Shower water

[Deleted User]

I've made my own and they do work. The biggest problem that I can see would be finding enough space to mount it vertically, as designed.

I am a firm beliver in the waste heat recovery potentials of this country. I feel we could reduce our energy consumption by a minimum of 1/3 if we would just utilize technology that is here today. But until the cost of energy triples or quadruples, you won't see people clamoring over these devices.

ME

Rock Solid Restoration_2

Shower water heat recovery

Does anyone know of any product available that will recover some of the heat from hot shower water instead of sending it all down the drain?

[Deleted User]

Sure...

go here.

http://gfxtechnology.com/CADDET.PDF

ME

Rock Solid Restoration_2

That was quick!

Thanks Mark.

Have you had any experience with this?

Rock Solid Restoration_2

What about a kind of flat, horizontal tank that the copper coil would go inside of? That could solve the space issue and should allow a better heat transfer. Maybe there would be safety issues because if the pipe were to develope a leak the domestic could mix with the graywater.

I agree with you about the energy consumption. But the only way people will think about it is when it starts to hit them in the pocketbook like you said.

I framed my house with 2x6 studs and 2x12 rafters for insulation purposes and I insulated my headers. I can't tell you how many times I heard "what are you doing that for?"

People just don't get it.

[Deleted User]

Exactamundo...

As a licensed master plumber, the health and welfare of my clients and the nation come first. Having a coil immersed in a tank of sewage water sets up a potential cross connect that could cause serious health problems. However, if the system were protected with a reduced pressure principle backflow preventor, the idea would probably work. But of course, you'd be living on the bleeding edge of technology.

Just thinking outside the box, hows about a large concrete tank with PEX built into the walls of the tank. This tank would receive ALL of the buildings hottest water (bath tubs, showers, laundry, dishwasher) that are relatively free of solids. This super waste heat recovery tank would then be connected to a small heat pump (refrigerant type) that would extract the energy from this tank, and recycle it back into the system in the form of a preheat tank, similar to what we do with solar systems. The COP of the system would most probably be in the area of 8:1.

Doable for sure. Just a matter of someone stepping outside of the box and proving its worth.

ME

Rock Solid Restoration_2

I'm sure there are several ways to accomplish this.

My instinct tells me, however that when you start talking about heat pumps and concrete tanks you're getting into a price range that the consumer won't go for.

Some of the stuff you talk about such as COP is over my wannabe wet-head.

Let's face it,the GFX system is pretty inexpensive, you could even build one yourself probably very cheap as you have done, yet I have never heard of anyone having this type of thing.

I wonder if the folks at GFX thought about any of these other ideas before they came up with their contraption.

Brian (Tankless) Wood

Actually, Mr. Rock

ther's only one person at GFX. His name is Dr. Carmine Vasille. He invented & developed the G.F.X. (gravity film exchange) with a grant from the DOE.

This is by far, the cheapest way to get the most energy back from waste hot water (ROI) for the least money outlay.

BTW, it's a double-wall HX, and two (2) leaks would have to occur at the same place to get cross-contamination. And even then, it would be fresh, pressurised water going into the drain, not vise-versa. Sorry for sounding like a smart-alek, but I personally know of 100's of installations in New Zealand that have saved building owners many, many 1,000's of $'s in water heating cost's.

Mr. Vasille has a self-designed and installed heat recovery system in his own home in the NE, which uses a modulating electric tankless water heater (14kw). It heats his home, AND all his hot water.

GFX is very high quality equipment, trust me.

Brian at www.energysaviours.com (being built, please be patient) Wood.

You've heard of those "Ceramic paints"? At my site (above) please check at "about us", I coated that roof, and the temp drop underneath would have been unbelievable if I hadn't been there to measure it myself.

Trust me, my good name & reputation here in swampland, hang on the fact that "I guarantee at least 10% lower energy usage" or the job is on me!

G.F.X. works just the way it is designed, don't lay it down flat. Incoming cold water sucks almost every last btu out of that thin falling film of wasted hot water (money).

Happy heating from Brian in the land of "Falling Film" jambalaya, kissing cousins, coonasses, crawfish M'mmm, and other "stuff" peculiar to the South ;O)

Attachments are: A 10gpm shower recovery GFX in a New Zealand youth hostel which paid for itself in a "few months', and Steamatic whorehouse roof (lighten up, I'm joking :O)

Rock Solid Restoration_2

It does seem like a great idea,but, not to take anything away from Dr. Vasille but my neighbor and I came up with the same idea last weekend while standing in my back yard thinking of ways to save energy before we had even knew this device was already available.

We dismissed this idea however because we thought that the coil would have to be submerged in the hot water to get good heat transfer.

But, based on your experience and recommendation, I will put this GFX device in my house.

Can I build this thing myself?It looks pretty simple.
Is the coil soldered to the waste pipe?

You say you know of hundreds of installations in New Zealand. Do people use these in America or is fuel still too cheap to make it worthwhile?

Thanks for your help. I look forward to checking out your site when its done.

[Deleted User]

Rock, I know how you feel

> It does seem like a great idea,but, not to take

> anything away from Dr. Vasille but my neighbor

> and I came up with the same idea last weekend

> while standing in my back yard thinking of ways

> to save energy before we had even knew this

> device was already available.

>

> We dismissed

> this idea however because we thought that the

> coil would have to be submerged in the hot water

> to get good heat transfer.

>

> But, based on your

> experience and recommendation, I will put this

> GFX device in my house.

>

> Can I build this thing

> myself?It looks pretty simple. Is the coil

> soldered to the waste pipe?

>

> You say you know

> of hundreds of installations in New Zealand. Do

> people use these in America or is fuel still too

> cheap to make it worthwhile?

>

> Thanks for your

> help. I look forward to checking out your site

> when its done.

[Deleted User]

Rock, I know how you feel

Last week, I had a thought about using a steam solar system to heat, cool, and power a home. As I was researching high temp solar collectors, I found my whole idea laid out on the internet.

I posted my find under solar steam...and this is the idea that I had, and this link is what started my mind to thinking.

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/porter/porter-pd.html

Ken

septic tank heat

All winter I see bare ground over my septic tank. I keep thinking if some of the heat used to melt all that snow was picked up by a heat exchange system it could certainly reduce some heating costs. Is this being done anywhere.

Ken