not sure what the HSPF is of a 2003 unit but I'm thinking if even the best of todays equipment aren't cost effective here its hard to think its all that great), there's a 3 ton geothermal clogged up and damaged by well water that someone wants $3k for. A Lennox heat pump with coil but no details such as capacity, date, or model for $2.5k. A very new looking 13 seer Tempstar heat pump for $1200 in Wisconsin. A 3 ton heat pump for $450 '8-10 years old' with a "we'll install for another $600" There are new PTAC's 14.4kBTU cool and 13.2kBTU heat for $650 with 70CFM fresh air damper, minimum quantity 20.

I'm a little tempted to find a decent used higher than 13 SEER 2 ton A/C+coil R410A for my house to replace DIY, I'd imagine I'll find a 'it's too small for my house because it gets to be 75 inside when it got to 95 outside and the oven was on inside' situation.

Good advice, I just wish I were in a climate where a heat pump would work out better. Good luck!
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Old 01-10-12, 12:42 PM   #7
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Good advice, I just wish I were in a climate where a heat pump would work out better.
Sounds like you are trying to find used units that are already exactly built and functioning for your purposes. Good trick if you can do it.

The intent of my post is to alert potential hackers as to the abundance of cheap or free useful parts and where they might find them. To my mind, that is what hacking is all about.

Regarding the climate that is inhospitable to using heat pumps, Sweden has one of the highest per-capita deployment rates of heat pumps in the world.

Also, Canada is strongly pushing the use of heat pumps, and if I recall, the weather conditions in many parts of Canada are possibly even more harsh than those in Minnesota.

In both of these examples, GSHPs are being used. ASHPs may never be useful for extremely severe winters.

But air conditioners, de-humidifiers, and ASHP all contain most of the parts to make a working GSHP heat extraction unit.

And there is the possibility that although your desire to learn, to improvise and to innovate may know no bounds, you may be living in a hardware-impoverished area.

In which case, I offer my sincerest condolences...

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Old 01-11-12, 09:40 AM   #8
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"Sounds like you are trying to find used units that are already exactly built and functioning for your purposes. Good trick if you can do it."

Not quite looking for 'exactly built' but after talking with a few HVAC techs, they've all told me that an air conditioner without a TXV makes a lousy heat pump. I don't think dehumidifiers and windows A/C's usually have a TXV and usually they are sized for the device. So making an efficient heat pump that doesn't frost up from its own inefficiency of using a capillary tube system where flow isn't well controlled could limit the end result of an efficient system. Fun to mess around with though.

What I'm really looking for is something that isn't oversized to the load, this is the difficult part because I'd be satisfied with 1.5 ton for my house, although 2 tons isn't oversized on a design day(95 outside and a constantly running 2 ton leaves the house between 76 and 78) so 2 tons is fine, when its 82 upstairs, I just go downstairs where its cooler and I prefer lower humidity for more comfort(smaller system needed for longer runtimes) and the only 1.5 ton systems are those usually used in small spaces like a 1200sq ft or smaller townhome or condo. In reality, a 5k to 12k BTU window air conditioner would be awesome to play with(if its reasonably efficient such as an energy star unit) because then I use the small one constantly and when it gets to be hotter than I can stand(mid 80's and up), I'd crank the old 8 SEER, which wouldn't be too often.

I like the HVAC tools I'm seeing, I've got myself a gauge set so I'll have to figure out how to use it but I'm not sure I will for my current equipment as I'd hate to create a leak and lose R22 and have to call a tech out to fix it.
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Old 01-11-12, 02:48 PM   #9
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Not quite looking for 'exactly built' but after talking with a few HVAC techs, they've all told me that an air conditioner without a TXV makes a lousy heat pump.
So what kind of HVAC-hacking projects are you working on now that you are trying to find parts for?

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Old 01-11-12, 06:39 PM   #10
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So what kind of HVAC-hacking projects are you working on now that you are trying to find parts for?

-AC_Hacker
Nothing established as far as plans go but I'm really thinking about DIY'ing in an R410 condenser plus coil if I can get something above minimum SEER.

...but, in reality I'd love to just get the tools to install a Fujitsu Halcyon 12RLS which would be the most efficient setup because I'd lose the ductwork but be able to cover the entire upstairs which is two bedrooms and bathroom because mini-splits can really chuck air out and I can position it aimed straight through the room, down the hall and into the other room. In the winter the heat would mostly hang up high and in the summer, the heat that rises would get wiped out for when the 12k of cooling is enough for the whole house. ...or if I just want my room cooled or heated I can just close the doors. The smaller capacity will allow me to better reduce the summer humidity allowing me to have a higher temperature during the swing seasons where cooling needs aren't that high but it gets a bit humid inside leading to a lower temperature than otherwise needed. ...but if I could find a cheap used 14+ SEER 1.5 ton air conditioner, I'll make external lexan or acrylic removable gasketed panes with automotive tint on the outside to reduce sunlight to make the house passable as a 1.5 ton load and add privacy which is something I'll do anyway. If I find a cheap AC unit first I'll probably be doing that first. I also have a friend going to school to be an HVAC tech so I might just wait on his schooling and tools to arrive and then I can get some help. He's already said he'd like to help me upgrade my stuff. I think he was thinking new stuff though, which I'll take a new furnace but the A/C can be used.

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