A heat exchanger is an additional heating element that appeared not so long ago. With it, you can use the excess heat generated by the stove to heat water or heat another room in the bath. Undoubtedly, bathing and washing in different rooms is more comfortable than in the same one. Is it possible to make such a device with your own hands and what will be required for this?
What are the heat exchangers for the bath
First, consider the types of heat exchangers. Usually they are separated by the location of the water tank and the location of the unit itself.
Heat exchangers differ in the location of the water tank:
- There are those in which this tank is located in the steam room itself - so the water heats up faster and heat loss is reduced. This is the best option if there is no water supply or its length is too small.
- The container can also be located in an adjacent room, which is called a shower. This option is becoming more and more popular in our time, because it is more comfortable to wash separately from the steam room. In this case, the heat exchanger is used to heat water. But note that in this case, the length of the water supply increases significantly.
- The coolant tank can also be installed in the attic. This is necessary if you want to increase the pressure head. But there are a number of drawbacks: the water supply lengthens even more than when installing the tank in the shower, and you also have to insulate the tank to minimize heat loss. Upstairs you need to hold cold water.
Devices also vary in the location of the heat exchanger itself:
- mounted devices are located in the chimney;
- built-in - in the oven itself.
By design, two types of heat exchangers are divided:
- a coil is the simplest option, in which both ends are discharged from the reservoir, where cold water is collected and hot water is taken;
- the connection of two metal containers - a cylinder and a parallelepiped - this model is the most common - not only the water itself but also the entire room is heated, which saves money or adds to the power of the sauna stove.
DIY heat exchanger
The easiest way will be to build a heat exchanger, which is located near the chimney. For this you need a metal tube with a diameter of 10 mm. This is the optimal size, because if the diameter were smaller, the water would heat up faster, but at the same time slowly pass through the tube, and this contributes to the formation of real boiling water.
Adapters are put on the ends of the pipe, which are subsequently expanded. To do this, you will need special devices that need to be purchased in advance.
IMPORTANT! If you want to make a more complex model, then you will need two tubes and a sheet steel. From the latter, it will be necessary to cut a circle to the size of the first pipe, in the middle of which there are holes with a diameter of a smaller pipe. The tubes themselves are inserted into these holes and carefully welded. This stage is the most important, therefore mistakes cannot be made. Correcting them will be very difficult.
Above and below, metal pipes will be needed. They should be welded with special care. After completing work, check the heat exchanger for leaks.
As mentioned above, heat exchangers can also be installed directly in the furnace. There are many design options for such models. The easiest to manufacture will be flat models. They are less effective, but durable and do not require special skills.
Installation and Connection
The first step will be to determine the location for mounting the mounted tank. She always hangs herself on the wall. Four nozzles will be required for installation: the first will be used for direct supply, the second - for filling with cold water. A check valve is placed on the third nozzle, and a tap and shower are connected to the fourth.
After that, a valve for draining the liquid is installed on the return line. Using fittings, direct and reverse feed pipelines are connected.
Thus, the heat exchanger is quite possible to make and install independently. One has only to adhere to certain rules. Particular attention should be paid to fire safety rules, in case of violation of which a catastrophe can occur. Also, always check the tightness of any seams. Please note that the liquid must not boil inside the structure, because scale will quickly damage the device.
The heat exchanger is good in that it can easily heat the required amount of water, as well as significantly save on energy costs.
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