WARNING: This guide features crappy humor, meh photography, and volatile sealent. When working remember that airflow is your friend, so open a window. Also watch your fingers and if your younger, work with a parent or with their supervision, and lastly this isn't for everyone so work at your own risk.
A guide in pictures, but I'll add some wording as well. Decided today to build a immersion load tester, mostly for chillers, but surely can find other uses for a large inline load testing system. Can test a water loop or heat up a nice bath as well!
Total cost for the load tester was around $40. This of course is without a large variac, (20 amps recommended for this sorta load), to control the load, and a kill a watt to read the load.
So pictures;
Total parts about $40 as I said, but you can see just how simple. Theres some primer and such that I was going to use but decided to go with aquarium sealant, should hold decently I think.
All the PVC is 2 inch.
Very easy and acquirable tools.
The heater;
We start with the basic design, the main tube chamber contains the immersion heater, the in and outputs, and a Y off. The Y off will go to an open top for adding liquid as well as monitoring flow and dropping in a temperature probe if wanted.
Actual sizing now, of course with a 8" long immersion heater you dont need a 2 foot PVC tube
Hacksaw cutting, really easy, I mean, seriously, very easy. The rule of thumb here is, thumbs don't grow back. Remember that.
A few ounces of elbow grease later;
A bit long, but on purpose, want some extra liquid in the bottom;
Broke out a 3/4" holesaw bit, could have used the adjustable, but couldnt find my hex driver. Easy as pie with PVC, didnt even need to clamp it down;
A little loose due to the bow of the tube, but more then good enough!
After setting the adjustable holesaw to a size I deemed "close", I drilled the pilot hole, trick here is to flip the end cap over;
Vrrrrrrrrr tada!
Now flip it back;
Clamp or vice is really needed here, but the adjustable hole saw goes right thru. Watch your hands and body here as the spinning bar can break bones.
Dropping in the immersion heater, bit tight it seemed then spinning it slightly went right in like it was meant to be. And after another 360 degrees perfect fit, nice and snug, and the rubber gasket makes a tight seal;
Sealent;
Begin the sealing! Murder on the hands indeed, but solved that shortly. Just pull back the tube a little bit, spread on the sealent, then slide it back. Then follow with a paper towel to remove excess and push it further into the joint;
Call it lazy, I call it innovation;
Now we're sealing tight!
And leave to dry!
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Originally Posted by 3oh6
haha im sure you could find it for 30$ or so but still. WIll the load tester melt the pvc if it is not beeing cooled by a chiller?
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