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| Heat Pipes |
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| David Jupp:
Heat pipes like this may not be very good collectors - the vacuum tubes that you mention are. Heat pipes like this are more akin to the processor coolers in some PCs - they are good at removing heat from a hot area and transfering it along the tube. |
| buffalow bill:
David, Thanks again for the info. I think it may be an idea to try one to start with and see if it’s worth proceeding :nrocks: Bernd, very helpful :beer: Bill |
| fatal-exception:
Unless you really want to build your own, they can be found very cheap with the evacuated tubes if you find a supplier that gets them directly from China. I've played around with these systems for a few years now. Its quite impressive at how much energy can be harvested from the sun, but this type of system will NEVER save you money. The cost of the system alone will eat up any savings you will potentially see for years to come. Maintenance is a big consideration, component replacement, replacing broken tubes (hail and kids are the big factors there), and god forbid your system freezes and you lose your expensive glycol. Dont get me wrong, when a system is properly installed and working, they are fantastic, they just aren't for everyone. |
| mechanicalmagic:
Bill, In a previous lifetime I made some heatpipes, still remember some of the design issues. But first, answers to your questions. --- Quote ---How critical is the 8ml and the volume in the pipe.? --- End quote --- Both can be changed without problems, leave about 1/3 of the bulb on the end empty. --- Quote ---How critical is it that all the air is out of the pipe.? --- End quote --- With air in the pipe it will not function, or very poorly. --- Quote ---If all is successfull what temperature will the hot end attain.? --- End quote --- The boiling temperature of the "working fluid". A little explanation of heat pipes. The "bulb" at the end is like a kettle or boiler, provides "working fluid" and a place to deposit heat. The "tube" simply carries the heated vapor to the cold end, and back again as a liquid. The "bulb" must be at the lowest point of the heat pipe. The working temperature of the heat pipe is determined by: the vapor pressure of working fluid and the pressure in the heat pipe. A well designed heat pipe can achieve supersonic vapor flow, moving lots of heat. A quick analog (on a large scale, is a single pipe) steam home heating system. bulb=boiler, pipe=pipe, cold end=radiator. However, with a heat pipe, the temperatures can be designed for the application, but the fluid still travels downhill, and steam up. Dave J. |
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