[Amps] SS amps watercooling - was PowerGenius XL

Joe nss at mwt.net
Mon Mar 6 15:52:27 EST 2017


but, all these alternate to water and or water blends,

how are they electrically? still an insulator?

Joe WB9SBD
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On 3/6/2017 1:08 PM, donroden at hiwaay.net wrote:
> Use a large enough radiator and flow that the fluid never rises above 
> 150F.
> Don W4DNR
>
> Quoting Al Kozakiewicz <akozak at hourglass.com>:
>
>> There are waterless coolants used in automotive applications. Evans 
>> seems to be the main manufacturer in NA. The main advantage is that 
>> its boiling point is way higher than water + antifreeze. This means 
>> that the operating pressure is near atmospheric and allows operation 
>> at temperatures that would cause overpressure issues with water based 
>> coolants.
>>
>> Whether it is useful for this application is unknown to me.
>>
>> Al
>> AB2ZY
>>
>> ________________________________________
>> From: Amps <amps-bounces at contesting.com> on behalf of Jeff DePolo 
>> <jd0 at broadsci.com>
>> Sent: Monday, March 6, 2017 1:32 PM
>> To: amps at contesting.com
>> Subject: Re: [Amps] SS amps watercooling - was PowerGenius XL
>>
>>> ##  IF conductivity is NOT an issue, then Id suggest using
>>> what is already
>>> being used in car eng radiator setups.  Distilled water + a
>>> corrosion inhibitor.
>>> Typ a 50-50 mix of glycol + distilled water is used.  The
>>> glycol offers the
>>> inhibitor properties, and also raises the boiling point by a
>>> bunch, to typ 265 deg F,
>>> IF under  typ pressure of 10-15 psi.  Less, with lower
>>> pressure, but still  more than
>>> 212 deg F.  That 50-50 mix  will also lower the freezing
>>> point to aprx  -40 deg F.
>>> You can also buy the 50-50 premixed, just pour it in.
>>
>> I agree.
>>
>> In liquid-cooled broadcast transmitters (both tube and solid-state), the
>> thermal transfer fluid is typically a 50/50 mix of distilled water and
>> Dowtherm SR-1.  SR-1 is ethylene glycol with corrosion inhibitors.  
>> There
>> are a few manufacturers that recommend or specify something else; 
>> Rohde and
>> Schwarz comes to mind - they spec DEX-COOL for some of their rigs (and,
>> yeah, I know all of the GM DEX-COOL horror stories, though I've never
>> experienced any problems myself either in broadcast transmitters nor 
>> in my
>> own GM vehicles).
>>
>> 50/50 is a good all-around mix ratio for SR-1.  It provides freeze
>> protection down to around -35 degrees F, yields a healthy 
>> concentration of
>> corrosion inhibitors, and prevents bacterial growth/contamination.
>>
>> Unless there is some anomaly that occurs during the life of the 
>> coolant that
>> results in contamination, the primary reason to replace coolant at 
>> regular
>> intervals is due to the natural change in pH.  When the system is 
>> initially
>> filled, the pH of the 50/50 glycol mix is about 9.3.  As the glycol 
>> ages,
>> and as the copper and aluminum in the plumbing and system components 
>> leach
>> into the coolant, the pH slowly falls.  We usually do a flush when 
>> the pH
>> falls below 8.0, and we never ever let it go below 7.5.  You don't 
>> want to
>> let it turn acidic.  While you can try to extend the lifespan of the 
>> coolant
>> by adding KOH to raise the pH, by the time the pH starts gets down 
>> near 8.0,
>> the corrosion inhibitors are likely nearing depletion anyway.
>>
>> You can send a fluid sample out to a lab for testing of all the main
>> indicators of the health of the coolant (glycol concentration, pH, 
>> inhibitor
>> concentration, contaminants, etc.) -- probably overkill for ham 
>> amplifiers.
>> Dow will even do it for free if your system is large enough (as I 
>> recall, if
>> the volume of coolant in the system is over 200 gallons they do it for
>> nothing).  But, for home/ham use, I think that if you just do a 
>> visual on
>> the coolant to confirm it's the proper color and free of 
>> contaminants, and
>> you check the pH every few months and when it falls below 8.0 do a 
>> flush and
>> re-fill, you would be fine.
>>
>> By the way, cleaning the system real well before the first fill is very
>> important.  A solution of a few percent TSP in distilled water is 
>> typically
>> used, and then flushed twice with distilled water before filling the 
>> system
>> with the 50/50 mix.
>>
>> The usual disclaimers apply regarding the toxicity of ethylene 
>> glycol, the
>> proper disposal of the same, yada yada yada.
>>
>>                                         --- Jeff WN3A
>>
>>
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>
>
> DonR
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