View Single Post
Old 06-25-2015, 07:30 PM   #10 (permalink)
some_other_dave
Master EcoModder
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Silly-Con Valley
Posts: 1,479
Thanks: 201
Thanked 262 Times in 199 Posts
My question is: Why two separate heat exchange steps? You're gonna lose efficiency in each one, so better to keep those minimized IMHO.

For your copper tubing idea, you could have a bypass-type thermostat in the lines to and from the single exchanger. So when the coolant is cool enough, the thermostat would force it to the copper tubing, and when it was hotter it would close that section off and send the coolant into the lines coming back from the exchanger.

That's how an oil cooler thermostat works, generally, except backwards. I think you could make it work the way you want with some creative plumbing, though.

-soD
  Reply With Quote