Just a follow up video on my thermal mass/exhaust energy recovery experiment where I use an old steam radiator to collect and disperse heat from a diesel heater in my garage.
I did a similar thing with my 2 diesel heaters. I bought extra-long exhaust metal flexible pipes 12' and 16' long, most of the heat is dissipated by the time it goes through to the outside. Much easier and cheaper alternative.
It may be cheaper, however, the benefit of the radiator is you can cook on it or heat up a container/pot of water. I also like how it acts as a dryer for my gloves and a heat "battery" which dissipates heat for about an hour after the heater is shut down.
I used a finned base board heater pipe, be sure to slope it down hill for condensate. I am working on a small jet engine heater to make heat and electricity.
If you’re overcoming the condensation my guess is that’s a very efficient way to remove the heat! You might even install a 12 V computer fan above it blowing down through those plates just be careful of the condensation that has to go somewhere? Eventually you’re gonna find it!❤️🇺🇸
I actually attached an aluminum can outside and angled the exhaust pipe down... Collects about 24oz of water per 24 hour period of operation. Bizarrely the condensate water is nearly clear
@@ProlificInvention don’t let the transparency of that condensation fully you it is very corrosive if you had galvanize sheet-metal it would rot a hole in it in a year! The few attempts manufacturers have made to extract all the waste heat have required PVC venting and special stainless steel boxes in the heat exchanger and even so it’s common for it to eat a hole in it! Where the heck did you get that ceiling cast-iron? We used to use them many many moons ago on the ceilings in a garage or a basement some of them were steam systems most of all of those have been converted to hot water and I’m sure there’s still some out there! Are you in the United States? Over my 35 years in the heating business I couldn’t tell you how many tons of cast-iron I’ve moved in my life my lumbar spine can tell you because it’s all bolts and rods! But boy I’ll tell you now that I’m home done working I wish I’d saved a couple of those small radiators I mean I have seen fancy radiators that I should’ve collected instead of taken to the dump because they would still work today the old timers in the heating business with some rugged boys❤️🇺🇸 And if they were ever to come back to life this pecks tubing that we use would kill these guys again😳 Thanks for taking the time to make the video I wish I had some good old cast-iron radiators talk to my heater the only suggestion I would have for you is to flip that cast-iron over so that your exhaust is entering at the top exiting at the bottom and pitch everything towards the outdoors eventually the low spots in the system are gonna start to gurgle😳 GOOD LUCK, STAY SAFE ❤️🇺🇸
@@theusconstitution1776 I am in Michigan, and I got that radiator from a million dollar house in East Grand Rapids during a demolition job. I have a feeling that the incoming diesel heater exhaust heats that lower section to over 400°f which doesn't allow for condensation to settle. I installed a drain but have never had appreciable condensation build up, although I think if I reversed the connections that it would build up.
That's a great idea, I did that when I made a steam boiler with an old keg in my outdoor insulated "fire container" which is just a couple semi rims welded together on a concrete pad with a brick enclosure. It worked ok, but wasn't as efficient as I thought it would be -it was an open loop, I just vented the steam/water back outside so that could have been the problem, or just poor design. This radiator (or any cast iron radiator I presume) is already an excellent and efficient heatsink and useful as well. The heat is all absorbed from the exhaust to the point where the escaping exhaust is less than 100°f, and the hot side of the radiator is over 400°f near where the exhaust enters the radiator. I have not needed to add a fan, but I could. I use it for drying my winter wet gloves by placing them under it, and I also cook on it as well as heat up a water tank.
Exhaust smell... Does it stink without the radiator heat recovery? I expect stuff is condensing in that radiator. Might be good to feed it from the top and arrange it so that liquids can all run down and out.
I've tried it both ways, condensation is limited. I think the 300-400 degree temps send the moisture up and out. There was no difference in accumulation with either setup after over 100 hours of use on both. There is more of a diesel smell without the radiator for sure, also there is a drain plug but it's not really necessary but I still check it periodically.
Cool video and surprising results related to condensation! Hopefully you have a very robust (fail proof) electrical supply to that 12V PS, especially with the unit located inside the heated space, an unexpected power loss would prevent the ECU from being able to run the cooling cycle and potentially result in an overheated ECU board. I see several of your replies in the comments indicating you have collected about a cup of condensate from the heat exchanger, have you ever tested the pH of the condensate? I've seen multiple comments online indicating that diesel condensate is very acidic, but I don't have any 1st hand experience of testing the pH of collected condensate from my heaters.
Thank you for watching and commenting, made my day. Yes the power supply I use has been exceptionally robust, it is a variable 10amp, 0-48 volt power supply from china (link at end of comment) in fact I've ran 2 diesel heaters on one of them using my emergency heat cart invention/device when my furnace went out for 2 days in an icestorm. Ive also succesfully ran a trolling motor on both one and two of those supplies using my generator in another video, they are excellent. Many thousands of hours and hundreds of uses for those power supplies, highly recommend them. As far as the condensate on the diesel heater, I'll do the PH test and gather some condensatebin my next diesel heater video to find out, because now I'm curious. I'll have to include a look inside that radiator to show the result of thousands of hours of use on it. www.amazon.com/Converter-IMAYCC-Adjustable-Transformer-Regulated/dp/B0BRZW59P6/ref=asc_df_B0BRZW59P6/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=652406883519&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16454846796251335019&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9017524&hvtargid=pla-2064748029356&psc=1&mcid=df52b7081fe23893b37eb59f7a1aba8f
Love the idea behind this! Just doing a little research as I would like to get one to heat my office in the shop, what sort of fuel consumption are those heaters an hour? Love the steam radiator too I think I know where there is a big old heavy cast iron radiator I could use for extracting as much heat as possible! Although it might be overkill as its only about a 3 meters by 4 meters insulated and double glazed would love to hear your thoughts! Thanks
Thank you for watching and your excellent comment. These diesel heaters use about 12 ounces of diesel per hour and about 1.5 amp hours of electricity per hour at 12 volts, I have the largest version marketed as an 8kw. It puts out approximately 26,000btu/he so yes, it would be overkill as the diesel heater with the thermostat set would easily heat that space, as well as conveniently. I'd buy an AC to DC 0-48 variable voltage box on ebay featured in some of my other videos (can do up to 480 watts, but one heater uses a max of about 120 watts when firing up the glow plug) They're about $60usd from China but well worth it for controlling DC items under 480 watts of consumption. You could do the radiator but it will add some complication namely buying and fabricobbling the connections, although with that small of a space the heater would likely just idle all the time once up to temp and although quieter it will increase carbon buildup and necessity of maintenance like cleaning or replacing the glow plug and burn chamber (which I've only had to do once after 3 seasons of winters)
I have one heating my 3 bedroom house and it works a treat, way cheaper than turning central heating on and will run on battery in the event of power cuts...
Wish I could find one of those radiators in my area they aren't used. I may try and use a transmission cooler. But it won't be as good as what you have there
What I would do is go on FB marketplace and use the search terms "steam radiator" or "cast iron radiator" or just "radiator"... I found quite a few more in my area than I expected. I even found one close by on Craigslist that way. Thanks for watching btw, I appreciate it.
I have the exact same heater but i could not find a useful radiator to use anywhere... What ive done is i put the exhaust into the chimney and the bricks do absorb all the heat.... could not feel any warmth what so ever at the top...
That's a great idea, I had considered ducting my diesel heater into my Jotul woodstove in the garage, and I might do that still. Thank you for watching and commenting.
@@ProlificInvention What a good idea exhausting into the woodstove!!! On cold mornings you can light a few pages of crumpled newspaper to get the draft going and you won't smell that first minute of startup fumes. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-P3uHwrELUNo.html
Was wondering if this could be done.... Tried just running it without exhaust and while it does work, it stinks the whole place up. No co, but the smell kills you. Going to do this and recover all the heat I can get. Space is cheap, diesel is not.
Type in "Steam Radiator" on FB marketplace or craigslist. I found that particular radiator in a Million Dollar old house in East Grand Rapids, MI as I used to empty out hoarder homes and foreclosures. The house was next door to an actual Frank Lloyd Wright home...
Yes, I used a cylinder of water, bricks, ect. in other experiments and videos, I even cooked food in a pan on it. Keep in mind this weighs over 150 lbs and stays warm for a long time after the heat is shut off
Quit using an infrared heat thermometer. You can't have 230 F a the heater exhaust and follow it along the exhaust pipe and see it drop them a few inches later suddenly have an increase of 200 degrees. Read the instructions for the infrared thermometer. Reflective surfaces won't give an accurate reading. Use a physical contact pyrometer to take readings. Also, a temperature change can't be directly related to BTU recovery measurements. You should read the specs to calculate BTU recovery.
No, surprisingly I only got about a cup after a couple weeks of nightly operation+although you can feel and see condensation out the exhaust outdoors. I attached an aluminum can on an angle to "catch" the exhaust and collected a decent amount of condensate in a few hours which leads me to believe it's mostly being evaporated or steamed out from the high temp. I'm doing more tests this winter, it has a drain so it's easy to keep track of
@@ProlificInvention Interesting, I wonder if thats because of the type of radiator your using, I was hoping to do the same with a standard single panel steel radiator
@@modzzjust4u Give it a try, you may be able to drill and tap a hole for a drain bolt or plug if not equipped, so you can keep track without having to tip it.
@@ProlificInvention I own a HVAC company. In gas furnaces they push the exhaust in the top of the heat exchanger and out of the bottom of the heat exchanger. It traps the heat in the exchanger better and let's the condensation out, but it might increase your back pressure too much.
I have, in an aluminum pot and it heated a gallon to 170 degrees °f in about an hour. I've also cooked burgers, hot dogs, and some other things in a pan on the radiator (close to where the exhaust enters the radiator it stays 300-400 degrees)
It has a drain plug on the bottom, after 80 hours of running there was only about a cup of water which is acceptable-they are made for steam after all. Thanks for watching
@@ProlificInvention I think that diesel exhaust is acidic. I have a diesel boiler and they say if you let the boiler run cooler that 180f for too long it wont push the exhaust up the chimney and the moisture gathers and rolls back into the boiler when its off and eat away at the iron.
@@qualityhardwood5356 I am on the 2nd year of running it, no issues. I examined it after the first year and their was a fine carbon residue on the inner surfaces, but no corrosion was visible. Not too worried as it was some scrap I picked up years ago, it's cheap and easy to replace after however many years corrosion eats through the thick cast iron.
You really shouldn't run the exhaust up hill at all. The exhaust should face down all the way thru. Condensation can form in the tube and wreck your heater. Some have found this out the hard way.
Thanks for the input, however after 3000 hours and 2 different heaters ran through that steam radiator over 3 winters: haven't had any condensation issues. It has a drain that I periodically check just to be sure. Part of it is the 2ft run of exhaust pipe stays above 400 degrees, the cast iron where that exhaust ducts into gets around 350°f so condensation cant accumulate, and its a huge heat battery that stays hot for a couple hours after shutoff which continues to remove moisture.
You are condescending water and unburned fuel in the exchanger. I hope the unit has an auto shutdown when the exchanger gets clogged or fills with water. Also hope you have insurance. My furnace is a condensing unit by design. You’ve probably seen one with the little condensate pump unit on the side. I measured the output and it’s 1 gallon per day. Kudos for the experiment. Perhaps you should tap a small drain into the bottom exchanger and run it outside.
For a minute I thought you were calling me condescending 😆 after a reread I see you mean condensation. I've done several experiments on that. This radiator has a drain, after an entire week of intermittent operation (80 hours) I opened it to find about 1 cup of clearish water. I was curious as to why there wasn't more. Since the "exhaust" that does come outside from the radiator is steam like and not smoky or smelly I put an aluminum can on the end and it collected about a cup after 6 hours -outside. My observation is the radiator heats up sufficiently to keep water in a vapor form and propel it up and out. If water accumulation was a problem with this design I would have already had issues as I ran this every day last winter, and part of this year. I've also ran this with several generators attached to it and burned many gallons of fuel that way (also an interesting experiment), with no moisture accumulate in that case as well. I appreciate the warning and advice, but in this case it's already been determined to not be an issue. I still check the drain after extended use just to be sure though.
