Electronic Drive repair service
Existential Angst
Each year, Electornic Drives and Controls, in Parsippany, NJ (973 428 0500)
sends me a 2' x 3' wall calendar around Xmas, which I actually put on a
wall, and use. It won't win any art awards, but it's nice enough.
I give this company a yearly shout-out, cuz they got me out of what was
proly a $10,000 jam, for about $200 bucks, and a few trips to NJ.
As some may know, I fried my Fadal's regenerative resistor so bad it shot up
flames and charred the effing ceiling -- from not changing the voltage taps
on the transformer from 208 to 240when the machine was moved, and THEN using
a shitty rpc, which supplied 270 to the wild leg -- goodgawd....
So, they mucked around with it for a week, said nothing was really wrong
with it that they could see, altho they did warn that Fadal had some
proprietary stuff in that drive. I'm sure in the process of mucking around,
they wound up resetting sumpn or other, which got it working again.
Inyway, I finally took it home, installed it, and with heart in mouth, found
that it worked! And goddamm, it's been working ever since. I'm sure that
my lying on the floor in the receptionists area, crying in a heap, affected
the price they charged -- they done me a real solid.
So, iffin you need drive-type stuff repaired, these are good honest
knowledgeable people. It will help if you can drive to NJ and cry in their
office.....
Oh, and I replaced the regen resistor with cupla $2 heating elements (also
from NJ), of approx the same resistance. Works like a charm.
Soon, tho, I'm sure my luck is going to run out. Well, ackshooly, it
already did: some muthafucka walked off with my trust fund.....
--
EA, and PV'd now for decades....
Cliff
<UNfi...@UNoptonline.net> wrote:
>wall calendar
Anybody still sending out Bull of the Woods?
http://www.mycomicshop.com/search?srt=bestselling&minyr=1944&maxyr=1944&tid=510281&SetShowNotes=N
Uhh Clem
"Existential Angst" <UNfi...@UNoptonline.net> wrote in message
news:4b43c10e$0$4977$607e...@cv.net...
>
> Oh, and I replaced the regen resistor with cupla $2 heating elements (also
One of ours is wired to the lower element of the domestic water heater.
Existential Angst
news:f8Gdne-WQ_khsNjW...@scnresearch.com...
DAT is effing brilliant!!! Green indeed!!
There's gotta be a ng award for this one!
--
EA
Brian Lawson
Hey Cliff,
Don't know about free ones being sent as calendars once were, but Lee
Valley Tools has 6 booklets:
<http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=46711&cat=1,46096,46100>
Take care.
Brian Lawson,
Bothwell, Ontario.
Bruce L. Bergman
>"Uhh Clem" <yeahsure...@msnmail.com> wrote...
>> "Existential Angst" <UNfi...@UNoptonline.net> wrote...
>>> Oh, and I replaced the regen resistor with cupla $2 heating elements
>>> (also
>>
>> One of ours is wired to the lower element of the domestic water heater.
>
>DAT is effing brilliant!!! Green indeed!!
>
>There's gotta be a ng award for this one!
Nice start, nice germ of an idea, but you have to carry the idea
through to it's logical conclusion.
One big problem, you need the lower element to heat up the water in
the bottom half of the hot water tank normally - it's not going to
have any useful capacity without it. 5 gallons and Pfft! cold water.
Now if you want to really be green about it, you put a smaller
electric water heater (12-gallon plus) as the load resistor, and plumb
it up as the pre-heater on the Cold Inlet to the big water heater.
If you have a whole room full of machines, you can rig up a
circulating loop that makes a lap of the entire shop, with a
tee-fitting to screw in each machine's load heating element - the
standard screw-in elements have 1" NPT threads, you want 1-1/2" pipe
for the element chamber so it doesn't touch the sides. Has to have
water flowing all around or hot spots will cause failure.
I'd use a 1-1/2-1-1/2-1/2 reducing tee, 1-1/2" x 1" Ftg X F bushing
for the element, and an 1-1/2" X 1/2" reducing coupling. Mueller
makes all of the above, I just looked.
A small wet-rotor pump to circulate water through the loop, and loop
it back through the pre-heater tank - and the pump needs a vane-style
flow switch to monitor for pump failure and sound the alarm if the
water isn't flowing. If the water in the loop stops, you'll start
boiling water and slagging heating elements real fast.
If the machines are starting and stopping enough to give the load
resistor system a workout, you can be washing hands, running loads of
shop towels through the clothes washer and running the dishwasher in
the break room without the electric water heater coming on more than a
few minutes.
And if the hot water isn't getting used enough... I STRONGLY suggest
an over-temp alarm on the pre-heat system tank set to sound at about
160-F (Use Some Hot Water! Run a wash load of towels! Give the Shop
Dog his weekly bath!) and the standard 185/190-F Temperature/Pressure
relief valve plumbed to dump in a sink or to a safe place outside.
That means not dumping right where all the workers gather for their
smoke breaks - a near-boiling shower could really ruin their day.
--<< Bruce >>--
Brother Lightfoot
"Bruce L. Bergman" <bruceNOSP...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:fh4bk5to0siqrtj69...@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 6 Jan 2010 20:03:41 -0500, "Existential Angst" wrote:
> >"Uhh Clem" <yeahsure...@msnmail.com> wrote...
> >> "Existential Angst" <UNfi...@UNoptonline.net> wrote...
>
> >>> Oh, and I replaced the regen resistor with cupla $2 heating elements
> >>> (also
> >>
> >> One of ours is wired to the lower element of the domestic water heater.
> >
> >DAT is effing brilliant!!! Green indeed!!
> >
> >There's gotta be a ng award for this one!
>
> Nice start, nice germ of an idea, but you have to carry the idea
> through to it's logical conclusion.
>
> One big problem, you need the lower element to heat up the water in
> the bottom half of the hot water tank normally - it's not going to
> have any useful capacity without it. 5 gallons and Pfft! cold water.
>
Its a 30 gallon tank and yes the regen only preheats the bottom , but since
we only use hot water to wash our hands the lack of capacity is not a
problem.
Cliff
<bruceNOSP...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Now if you want to really be green about it
Water-cooled compressors too.
--
Cliff
Jim Wilkins
wrote:
> ...the
> standard screw-in elements have 1" NPT threads, ......
> --<< Bruce >>--
I've used old water heater tanks for alternate energy projects, and
found that the screw-in elements have straight threads and seal at the
square O ring. It looks like 1-1/4 -- 11-1/2 which is the same pitch
as 1" NPT and fits at the larger end of the taper.
jsw
Wild_Bill
wants to use inexpensive, common water heater elements with old cast iron
heat radiators.
If you know of any 1" straight female thread to NPT adapters that are
available, I'd appreciate you mentioning a source.
--
WB
.........
metalworking projects
www.kwagmire.com/metal_proj.html
"Jim Wilkins" <kb1...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:85adece5-abdb-4657...@s31g2000yqs.googlegroups.com...
Bruce L. Bergman
>"Jim Wilkins" <kb1...@gmail.com> wrote
>>I've used old water heater tanks for alternate energy projects, and
>>found that the screw-in elements have straight threads and seal at the
>>square O ring. It looks like 1-1/4 -- 11-1/2 which is the same pitch
>>as 1" NPT and fits at the larger end of the taper.
>
>I've been trying to find a threaded adapter (not flanged) for a friend that
>wants to use inexpensive, common water heater elements with old cast iron
>heat radiators.
>
>If you know of any 1" straight female thread to NPT adapters that are
>available, I'd appreciate you mentioning a source.
The one time I used a water heater element in a 1" NPT fitting I
just used a bunch of Teflon tape on the threads and it sealed up okay.
I suppose if you are making adapter fittings in bulk you could chuck
the bushings up in a lathe and cut the square recess for the sealing
ring. The difference between the fat end of NPT and NPST threads
should be more than close enough to hold.
Oh, and Silver Braze the fittings around the heater element - if you
have a water circulation failure, the melting temperature difference
between ''Plumbers Lead Free Solder" (usually a 0.5% silver solder)
and silver braze could make all the difference.
--<< Bruce >>--
Wild_Bill
friend has has every installation leak.
Thanks for your additional input.
He's atempting to use common cooking oil, although I've been saying that
most mineral oils (same cost) would probably be fewer problems with pipe
dopes.
I just rcently realized that I could chase the NPT threads with a straight
NPSM tap to allow full seating of the element threads.
I was trying to come up with a solution where I wouldn't need to source
stock and machine custom fitings. However, the home brewing industry could
benefit from an inexpensive fitting, too.
--
WB
.........
metalworking projects
www.kwagmire.com/metal_proj.html
Bergman" <bruceNOSP...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:vh1jk59v5qpsrjnpb...@4ax.com...
Cliff
wrote:
>I've been trying to find a threaded adapter (not flanged) for a friend that
>wants to use inexpensive, common water heater elements with old cast iron
>heat radiators.
>
>If you know of any 1" straight female thread to NPT adapters that are
>available, I'd appreciate you mentioning a source.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%28NPSM+OR+NPS%29+to+npt++Adapters&btnG=Search
might be a start.
Jim Wilkins
>...
> I just rcently realized that I could chase the NPT threads with a straight
> NPSM tap to allow full seating of the element threads.
>
> I was trying to come up with a solution where I wouldn't need to source
> stock and machine custom fitings. However, the home brewing industry could
> benefit from an inexpensive fitting, too.
>
> Bergman" <bruceNOSPAMberg...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> > On Sat, 9 Jan 2010 09:40:42 -0500, "Wild_Bill" wrote:
> > The one time I used a water heater element in a 1" NPT fitting I
> > just used a bunch of Teflon tape on the threads and it sealed up okay.
>
> > I suppose if you are making adapter fittings in bulk you could chuck
> > the bushings up in a lathe and cut the square recess for the sealing
> > ring. The difference between the fat end of NPT and NPST threads
> > should be more than close enough to hold.
I don't have a 1" NPT die handy. This is based on an old element
screwed into a galvanized coupler.
The element stops finger-tight in 1/4 turn, so I think a die could
recut the element's threads from NPSM to NPT, though it will remove
any protective plating such as this element has. You might have to
grind down the face of the die or use an adjustable one.
I've modified some solid brass Sears element heads after knocking out
the burned-out heater. Even without its interference they are quite
difficult to center and align to pick up the threads. If I was going
to do very many I would thread the ID of a tube to fit snugly, turn
the OD concentric, and use it along with a pipe center in the
tailstock to square and center the element head in a 3-jaw Set-Tru
chuck. I don't trust my 4-jaw to hold a hex securely enough, the two
points crush and slip.
If you tap the opening NPSM you still need a smooth recess for the O
ring. They won't hold much pressure if just squished against a flat
face. Perhaps a copper gasket cut from water pipe would work???
I had the opposite problem of sealing pipe-threaded reducer bushings
in the tank opening. Some worked with a thick layer of tape, others
didn't, depending on manufacturing tolerances. I chucked some pipe and
screwed the reducer bushing on to it to cut the groove for a square O
ring.
jsw
Cliff
wrote:
>I've been trying to find a threaded adapter (not flanged) for a friend that
>wants to use inexpensive, common water heater elements with old cast iron
>heat radiators.
>
>If you know of any 1" straight female thread to NPT adapters that are
>available, I'd appreciate you mentioning a source.
Why will he not just use an electric space heater in the first place?
--
Cliff
Wild_Bill
have a secure assembly.
A straight tap could open the door to other possibilities, too.. using a
cast brass coupler with room for a groove for the sqaure seal ring, for
example.
Several prototypes had been made, alhough all had leakage problems. I tried
to stay out of the process, but at the same time, realized that the idea
shouldn't be too complex.
--
WB
.........
metalworking projects
www.kwagmire.com/metal_proj.html
Jim Wilkins" <kb1...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:3845dbab-aa18-4e58...@u41g2000yqe.googlegroups.com...
Cliff
wrote:
>We had contemplated a copper seal after getting the threading hashed out to
>have a secure assembly.
>
>A straight tap could open the door to other possibilities, too.. using a
>cast brass coupler with room for a groove for the sqaure seal ring, for
>example.
>
>Several prototypes had been made, alhough all had leakage problems. I tried
>to stay out of the process, but at the same time, realized that the idea
>shouldn't be too complex.
Did you search for heating elements with an NPT thread?
--
Cliff
Cliff
wrote:
>any protective plating such as this element has.
Electrolytic corrosion.
--
Cliff
Wild_Bill
'em in hand) on eBay, fairly cheap.. my offer was $30 for 2 taps. When
asked, the seller stated that the thread pitch is 11-1/2.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Cleveland-Twist-Drill-1-MPS-Straight-Pipe-Tap-MH-HSS_W0QQitemZ110266697102
I'd expect that a copper crush gasket would work, or your suggestion of
turning a recess for the rubber gasket on the lathe.
--
WB
.........
metalworking projects
www.kwagmire.com/metal_proj.html
Jim Wilkins" <kb1...@gmail.com> wrote in message
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