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Old 10-02-2013, 07:09 PM   #3 (permalink)
Tesla
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Australia
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I like the idea in principle and have been pondering the same questions of how to use the waste heat from ICE, but have not found an effective solution yet.

Engine cooling systems can be problematic and effective operation is essential to prevent engine damage, so firstly I would suggest that engine system be kept as std as possible without a vast amount of additional piping & valves, so to this end I think you will need multiple heat transfer stages. Replace or add in hot side to existing radiator a water to water heat exchanger, this minimises any restriction or contamination issues of engine system, if there is a cross leak, it's not a major issue as it's only water.
Use the new water system to transfer the heat to the storage unit, this will require a pump and all associated filling, overflow and air bleeding hardware & design etc, transfer to heat storage could simply be multiple coiled tubes in the PCM and the vessel will obviously need to be well insulated and also have pressure safety and containment controls.
As a primary goal I would simply look at a system that could absorb heat of 1 hours driving and store this heat for a minimum of 24 hours to enable it to be used for quick engine warm up by reversing flow, this way you may be able to keep weight penalty down to 20-50kg, I think the house heating idea may be a bit too big as a starter.
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