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Home Repair - - If it ain't broken, don't fix it. Otherwise look here.
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Posted by DanaK on June 24, 2006, 12:08 am
Hi,
I've got a project in mind but I'm having problems finding the right
equipment
for it. I need a thermal switch or thermostat, whichever.
I'd like to set up a
set of water misters to run when the outside
temperature gets to between 90 and
95 degrees. The spray system would
need some kind of thermal switch or
thermostat that was either weather
proof or having a long coil of tubing to the
sensing bulb that would
allow the main switch unit to be out of the weather.
The switch would
then run a solenoid valve, probably something like the 24vac
automatic
sprinkler valves after applying electricity to a 120vac to 24vac
step-down transformer.
The application for this is to provide a precooled air source to my air
conditioner's compressor-condenser coil. Since we're in a hard water
area I was
figuring I'd need to provide some kind of conditioned water
for this system to
prevent the scaling up of the coil. I've seen some
in-line chemical anti-liming
filters for water misters and evaporative
coolers in Lowe's but I was wondering
if the added chemical(s) that
these would provide wouldn't just add to the
problem. The chemical is
supposed to keep the calcium in suspension for
evaporative a/c coolers
as well as these water misters but, in my mind, the
chemicals have to
be deposited somewhere even if the mist is fully evaporated by
the time
it passes through the coils. Would I probably have to install a small
r.o. unit for this? They don't make much water (10gpd usually) but
the misters
don't run all the time and don't use much water when they
do.
All of this does cost a little but the electrical load reduction on
temperatures
from 95 to 105 degrees could be reduced by 23% and
sometimes more from what I
read.
This is just a crazy idea I had one sleepless night while listening to
the
outside compressor run ad nauseum trying in vain to catch up and
not making much
headway. The idea has been patented, darn it, by a
person in Plano, TX but I
don't have his/her address to see if they
marketed any kind of kit for this.
Thanks for anyone's help.
Dana
--
DanaK
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Posted by BrentH38 on June 28, 2006, 9:44 pm
Great minds, etc. I am working on exactly the same thing -- again. I
looked at
it a bit last summer, but couldn't find anthing of
significance. Most equipment
seems to be designed for commercial
(high-tonnage) applications, so it appears
that the use of misters
may be the only alternative.
Last summer I found a
system on-line that utilized RO water, but the
description was so poor I doubted
the claims they made. The water
was applied directly to the condenser coils.
RO water, like
distilled water, is slightly acidic, so I didn't like the idea of
applying directly to the aluminum coils. Also, they didn't describe
nor
indicate even there was any special effort made to distribute the
water on the
coils. It just seemed to be discharged from the end of a
tube onto the coils.
I e-mailed questions to them but didn't hear
back.
As to your question, I don't
have an answer, but scaling of the coil
is important to address. I'm
considering a system where the
hard-water mist is discharged a few feet away
from the AC and hoping
the mist all evaporates before the air enters the
condenser. If that
occurs, then the dissolved solids might pass through as a
dust. I'm
not terribly comfortable with this approach since prevailing winds,
etc., might drive it into the unit before evaporation can occur, so I
wondered
about adding swamp cooler dismisters between the two.
Perhaps we could
collaborate.
Where are you located geographically? I am in north-central
Utah.
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Posted by DanaK on July 1, 2006, 4:19 am
I'm located around San Angelo, TX so we're hot and dry like I assume you
are.
Currently we're on vacation in Baton Rouge, La. with my uncle but
will be back
later next week.
The patent description I mentioned showed the exact thing you're
describing -
showering the coils directly which I don't like as we're
in limestone country
and the water is hard, hard. I was thinking of
putting the misters a few feet
away and possibly adding a covering of
sheet metal to help direct the fog and
allow it to evaporate before it
got the coils as you say. My uncle suggested
the swamp cooler pads as
well. R.O. is expensive and I haven't made the
calculations of how
much the coils can evaporate vs. how much the r.o. units can
make and
how long the filters and membranes will last but I feel that the
savings on electricity would make it worth it.
There's a workable solution for my unit out there somewhere - it's a
Ruud - but
there's a lot of codenser designs and yours may require a
totally different
solution.
I'll check back when we get back home. Thanks for answering.
Dana
--
DanaK
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Posted by bnlfan on July 2, 2006, 10:45 am
Contact a appliance parts house and see if they have a thermostat that
operates
within that range. I have several temporary controls used as
temp. replacements
for appliances. This may solve your problem.
Online you may find something
useable at
www.marcone.com
www.apdepot.com
or do a search for Fox appliance
Parts.
If you like you can email me directly and I will see if I have
anything
within that temperature range.
You may want to just get a thermostat control
for a central heating
and air unit. This way you can adjust the temperature
setting. Most
will come with directions for hook up and can be picked up for
less
than $20.00.
Good luck,
Bnlfan
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Posted by DanaK on July 2, 2006, 11:37 pm
Thanks, that's what I was hoping to find out. I did drop in to my local
a/c&r
sales location and all they had was a Honeywell unit that was
going for about
$70 or so. I thought I'd better shop around before I
laid out that kind of
money on something.
I'm still on vacation but I'll try to find out some more later on this
week.
Thanks,
Dana
--
DanaK
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