Diy Titanium Heat-exchanger w/pics

KEITHMC

KEITHMC

Member
Ok a few months ago I started a project to use my soda machine as a chiller here is the thread
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=817855
Was stumped on the heat exchanger well I came up with a simple solution
I found 3 1 foot sections of 3/8" titanium tube on ebay so I made a manifold

10772465310071.JPG


10772465310069.JPG


I am impatient so here it is with 3/8" rigid plastic tube that will be replaced by the titanium when I get it

10772465310068.JPG


And here are some pics of it in the sump

10772465310067.JPG



10772465310066.JPG


10772465310065.JPG


10772465310064.JPG


Once I get the titanium I will glue a bulkhead on one side of the exchanger to direct the flow coming over the return bulkhead over the heat exchanger I will post more pics once I get my titanium in.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7475590#post7475590 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DrBDC
So are you going to pump water in a resevoir in the soda machine through that?
Click to expand...

Exactly the soda machine i have has a refrigration unit on top the coil sits in a water bath below and it builds up 15lbs of ice on the coil

107724icedcoils.JPG


keeping the fresh water at 32f i have a controler that will turn on my fw pump and circulate the fresh water through the heat exchanger so the only component exposed to the sw is the heat exchanger and my soda machine will remain fully functional to boot!

This heat exchanger would also work well for cooling in a geothermal type setup like this!

107724untitled-med.jpg
 
Kieth, nice idea. Very similar to what I made a few years ago.
I have some concerns about your manifold though. Those John Guest fittings are meant to seal poly tubing, they may not work with something rigid like titanium. The fittings also have metal rings inside them. I hope they are saltwater safe. Your manifold can be made more effiecient by connecting the tubes at the ends so they loop back and forth from left to right. As you have it now, most of the flow will pass through the tubes closest to the inlet and outlet connections on the acrylic. Look at the heat exchanger on your soda machine. See how the lines loop back into each other?

My DIY chiller used an old laboratory drop in cooling unit that was made of zinc plated copper (not reef safe obviously) I placed the cooling element inside a 2 gallon container and filled it with tap water. I got about 15 feet of 3/8" tubing and coiled it up inside the sump. There was no possible way for the system to leak into the tank unless something punctured the tubing. Not likely. I connected one end of this tubing to an Aquaclear 200 powerhead and placed the power head in the chiller bath. The power head was allowed to run 24/7. The other end of the tubing was left open and returned to the opposite end of the chiller bath. When the chiller was running it could create a solid block of ice around the cooling element if the power head was off. During normal operation the cooling unit would run for up to 1 hour chilling the bath. I had a thermostat set to control the compressor. After the compressor shut off there was enough chilled water in the bath to keep the fish tank cooled for another hour or 2 and then it would repeat. So the bath idea is great and prevents the chiller from rapid cycling. If I had to do it over I would still use this method. I like the idea of using titanium but it's not really required. My method worked perfectly. I had to add a little water to the bath every month because some it would evaporate but you could make yours as a sealed system. The only reason why I am not using it today is because the coolant line snapped off at the base of the compressor and the Freon leaked out. I did not want to have it repaired and refilled with Freon. I got the cooling unit for free from work becasue they were going to throw it out.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7476286#post7476286 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Aquaduck
Kieth, nice idea. Very similar to what I made a few years ago.
I have some concerns about your manifold though. Those John Guest fittings are meant to seal poly tubing, they may not work with something rigid like titanium. The fittings also have metal rings inside them. I hope they are saltwater safe. Your manifold can be made more effiecient by connecting the tubes at the ends so they loop back and forth from left to right. As you have it now, most of the flow will pass through the tubes closest to the inlet and outlet connections on the acrylic. Look at the heat exchanger on your soda machine. See how the lines loop back into each other?

My DIY chiller used an old laboratory drop in cooling unit that was made of zinc plated copper (not reef safe obviously) I placed the cooling element inside a 2 gallon container and filled it with tap water. I got about 15 feet of 3/8" tubing and coiled it up inside the sump. There was no possible way for the system to leak into the tank unless something punctured the tubing. Not likely. I connected one end of this tubing to an Aquaclear 200 powerhead and placed the power head in the chiller bath. The power head was allowed to run 24/7. The other end of the tubing was left open and returned to the opposite end of the chiller bath. When the chiller was running it could create a solid block of ice around the cooling element if the power head was off. During normal operation the cooling unit would run for up to 1 hour chilling the bath. I had a thermostat set to control the compressor. After the compressor shut off there was enough chilled water in the bath to keep the fish tank cooled for another hour or 2 and then it would repeat. So the bath idea is great and prevents the chiller from rapid cycling. If I had to do it over I would still use this method. I like the idea of using titanium but it's not really required. My method worked perfectly. I had to add a little water to the bath every month because some it would evaporate but you could make yours as a sealed system. The only reason why I am not using it today is because the coolant line snapped off at the base of the compressor and the Freon leaked out. I did not want to have it repaired and refilled with Freon. I got the cooling unit for free from work becasue they were going to throw it out.
Click to expand...

Thanks I wasn’t thinking of the metal in the retaining rings I will remove it once I get the titanium in, as far as working with the jq fittings as long as the tube is 3/8" od it will work fine the only problem would be that the fittings will not grab a hold of the titanium tube and thus the pressure could push the fittings apart and I have already taken in to account this fact once the titanium is in place I will glue a bulkhead across one side to direct flow over the coil and also to hold all the fittings in place as for the flow the inlet is 1/2" the tubes are 3/8" which will force flow through all the tubes which I have seen when it was hooked up for the leak test the nice thing with the acrylic is that I could see the flow turbulence exiting all 3 tubes
 
Those fittings should grab the hard tube just fine. I'd take a JG and throw it in the sump for the metal ring observation while youre waiting. I bet they are fine.
 
well someone is bucking for a positive feedback got my titanium in and instead of 3 1 foot lenghts there were 5 =) anyways put them in and ran the icebath water through it very very good heat transfer =) here are the pics!

10772466020097.JPG


10772466020096.JPG
 
That's agood idea. I would also double or triple the number of titanium tubes to get a more efficient transfer of heat. Looks nice though.
 
i am circulating 32o water throught the loop with that large of a temp difference this works very well for my setup and all the flow through my sump passes over it but for some one to adapt this to say a ground loop it would have to have more tubes and balance the flow to make it efficient for me this will not get used that much because my tank runs at 78o this is my saftey net for a power failure on a 100o day i can run the water pump on my backup power and draw on the ice bank in the soda machine
 
I like the DIY heat exchanger on the first post. compact and will do nice in my configuation. what did you use or where did you find those rectagular pieces the rods are connected to? someone suggested those guess fittings wouldnt last long, did you use them or something else? any issues?

thanks, best idea for the in sump side I've seen so far.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7535941#post7535941 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by yaktop
I like the DIY heat exchanger on the first post. compact and will do nice in my configuation. what did you use or where did you find those rectagular pieces the rods are connected to? someone suggested those guess fittings wouldnt last long, did you use them or something else? any issues?

thanks, best idea for the in sump side I've seen so far.
Click to expand...

the square pieces are made from 1/4 sheet acrylic the tubes are connected to JQ fittings which will work fine there was just some concearn about the metal in the plactic rings which i have removed and it has been working very well no issues as of yet =)
 
One thing about the metal rings... are you talking about the retaining ring that grip onto the material and don't allow the tubes to be pulled out?

I know you've secured your setup, but I'm just wondering if that is the metal you are talking about. :)

Thanks,
John
 
i've had JG fittings submerged in my sump for years with no problem. though i would be slightly concerned that the teeth wouldn't dig into the Ti quite as solidly as into plastic. so i'd be sure to use these retaining clips on it:
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...duct_Code=JG-PIC1808R&Category_Code=johnguest
they go inbetween the collar and the body, keeping tension on it which keeps the teeth fully engaged. i can't imagine anything popping out with the clips in (as long as the teeth get at least *some* grip).
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7539124#post7539124 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rufio173
One thing about the metal rings... are you talking about the retaining ring that grip onto the material and don't allow the tubes to be pulled out?

I know you've secured your setup, but I'm just wondering if that is the metal you are talking about. :)

Thanks,
John
Click to expand...

Yep =)
 
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