Reverse Flow Heat Exchanger Test Article.

Looking over the plumbing fittings in the hardware store today, I saw a 1/2 X 1/2 X 3/4 tee copper capillary (lead-free) fitting, and I finally succumbed and bought two. (one half inch joint was the side leg) They had 2 ft lengths of 1/2 copper pipe and 3/4 inch copper pipe which I bought too, and I thought there was a good chance of removing the upset shoulder of the tee which is intended to prevent a pipe entering too deep. And so it turned out, after some rat-tail filing.

When I cut off six inches from the three quarters pipe, I ended up with a half inch pipe with straight ends inside a 3/4 inch pipe that was fed by two side 1/2 inch inlets.

As you can tell, the gross cross section of the 1/2 inch pipe and the

1/2 to 3/4 inch annulus is reasonably balanced, though the annulus has twice as much surface friction to cope with from its inner and outer wall.

But for pocket change, I can now run a reasonable trial of a reverse flow specimen, good for laughs.

Brian W

Reply to
Brian Whatcott
Loading thread data ...

...

formatting link
"heat exchanger tees"

I made an air cooler using SS tubing down the center, with large diameter poly tubing as the water jacket.

David A. Smith

Reply to
dlzc

Swagelok has this type of fitting, as well. But I did have a good laugh at the bored through TC fitting which Swagelok also has. If one is so not handy they can't bore out a standard fitting themselves, then perhaps they shouldn't be putting any tubing fittings together in the first place! :-)

Reply to
me

X-No-Archive: Yes

Dear m...:

What one can do once, what one can do with the proper education and tools, and what one expects of low-cost labor and simple hand tools are different things.

I does seem a bit like condoms in sizes, however...

David A. Smith

Reply to
dlzc

...

Well, well! Who knew? A tee or whatever you want? drilled clear through, with no upset.

Cool

BrianW

Reply to
Brian Whatcott

I did this and instructed undergrads working for me to do the same in the lab as a dumb sh*t grad student back in the early 80s. How difficult do you think it is to drill out a tube compression fitting with even a hand drill and vise? Been doing this for now near 30 years. And fwiw, swagelok had these "special fittings" available back then.

Reply to
me

Dear me:

I've seen some real screwups, loss of sealing surface for the ferrule, included. Some people don't know how to tighten a vise, some people don't have them handy (vicegrips or pliers with rubber bands don't work), and the definition of "drilling coaxial" is often lost somewhere between the ears and the brain. Even a sharp bit...

Yep.

David A. Smith

Reply to
N:dlzc D:aol T:com (dlzc)

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.