Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
All-Purpose OWF Discussions => General Outdoor Furnace Discussion => Topic started by: RSI on March 19, 2011, 08:04:05 PM
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I get calls about insulated pipe all the time and get asked how the insulation compares to X brand. As far as I know there are not really any tests done to be able to compare the different brands / types.
I usually tell them what my supplier has told me but also tell them where the info came from so they know the info may be skewed in their favor.
I have been thinking of setting up some sort of test but it would have to be done on a small scale because it would cost a small fortune to get a long length of every brand.
I was thinking of getting a big old chest freezer so I could have a constant outside temperature. If possible 5' long and punch a hole in each end for the pipe to go through. They set it up with a pump and electric heater. Measuring the watt hours should give an exact BTU loss on the pipe.
If I did this, I would probably test outside temp (freezer) at a few different temps from 50 to -10 degrees and hot water temp from 140-180 degrees.
If anyone else wanted to do the testing instead, I would be happy to help. I would actually prefer the results to come from someone else as they would be more believable to customers if it wasn't my testing. I wouldn't really care how the results turn out at this point though because I can just switch over to the better pipe to sell if something would happen to be that much better. Also, I have no problem telling a customer that x brand pipe has x less heat loss when it costs 2-3 times as much. Most buying cheap pipe already know it isn't as good but are looking for some idea just how much worse it is.
Does this sound like it would be the best way to do it cheaply and get accurate results? What changes would make it better / more accurate?
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I wonder if the manufacturers have ASTM specs on their pipe. I know some or most are "homemade" without independant testing results. I wonder if you could compile results. ASTM for the PEX and the insulation used and the drain pipe or casing used. I know in my line of work the independant results must be published before we confirm results in testing, so you could probably find stuff online instead of shouldering the cost yourself. Granted you would probably get real world numbers that actually mean something to us little guys if you did the testing. I like your idea though. Just very cost prohibitive.