Cooling options - Found this, anyone running similar?

Anything cooling/condenser related.

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Brokenjeep
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Cooling options - Found this, anyone running similar?

Post by Brokenjeep »

Hey all, as the snow melts up here I am having some serious cooling issues and been reading for days on different rigs. I am considering the box fan/rad with rain barrel setup but looking at a local auction site I came across this baby.

It appears to be basically the rad side of a heating system with a fan.. wouldn't this be the perfect setup for cooling? I searched the site for "fan coil", "heating fan coil" etc but didn't see anything.

Is anyone familiar with these, or have tried to use them?

Auction is at 5 bucks right now with 24h left so I don't mind just buying it to see if I can make it work but info would be awesome! Manufactured web sites are strictly for HVAC guys.. :)
Last edited by Brokenjeep on Thu Feb 22, 2018 8:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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still_stirrin
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Re: Cooling options - Found this, anyone running similar?

Post by still_stirrin »

For a closed loop coolant system, it would work great.

You'll still need a reservoir for the water and a pump to push it through the radiator. I would put it in series with the return line (out of the heat exchanger/reflux & product condensers) rather than feeding it. The radiator will dissipate heat better on the "hot side" than trying to get the temperature below the reservoir temperature because heat has a "motive force" to move from higher temperatures to lower. In other words, the radiator will work more efficiently when the coolant medium is above ambient rather than below it.

Does the radiator system have aluminum or copper fins? If copper...it's a super deal. Copper has great heat transfer properties although aluminum is good. Copper would be more expensive to purchase however. So, the materials may be reflected in the selling price.
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p.s. - I hope the radiator doesn't have leaks. That would be a mess.
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OtisT
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Re: Cooling options - Found this, anyone running similar?

Post by OtisT »

Looks plenty big enough. ;-). Verify the I/O pipe size is adequate for the flow rate you need. I can’t imagain this being an issue, but thought it should be said.

If it don’t leak after you are all hooked up and your pump is adequate, it should be able to cool the shit out of your hot water. Just a guess, not sure how much power you run, but it’s probably way overkill. Based on the size of it, you can likely get away with running that fan fairly slow so after you verify it works, consider a speed controller so it doesn’t sound like aircraft taking off when you run it.

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Brokenjeep
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Re: Cooling options - Found this, anyone running similar?

Post by Brokenjeep »

Alright guys, enough positivity for me to go to 50 bucks on the auction! If it leaks I will get out the torch! I am thinking this is a water cooler opposed to Freon or anything like that based on the 1/2-3/4 copper inlet (can't tell) on the top but maybe that is wishful thinking. I will have to see if my pond pump will drive it, and thanks for the tip, I will put it on the hot side to get the most bang for my buck! I will follow up with the build and performance incase anyone else has one of these come up.
Last edited by Brokenjeep on Thu Feb 22, 2018 8:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
zach
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Re: Cooling options - Found this, anyone running similar?

Post by zach »

The unit is likely an evaporator for a small walk-in cooler or freezer.

The connection shown is likely from a drain pain that collects water during defrost cycle. The unit is shown with the bottom up.

If the cooling coil is circuited for a refrigerant, the feed side likely has orifices on each circuit to equally distribute flow among the circuits. This could limit the flow capacity of the unit as a radiator for water cooling.
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Brokenjeep
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Re: Cooling options - Found this, anyone running similar?

Post by Brokenjeep »

zach wrote:The unit is likely an evaporator for a small walk-in cooler or freezer.

The connection shown is likely from a drain pain that collects water during defrost cycle. The unit is shown with the bottom up.

If the cooling coil is circuited for a refrigerant, the feed side likely has orifices on each circuit to equally distribute flow among the circuits. This could limit the flow capacity of the unit as a radiator for water cooling.
:think:
Yeah, you are for sure right now looking again.. its upside down and that is the drain! No orifices showing on the photo so that threw me off... Sounds like i need to get up there and inspect in/out and see if we are talking about something smaller then 1/2.. 3/8 or 1/4.. obviously this starts to be less attractive/viable if its smaller..

Thanks all!

Edit.. I am piecing this all together now.. its sitting on top of another lot.. this 8600 BTU chiller... i am betting the two of them were a system before this!
Last edited by Brokenjeep on Thu Feb 22, 2018 8:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
zach
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Re: Cooling options - Found this, anyone running similar?

Post by zach »

I found the auction and googled the model number of what you called a chiller. It's not a chiller, it's a r-22 condensing unit. This unit has a refrigeration compressor , air cooled condenser and refrigerant receiver.

The matched evaporator (air handling unit) will have a thermal expansion valve and a refrigerant distributor on the inside the sheet metal. It+ may be difficult to convert to a water cooling circuit.

The price looks good, because R-22 is being phased out.
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Kareltje
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Re: Cooling options - Found this, anyone running similar?

Post by Kareltje »

If used as an air handling unit, it can still cool the condenser. I use a worm in the air myself and I have seen some designs with finned pipes that are air cooled. Saves a lot of water.
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Brokenjeep
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Re: Cooling options - Found this, anyone running similar?

Post by Brokenjeep »

Thanks again for the input guys..!! I just picked up a big ass stock pot from the auction.. if I am driving all the way up there I will pick this up for 5$ regardless and see what I can do with it. I took a trip up yesterday and input is 1/2" output is slightly smaller.. wondering if I can MacGyver something.. if not, the scrapper picks anything metal up from the end of my driveway within 30min. :wave:

Yeah, this is for sure an air cooled condenser and built for refrigerant.. 1/2" pipe would work for flow and have a fan over the fins.. will have to see at what point it goes down in size.... see if the sheet metal is going to be too much of a hassle!
20180221_165847.jpg
EDIT: I pulled some of the images that can trace back now that we know what we are dealing with. Please PM me if anyone has questions!
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pfshine
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Re: Cooling options - Found this, anyone running similar?

Post by pfshine »

That's a walk in freezer heat pump. Lots of goodies inside it.
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Brokenjeep
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Re: Cooling options - Found this, anyone running similar?

Post by Brokenjeep »

Ok, this is an update of what I ended up with. On another auction these baby's came up.. I think they were to be used with glycol in things like greenhouses. I figured this would work because it was 3/4 in & out so plenty of flow with little resistance. Downside is its bloody huge and loud, going to have to get a fan speed controller!
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