[walt1122]

Hi, I have a couple of old little used 1 ton? portable A/C units that use domestic water as a way to dump out the heat through the use of a heat exchanger. Yes very wasteful, water is taken from the tap goes through the exchanger forcing the water to come in close contact, transfer the heat from the R-22 to the water and then dump it down the drain. I've been experimenting with trying to cycle the same water through a holding tank trying to see if I can get the water hot enough to either pre-heat our domestic hot water or even better get it hot enough to use as a stand alone hot water heater. Yes, I have a conventional electric hot water heater, just thought I could save a couple of bucks and get some dehumidification if this would work. Problem is as one would suspect as soon as the water gets warm the Freon can't gives up its heat so it starts sending liquid to the compressor. So any suggestions on how I can get a more heat into the water without blowing up the compressor. Only thing I have thought of is to put some heat on the line just before the compressor to try and boil the Freon before it flashes or worse blows before it blows up the compressor.

Thanks

Walt

 

[beenthere]

Your trying to use a conderser coil to do the work of a desuperheater.

Won't work.

About the best you can do, is preheat the water.
Might need to use an 80 gallon tank.

 

[walt1122]

Hi beenthere, Yeah, I know I'm not using it properly but just a few more degrees would be useful. The A/C will be in the basement feeding a 90 gallon tank that is there for our geothermal desuperheater to give us the hot water it makes when that system is running. I don't use the geothermal very much in the summer and I have the desuperheater on a switch in the winter so I don't waste the heat making hot water when not needed. Still want to put it on a timer but haven't got arount to it yet. So most of the hot water heating in summer is done conventionally by the resistance electric coils that I have on a timer so we get hot water for morning and evening use only. Thought I could get the supplemental hot water from this new process and get some moderate dehumidification as well. Basement has a damp smell due to all the moisture and poor air circulation. I've used those little dehumidification units but they seem to be energy hogs. I'm guessing this small 1 ton would be more efficient than running the house's 5 ton system when we don't really need cooling in the house but want hot water. Don't think it makes sense to reconfigure the 5 ton to just to do the hot water either. That's why I thought this might work.

thanks

Walt

 

[beenthere]

Using the 1 ton to dehumidify the basement, will probably do more harm then good.
The coil has to get too cold to remove moiture from a basement.
Basement is usually already cool.

Might want to run a portable dehumidifier, and the one ton, to remove the heat that the dehumidifier adds to the basement.

The water coil in the one ton, is designed to keep the refrigerant at a lot cooler temp, then what is good for making hot water.

A desuperheater only removes a small amount of heat from the hot gas discharge. Just enough to heat the water, but not over cool the refrigerant.
Thats why they can heat water hotter then your 1 ton is doing.

 

[walt1122]

thanks beenthere.