Yong Heng, Radiator vs Ice, my results so far (Video added)

[Stubbers]

That constant temperature drop with a radiator is the key advantage in my mind. It keeps doing it on a bigger tank or on one that is completely empty. Chilled water can initially be more effective in keeping temperature down but the benefit will gradually reduce because the water will be continuously be getting warmer. The other benefits are the lack of set up time and waiting for the water to cool.

This is absolutely false, I have never exceeded 50c on pre-chilled water even with 90F+ ambient temps and 20 minute run time. The water is nearly as cool as it is at the finish as it is when I start...because the remaining ice in the frozen bottle counter-acts most any returned water that is, still cool to the touch. Do you need video proof? Because I can monitor my water temps on my next fill for you if you don't take my word for it.

Also, keep in mind the CPU coolers you're attempting to use are designed for closed loop CPU systems that frequent 60c-70c, which is in excess of what many of us would like are Yong Hengs....it is by far and large inferior to pre-chilled water cooling within the 15-20 minute run times we use on our YH...Even extreme overclockers of CPUS will move over to liquid nitrogen, which in effect is largely similar to...chilled water.

In other news, man reinvents the wheel....

If you want a smaller foot print and a compressor that doesn't advise a bucket of water (ideally chilled), then there are other available options on the market.

-Matt

 

[Dog]

Oh I will be putting them that way. Right now I was just testing if I the radiator would be enough to keep the YH at my goal of about 65C. Once I find a method that works I'll tidy everything up.

Are you seeing any oil blackening during a week run or so? I've gotten a few answers from piston rings on aluminum to secondary oil flashing. Then again no blackening of oil reported for some. I use Seco 500 which one poster reported that the Bauer pump also blackened the oil. I can't doubt my fine overseas manufacturing. My old thumper still pumps fine so curiosity always bites me in the butt... TIA

 

[Dog]

I am confident that colder cooling water will reduce the second stage temperature of a Yong Heng. Heat transfer is always a function of the temperature difference. Colder water means the temperature difference with the head is greater so heat will flow faster.

I am not prechilling the water but when I put in a couple frozen soda bottles of ice in the water my YH's peak temperature decreases. Same principle. Colder cooling water means more heat transfer in a given amount of time. I only use the ice in the summer when the ambient temperature is higher here. Most of the year the radiator and fans are enough to keep me below 60 C, my somewhat arbitrary limit. I also find the ice works better if I add it at the start of the run instead of during the run when the temperature is already starting to get high. Bigger temperature difference for longer.

I think colder cooling water and radiators are both proven effective ways to reduce the peak head temperature of our YHs. I find a radiator more convenient but I use ice sometimes too. A larger volume of cooling water would be beneficial too since it would take longer for it to heat up so the difference would stay larger longer. Many ways to do this.

Purely for convenience I may go to a really low volume of cooling water. I already only have about 2 gallons. My YH heats up to around 50 C in the first 5 minutes and then rises much more slowly after that. Seems like an exponential curve. By the time it gets up around 60 degrees it is rising very slowly. I seem to be getting close to equilibrium. I may add a second radiator first which I think will reduce the peak temperature. If that works as I think it will then I would use a much smaller cooling water container like a 1 gallon. Enough to cover the pump but no real attempt to reduce the rate of temperature rise, just the peak temperature. Only benefit of the small water volume is just the reduced footprint. The Target Forge guy did something like this with an aluminum 2 gallon container and put everything in a metal cage so it is all contained. I like that sort of arrangement but may just leave it as separate pieces.

Then again YH could have made this with a water shroud that covers the whole piston / tubing section. Something like the GX 4 pumps. You can then watch the steam bubbles from the final HP SS tube! Sorry, trying to turn my $230 pump into a $500 pump. Me being lazy, I'll just let our convalescence + small sieve filter do all my moisture removal duty. Yes, 60C max for me and gives that motor a rest filling my big tank.

 

[JimD]

I'm not sure how much difference it makes but the water shroud only covers the second stage piston/cylinder area as "Dog" is saying. Keeping that area cool seems to address the weak spot of these compressors but I also like my cooling fan blowing on the motor to cool it and blowing past the fins of the first stage. May not be necessary but the fan was cheap.

My YH with it's radiator seems to get to an equilibrium temperature around 60 C where the heat input is equivalent to the heat rejection and the temperature rise stops. I think it would rise even quicker if I build my 1 gallon bucket for it but probably stay at the same peak temperature. A second radiator should reduce the peak temperature. I've run my YH for 30 minutes before when my bottle got really low and it did not rise higher than it does on a 20 minute run.

I would agree with anybody who says this point is immaterial but the "bucket full of ice" method is not a method that reaches equilibrium. If you ran the YH long enough the ice will melt and the temperature will rise. With a big enough bucket of ice this would not happen until after the tank is full which is why I am saying the point is immaterial. But you still have a big bucket of ice to deal with.

 

[Jack Hart]

While a radiator would be fun to fiddle with and would make sense if I were charging bottles one after another all day long, I've found that starting with a big enough tub of cold enough water gets a full charge on my 3 L bottle without overheating the pump. YMMV pick a method that suits your style.