Erat

iTrader: (5)

You don't want to force water down the drain anyway. Every type of drainage system needs to go down at it's own rate. Sending the pressurized water down the drain wouldn't be good. Could even send toxic stuff back into drinking water. Like sixshooter said.

rleete

iTrader: (21)

Yes. Keeps the woman's bare feet warm while she does the dishes.

z31maniac

I wonder how much that heater has been contributing to the "effectiveness" of your homebrew setup?

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

This.

And seal your window gaps.

EO2K

iTrader: (37)

Joe: Source for that tiny radiator?

Something I've absolutely hated since I started homebrewing is the giant ******* waste of water that traditional cooling methods use. I started with a simple copper immersion coil, then moved to a 25' counterflow chiller and now I have a DudaDiesel 12" 30 or 40 plate stainless steel & copper brazed plate heat exchanger. This still uses too much water IMO.

I have an urge to build a closed loop system on the "cold" side with a fan/pump/radiator/reservoir setup, and your tiny radiator looks like it would be ideal.

rleete

iTrader: (21)

It's an intercooler.


Oops, no it's not. My bad.

skidude

iTrader: (3)

He said a few times that it's a go-kart radiator, though he is sometimes not serious.

y8s

iTrader: (8)

Joe, the home depot filter kits with the carbon filter will remove most of the minerals from the water. I am guessing you'd only need a filter annually, if that. Since you're not drinking it, just leave it in there forever or until flow slows.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

I want you to know something. I first read this response earlier today on my phone, while sitting quietly in the back of the studio during a taping. It took every fiber of my being not to burst out laughing. I damn near gave myself a hernia in the process.

You have won the internet. Here is your prize:






Well, it was definitely doing something. The apartment overall seemed perhaps just a tad cooler when I first get home this evening, and the kitchen / foyer / entryway / bathroom half of the apartment (which is seperated by a short hallway from the living room / study / bedroom half of the apartment) is staying much chillier than usual.

But once I've fired up the heat exchanger in the living room, it still comes up to a reasonable temperature within an hour or so. And when I move it to the bedroom and close the door, it gets downright toasty in there. As in "this is uncomfortably hot, I am going to turn it down to low." (I should note that the bedroom has only two windows, and they are both on the same wall.)




Small Engine Radiator, Cap, and Temperature Switch

EDIT: I also strongly contemplated the purchase of a Honda Civic radiator (the funny-looking half-width ones) which cost about the same, but give probably 3x the core area. Example: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ALUMINUM-RAC...ca7ddb&vxp=mtr

I chose this one mostly because it's small enough that I can coil it up and store the whole thing under the sink off-season. Additionally, the 3/4" hose fittings on it were much easier to adapt to a hot-water garden hose (which is 5/8" OD).




Interesting.

I used to use a homemade counterflow unit, which sounds similar to yours. Roughly 25' of 1/4" OD copper tube run through a garden hose. Compared to the immersion chiller it was a ******* miracle- I was never really tempted to replace it with a plate chiller.

Protip: capture the spent water and pour it into the washing machine. If you have a spare fermener that's not in use at the moment, capture more water in that for a second batch of laundry. Assuming that you're done sanitizing for the day (which you should be if you're racking), use your sanitizing bucket to capture yet more water for a third load of laundry.




An interesting idea.

At around $60 for the filter, I think I'm going to see how the radiator fares by itself. If nothing else, I will have a good test-bed in a few months to judge the effectiveness of the common "radiator flush in a bottle" products sold for a few dollars at most auto parts stores.

EO2K

iTrader: (37)

Well someone has to make up for all your wanton water waste I've got a big long *** hose on the back end of the CFC running out to the front yard, so the water gets used on the grass my landlady insists I water and thus pay for, so I try to get dual use where I can. Washing machine ain't a bad idea either.

Thank you for the link, this is actually much better than I expected, what with the temperature switch/bung and all. This will really tempt me to grossly over complicate things

And yes, I'm pretty sure that CFC is something else that Prometheus stole from the gods and granted to us mere mortals.

Brooklyn Homebrew Shop is pretty **** from what I understand, and you can use your seasonal temperature fluctuation to lager in your living room

Burnout

Last time I was in the lower East side and looked towards Jersey, I couldn't see it for all the damn buildings in Lower Manhattan. I could look east though, and see Brooklyn just fine. I take it you meant to say, "when you stand on the WEST side of lower Manhattan". Where you working on E42nd? U.N. building? The world would be a better place for it.

Damn, these picture remind me of scenes from Auschwitz.

Your heater idea is nice. Have you measured the temp of the air exiting the radiator. You could add another one in series to utilize the residual heat from the circulating water. Build a frame with the two rads at an angle to each other, set the fan in a housing behind them to blow through both of them. More heat with no more electricity use.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

Oh, sure. If you subscribe to the out-moded notion that north is UP.


Couple of blocks away. 42 btwn 2 & 3. The News building.


I don't remember Auschwitz all that well, mostly on account of having not been a Polish Jew during the 1940s.




I have no measuring equipment available.

I adjust the flow of water at the wall to achieve a nearly room-temp outflow from the radiator (measured by hand), which works well on all but the coldest days. I don't think there'd be much to gain from a second-pass system. If I were going to upside, I'd just go to a Honda Civic radiator- one of the weird half-width ones from the late 90s.

Davezorz

iTrader: (2)

Do they welome home engines coming off duty by blasting their horns several times? One of our company managers was telling me he learned about that NJT "tradition" after purchasing his house. There was a slight twinge of buyer's remorse in his voice.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

I have actually used the 1/2 inch or so blue styrene foam insulating panels meant to reside beneath exterior paneling as a temporary sound and thermal barrier for a bedroom window. I cut it to fit snuggly within the window frame and taped the perimeter.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

I'd not been aware of the specific reason for the late night horn-blowing (NJTrans does not have level-crossings, at least not around here) but yes, they do.

Much like your friend, I made the mistake of assuming that the maintenance yard would shut down the engines at some point in the evening, rather than running them 24/7. I failed to actually visit the property at midnight to verify same.

I do not know where I will be living after my lease runs out next September, but I know quite well where I will not be living.



No amount of foam is going to help when the wall itself is vibrating. We're talking about noise that penetrates directly into your skull such that silicone earplugs don't even make a dent in it.

Davezorz

iTrader: (2)

According to my dad, who is a real "rail nut" it is common practice in the railroad industry to run straight water in the cooling system. Running the engines 24/7 mitigates the need for anti-freezing additives.

according to him, they also dont use oil filters, which I thought was wierd. Apparently the just do a UOA while the engine is running, and if they see a problem they rebuild the engine.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

Performance of the system continued to be satisfactory. It was actually getting so warm that the humidiy plunged to about 20%, necessitating the purchase of a humidifier. Small price to pay (both literally and figuratively.) I'm now enjoying a balmy 72 degrees and 55% RH.


Finally got around to fabricating a proper drain line, so no more hose crossing over the sink with zip-ties. 1/2" rigid copper tube fits into a 5/8" ID hose perfectly.




While installing this, I made a rather important discovery; I am no longer able to turn the system off. I fear that I have created a hydraulic version of GLaDOS, and that it may be plotting to release deadly neurotoxin into my kitchen.


Apparently, valves of the sort commonly found under the sink are designed to operate fully-open or fully-closed, but are not suitable for fine regulation of flow. The total travel of the valve (appx 3 turns) now accomplishes virtually nothing- it's just on at about 25% flow all the time. Gonna have to figure out a way to fix this, and I have a feeling it's going to be messy, as there is no master shutoff for the apartment which I am able to access.

y8s

iTrader: (8)

get a videographer.

good2go

iTrader: (2)

Hmmm; interesting development. Could this actually be the sounds of 'the man' pulling that stick out Joe?

mgeoffriau

iTrader: (7)

What, like they entered his apartment and sabotaged the valve underneath his sink?