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Check this out. do a search on ebay for "ford EGR cooler". Why you ask? I am a Ford diesel tech and I replace these things all the time
What is the function? EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION Cooler. It takes 1000F exhaust gas and lowers it to around 250 to be put back into the engine. it is stainless steel
14" long, 2.5" diameter, has a 1.5 triclamp on one side. It is the most efficient little radiator I have ever seen. spendy little bastard too.
Why am I telling you this? I think this thing would make the best condenser known to man. The problem is, the only one I could get
my hands on for free is a blown one, at best a used one, insides full of diesel soot. not the best for my intentions.
But a new one? I think it could be the cats meowwwwwwwwwwww! Every time I change one out at work, I dream of what I could do with
the new one I have to install on the customer's vehicle. I just figured I would share my dreams with y'all
if you ever get a chance for some reason to get your hands on one, do it.

the right hand side of the pic has the triclamp. the left side could be modified, but would need to be your vent to the atmoshere. then there are 2 coolant ports in the middle. I took this pic from ebay.

I am some how able to see a confused and mad Ford customer in your future.

Whyzit so spendy? Ever perform open heart surgury on one?

you name it, I have done it on a 6.0. I need a new one.......that is a little harder to come by than a "good used one"
Dont know why so spendy, just to taunt me I suppose.

I feel ya mule. as a former MBZ tech, I would come across parts, pumps, recirculators, etc all the time I just wished I could repurpose...to bad i never found a good purpose for rotors and burnt brake pads... we had these little 12v cooling system pumps that kept coolant circulating after the vehicle was shut down. moved a good deal of fluid too, small, 12vDC...ahhh to be back in my bay with my new hobby...i dont know what I (or my foreman) would do

Ya toof, I get a hold of stuff all the time that works for something or other, but one of these....Im sure it would be the best condenser known! triclamp ready, stainless, the whole ball a wax in one clean efficeint package. I managed to get a good used one, but I dont have a clue how to clean the insides out, you know, good enough for this purpose.

Im sure you thunk'D it too but...high pressure solvent cleaner (duh). if ya could get it really clean, then get it to an autoclave (like at a tattoo shop), that may do it. but yea thats a toughy. I once soaked my valvetrain parts in that fuel system (gasolione system) cleaner over night and parts that were orange from severe neglect, shined like the machinist just handed them to me. i dunno man, thats a though one. I wasnt distilling with my camshaft either

I would try heading it in a pot of automatic transmission oil, my buddy rebuilds old whanko's rotory engines and and he has a 60L keg of ATF that he heats up to clean his parts. Leaves them in for a few and come out new so he says.

mulekicker i posed a similar question some time ago and have since found a cleaner that works well on stainless and copper. spray tile cleaner made with sulferic and muriatic/hydrochloric acid is quick clean and predictable. it is easy to neutralise and reasonably safe. you may have to look online for msds to determine ingerdients, but it should be on the back. cob

edit; i get mine at the dollar store.

these are all good ideas, just that the inside of this thing is so tight with alot of small crevices. imagine the fins of a radiator all rolled up into a 2" tube. that coupled with diesel soot. i just think that one small spot will, well not hurt me, but make for some real nasty tasting stuff. A new one will need cleaning too, with solvents to get rid of assembly oils and such, much easier than used. I tried cleaning a used one once, I soaked it in high power solvent for cleaning diesel soot, then i blew it out with a high pressure washer, then soaped it and blew it out again. I still wasnt comfortable with it. I will get a new one some day, some how. And I think the performance results will blow you away.

Hey did you ever get the cooler condenser clean if not and you want some help PM me.

Well back in the day when there were more carbs than fuel injected engines out there, there was a product called "Carb Cleaner" Came in a big gallon can, stunk to high heavens, ate through most plastics and paint, God help you if you got it on your skin, but if you put a carboned up piece of a carb or valves or a piston, in to soak for a while, your parts would come out clean and shiny.

But them was the days before toxic warnings and whatnot.

Hooch.

well, up until now, I never had a good one. I just aquired one last week.... And no Larry, I didnt make any pissed off customers. Hooch, I know the stuff you talk about, carb dip, comes in a metal 5 gal can, eats the skin off an aligator? Good stuff. And no, you cant find it anymore I dont think. They got the carb cleaner in a can, but I dont think it is even close. I got some stuff that will clean the carbon, there are so many small nooks in this thing, I worry about getting all the chemicals out after. I am going to clean it with chemicals, and rinse best as possible. Then run a shit load of vinegar/water through it. If I can get it as clean as it needs to be, it will be the most efficient condenser anyone could hope for.

I'd like to see what's inside there, is it a shotgun type?

yeah rednose, its a shotgun type, with alot finer fins and tubes for better efficiency. The surface area in this thing is unlike anything we could build in our shops. it was designed to take 1200F exhaust gas and lower the temp to around 200F.

This is an inside version of an aftermarket one, and the stock one. It looks like the aftermarket one has less crooks and crannies to deal with, just a simple tube exchanger.HMMMM $350.00 huh?

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Thanks for the pics of Mud M it is clear, it has two waterbeds uned with a radiator fins, the aftermarket is a real shotgun condenser and it seams that it resists more the vibrations a diesel exhaust causes.

I think I have the need of a vodka still soon which can give me about 1 -2 gal of 90 ABV/hour.

I will mix 9 bubble plates and a 3" bok design with shotgun condensers as deplagmater and product cooler, all in SS.

It's already on paper only missing to start but first have to finish the twins, hopefully this week I'm done and run.

MuleKicker wrote:yeah rednose, its a shotgun type, with alot finer fins and tubes for better efficiency. The surface area in this thing is unlike anything we could build in our shops. it was designed to take 1200F exhaust gas and lower the temp to around 200F.

Thats interesting mud. Yeah, I have the stock version. I would think the stock version would have alot more surface area, AKA knock down power. But yes, alot more difficult to clean. I got a promising lead from Gr8brewer for cleaning. Im gonna check that out. I will keep ya all posted.

Wonder how much more surface area the stock version has?

The knockoff looks pretty good too.

And comming from someone who knows exactly how to spill 20 bucks worth of solder on the floor,,,,,,,350 bucks is reasonable if you think about the kind of sophistication that is involved in the production of a piece like that.

Shit I got more than half that in materials alone for the thump tower build.

Maybe MuleKicker can cut open one of the leaky ones that he replaces and take some pictures for us. I would be interested in knowing how the fins are attached to the case on the stock one, just in case they used some kind of solder that we would not want.

Dammit mud..... I just did one last week. It may be gone, but I might have to do a little dumpster diving. Ill get one eventually, and you got it. Im sure there isnt any solder in it, 1100F + exhaust gas would make short work of it. I got everything I need to adapt this one to my 3" collumn. I will do a 3-2 reducer off the elbow, and I have a 2" stainless "T" that will triclamp to the cooler, and the collumn. The bottom will be capped with a take off and reflux port in it. Hard to picture? I will post pics. I figure I will use this setup for stripping. I know it will take my 4500w element at full power all day. That will be a fast strip my friends.

MuleKicker wrote: I know it will take my 4500w element at full power all day. That will be a fast strip my friends:)

Agreed Brian. My triple walled condencer can handle it with no problems.

How much would you say that thing weighs?

BTW, I soaked my thump tower build in a 3(water) to 1(pool acid) for a few then rinsed and did it again. Ducshed it up real nice.

Sorry MK, I have been accused of volunteering people for jobs that they do not want, I have also went dumpster diving before, but you do have a valid point on the solder. MM

Mud Mechanik wrote:Sorry MK, I have been accused of volunteering people for jobs that they do not want, MM

LWTCS wrote:Wonder how much more surface area the stock version has?

The knockoff looks pretty good too.

And comming from someone who knows exactly how to spill 20 bucks worth of solder on the floor,,,,,,,350 bucks is reasonable if you think about the kind of sophistication that is involved in the production of a piece like that.

Shit I got more than half that in materials alone for the thump tower build.

hmmm larry, maybe you should part your truck out????? I would say the thing is about 14" tall, 3"L x 3"w. weighs about 2.5lbs. I would say you could get one on ebay, used ofcourse, for half that.

Ok, I blocked off one end of this thing and filled it up with miratic acid. Then I forgot about it, hit the bench it was on and spilled acid all over myself ....shitty. Took a good shower, sprayed it out good and filled it back up. seems like the acid is really loosening up the shit inside. I will let it sit a day or two and spray it out with a pressure washer. I will see where that gets me.

That full strenth or did u cut it?

I cut it in half

Can you get a camera down into the body of that thing?

I haven't seen the ford's EGR but I've poked around at a VW 1.9L TDI EGR. I don't know the alloy, but I'm guessing its inconel or something similar. A bundle of tubes welded through plates at the ends and surrounded by a water jacket.

As for used... hit it up with some solvents or simple green and an ultrasonic bath. Anything left over can be taken care of by a good torch - just change it to graphite or burn it off, no more dangerous than charring oak.

That is true, I have it soaking in simple green right now. The acid seemed to really break shit loose inside. Next Im gonna blast it out with a pressure washer and do a cleaning run on it. I want to blast it with a torch, but I know these things are prone to cracking, I think mostly from air bubbles inside, and sudden temp changes. I would just hate to crack it.