My new engine room!

[AdeV73]

Bob - I'd definitely be interested in a highly efficient self-cleaning heat-x... now to learn how to weld....

[Dail R H]

   I want one too,and I ain't even started workin on my twin yet

[billswan]

Hello everyone

Here is a pix of one messed up heat exchanger!



The tube sheet comes out pretty easy so I pulled it out, the tube inside diameter is .205 inch smaller than I thought!



Geno's advise to use a pressure washer cleaned it up good as new.

First I took the filthy thing to my old shop and ran an 1/8 inch brazing rod down down a few of the tubes, it went through easy even though it looks hopelessly plugged. The gunk was not dry it was wet and greasy, so the pressure washer with soap blew it right away.

Jens your tubes are much larger,yours is what I was looking for but this is what I ended up with. One good thing mine is low grade stainless so if I ever conceive of a way to keep it clean it won't corrode away. I need a carbon trap.

There are a couple more pix over at the gallery for those following the saga.

Mobil bob , gee build a heat ex. for 75$ in an hour that would be great. Yes give us some more clues how it self cleans, Please!!!!

billswan

[mobile_bob]

i will start a new thread in the lister market place, with further info there so as not
to hijack this topic any further.

bob g

[billswan]

Wow Billswan - that is one seriously plugged heat exchanger ! With the wet stuff inside it sounds like slobbering or insufficient load killed the unit. I guess it could also be that you are cooling the gases too much. I got an awful lot of water in the beginning when I had a cold engine but after a while the drain hole plugged.

I found it VERY interesting that the guts of your heat exchanger just popped out ! With it out, pressure cleaning is obviously the way to go. How did you notice that your unit comes apart like that ? I will need to look at mine again to see if there is any indication that it might come apart somehow. I never noticed any indication of mine coming apart. The two end caps come off but the rest appears to be a solid assembly. I pressure washed mine originally as a complete unit which is way too difficult to remove now to be practical.

Jens

Jens
when you remove the whole end cap is there a large oring on each end? On mine there is, I though it was to just seal the end bells but for some reason one day I loosened up the end bell bolts and had coolant come out , that is when it hit me that the tube sheet comes out. I had wondered how the aluminum body was sealed to the brass end plate the ss tubes are soldered to.

I am thinking that as easy as the sludge came out of the tubes if I injected some hot soapy water into the exhaust stream when the engine is at high idle no load when first starting up a run it might clear out a significant amount of sludge.

billswan

[Geno]

With my oversized heat-ex the carbon I can see is always dry and will wipe away easily. I can’t see the end of the exhaust pipe due to my cinder block muffler but I’ll bet water is always dribbling out. So far I’ve cleaned it twice at about the 300-500 hr. mark. I could go longer. The exhaust pipe out on the bottom of the heat-ex has never gotten any hotter than coolant out of the top. I don’t think the guts come out like Bills.

Thanks, Geno

[rcavictim]

Couldn't leave well enough alone - had to give the copper tube thing a try.

The procedure sums up as more work than expected and definitely falls under the 'messy' classification ....

With the 1/4" tube in the 0.3" exchanger, there is good clearance and it's definitively the right choice.
Because the 1/4" tube is soft, one really has to watch it. A bit of too much of a push too far back along the tube and it bends. With too many tiny bends along the 1/4" tube it becomes a bit tough pushing it because it rubs on the inside of the heat exchanger.

I will need to investigate if one can get something in hard copper or brass (or steel with a copper head to protect the exchanger)

The messy part ..... so far I have been unable to prevent blowback. Also, if you leave the compressed air on a tad too long the soot comes out of the other tubes. One could just affix the shop vac by the work area and it will suck up the soot but I am about 99% certain that a fair amount of it will go through the shopvac filter and come out on the other end. That too needs looking at. At first glance one answer would be to remove the filter and hook a long hose onto the exhaust and pipe it outside. The reason for pulling the filter is so that the carbon doesn't get trapped and released later on when the vac is used by an unsuspecting person in the house somewhere.

It takes about 30 to 45 seconds per tube so it isn't a real quick thing but it isn't too bad either. I only did a few tubes this evening to try things.

Jens

Jens,

Danger Will Robinson!  Do not think of sucking soot through a shop vac with the filter removed.  The soot will clog up the vacuum motor turbine and will reduce efficiency before it quits entirely.  It will for ever have a soot smell of the exhaust air which will also contain soot particles.  I use a shop vac to clean my woodstove chimney and simply wrap two layers of paper towell around the filter, holding it in place with a couple of elastic bands.  This keeps the soot out of the filter pretty much.  Best to dedicate a shop vac to the soot job anyhow after that.

As for a stiff tube to shove through the heat exchenger pipes that is stronger than soft copper, how about ready made straight lengths of steel brake line with flares and nuts already attached from the local automotive parts jobber.  Cut offf one flare to remove both flare nuts leaving the one flare you want still on the business end of the new blow tool.

[lowspeedlife]

Most shop-vac manufacturers make a "bag filter" that you slip over the existing filter & hold in place with a rubber band for just such a use, I get them at lowes or home depot for a few dollars & they make the standard filter last much longer too.


   Scott R.

[mbryner]

Hello everyone!

Just when you thought this thread was long dead, I'm reviving it.   I wanted to give you an update of my project and ask a few questions.   Below are some pics of my progress.

This is the powerhouse from the east looking west.   The siding has been finished since this pic.



Note the through-the-wall bathroom fan (>800 CFM) which sucks air out of the engine area and also helps provide air past the radiator.   Since this picture, the overflow tank has been moved to inside the wall in the upstairs so it's easy to check and fill.



Here I have a used agriculture sprayer tank: it makes a great fuel tank.   Now I'm looking for another for waste motor oil.   Note, there is a 3-way stop cock and the first of two 2-micron fuel filters so I can switch between WMO and red diesel.  (Since these pics, the old Indian fuel tank and filter have been removed.)
 




Now the question:  can I run the injector overflow line back into incoming fuel line or is that too much back pressure?   You can see that the fuel tanks are about 2-3 feet above the engine which should be only 1-2 psi.   Can the injecor overflow line handle any back pressure.  Thanks.

Marcus

[billswan]

Hello doc

By all means you can tee into the incoming fuel line for injector bleed off , but  be ware of air in the bleed off line if it can rise to the tank it will get out there but if it slowly finds it's way to the filter it could cause you have to bleed it out of the filter .............A one time event if it happens.......

Great engine room nice to here from you!!!!

Billswan

[mbryner]

Thank you, Jens (and Bill who posted while I wrote this reply).   Just what I needed to know.  So do you (or anyone) know how much fuel is supposed to flow through that injector return line?   Just a tiny amount relative to the fuel getting through the injector?   It makes a difference which input fuel line I would route it back to (pre-filter into a T-fitting): either the WMO or diesel line.   If it's only a tiny bit, then it wouldn't matter.   If it's a lot, then quite a bit of WMO would get into the "clean" diesel flow if I connect it to the diesel side, or I'd be wasting diesel by connecting it to the WMO side.   Or am I just over-thinking this?   Oh, and I'll connect it so air can escape into the fuel tank;  sure don't want to bleed the line every few minutes!!! 

Marcus

[billswan]

DOC

My 10/1 has it's return line into a empty 16 oz pop bottle and to the best of my recollection it would fill it in 24 hours or so .........

Billswan

[mbryner]

Thanks guys.   So, I routed the overflow back into the regular diesel input, pre-filter.   

Everything is working great now!  My first design was a resilient engine mount using a small 3' x 4' by 6" depth concrete pad and rubber horse stall mats between the steel I-beam engine subframe and the concrete.   For the past few months it jiggled all over, rocking the whole pad around.   About a week ago, I poured a second concrete pad around the first, tying it all together with a generous amount of 1/2" rebar.   The second pad is about 16" deep and 1 ft wide ringing the initial base.   It seems the old wisdom of just bolt the beast to a whole bunch of mass is the best.   I also removed 1/2 of the rubber matting.  Now it's rock solid!   Tonight was the first run since the pour and I'm happy!

Marcus

[Horsepoor]

Trying to insert a photo or learn how to do. This is an attempt below.
 

[AdeV73]

Trying to insert a photo or learn how to do. This is an attempt below.
 

You're nearly there Bruce; you just need to put the URL of the picture between those tags... Assuming your photo is already on the internet & you're using a PC rather than an Apple; simply go to it on your browser, then right-click on the picture, and click Copy Shortcut (IE) or Copy Picture Address (Opera), or similar. This will put the picture's URL in the clipboard; then simply paste the result between the IMG tags.

If your photo's not already on t'internet, you'll need to load it up first; the Lister Engine Gallery would be a great place to put it - there's a link in the top right corner of this page; just follow the Gallery instructions to upload, then my instructions above to paste the links.

Good luck!