WTB: Cheap radiator off anything

[Archie]

In my quest for an efficient heat exchanger for my spa I'm now thinking that a car radiator would work really well. In a 1985 Golf I saw their radiator had a series of pipes running across it which would be the best, but anything would be good.

Anyone got an old one lying around?

[razza]

got one off E39A VR4. One doz of speights pure will take it away.

[Archie]

Sounds mint. My other options taking one off this guy's civic on trademe. What's the layout of the E39A radiator? Just saw that BMW radiators have plastic sides, which wouldn't do for me at all (It's going to be in a fire).

Can I come grab it today? I'm a bum student, the sooner I can get it the better.

[Roberto]

VR4 rads have a plastic top section.

So might be of no use either, not sure about the rest of the range.

[wintertidenz]

I guess what you could also do is get a piece of pipe, cut it to the right width then weld it across the top of the rad to replace the plastic bit and weld up one end - might be a good alternative to an alu radiator for a student :D

[Archie]

I'd probably just cut a section out of the drum and leave the plastic top poking out. The water will be running through it so it should be sweet.

That civic one was way too small, and had plastic on the top and bottom. Thinking now that a 4wd diesel would have a better one, bigger at least.

[scott.mohekey]

I HAD a spare 8th gen vr4 one up until a month or two ago. I'll keep an eye out for another.

[waxer]

Lol, this reminds me of the time I tried to steam a piece of beech in order to bend it to form the back rest of a chair. I set up a water tank with a hose feeding into an old Mini radiator, which I set horizontal, then lit a fire underneath it. The outlet of the rad fed into an insulated wooden box that contained my "workpiece". But the heat of the fire almost immediately destroyed the rad, which then pi**ed water all over the fire and put it out. I never did complete the chair.
I'm not sure how similar that is to what you're trying to do, but if it's going to be in a fire, I would say get an old domestic radiator, preferably cast iron, or better still get a wood-burning stove with a water boiler incorporated, which will be far more efficient. My apologies if I've mis-interpretted what you're trying to achieve...

[Archie]

AH. Nope you've got my idea right there. Good thing you told me. I figured it would burn through eventually, but not that quickly.

We have an old chippie woodburner, but our spa is quite big so it might not be enough.

Anyone got an old domestic radiator lol?

Also, just noticed smohekey's changing T-rex sayings. Good value.

[scott.mohekey]

Also, just noticed smohekey's changing T-rex sayings. Good value.

Yeah, that comic is a crack up!

[Turbo_Steve]

Archie, your best bet really is a heat exchange of some kind, or, as above, a cast radiator of some kind.

[Archie]

Yeah, it's just finding one that's the problem. There are heat exchangers from cowsheds, made of aluminium, with two paths through alternating plates for water. It's meant to cool milk down with cold water from elsewhere so:

a) I don't know how well it would heat the water from a fire under it.

b) Don't know how well it would last.

What a mission.

[wintertidenz]

How about a sheet of cast steel around the radiator to protect the plastic from melting? It would radiate the heat THROUGH the radiator.

Or... some pipes running through the fire to warm up the water... I think you mgiht might be able to use some new exhaust piping...