DIY Trench radiator?

[Tim Downie]

I've got a space below a breakfast bar where I quite fancy putting a trench radiator. I'm not planning on adding forced convection with a fan, just a passive radiator. (I think it might warm up the "knee space" nicely).

Anyhow, they look a bit pricey and I wondered if I could do anything myself with a few (say 4 to 6) lengths of 15mm copper pipe. Clearly standard pipe isn't too clever for radiating heat so I was wondering if there was any easy DIY way of adding finning. Alternatively I suppose I could use heaps of microbore but I've never played with that.

The trench would be about 2m long and I'd be happy to use any sort of off-the-peg grill although I might DIY that too with some slats.

Any suggestions for finning and/or grill?

Tim

[The Natural Philosopher]

Yes. Look at car oil coolers and auxiliary radiators.

Ok theu are NORMALLY meant for blown applications, but even unblown you get a lot of surface area in a small space.

If you have a local scrappy go looking for either small cars, or some performance stuff that has these. Maany are meant for oil, but they are still copper and can be soldered to conventional piping.

[Cicero]

================================== A new use for an old idea:

[1501]

Hardly worth trying to make your own at =A346/mtr.

[Cicero]

================================== Hardly going to break the bank for a couple of metres!

Cic.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Fabulous.

Stuff like that is so useful to know that it EXISTS never mind where to get it.

[Rod]

Bet they'd have gone down well in France 1914-18.

[The Natural Philosopher]

It was mainly BELGIUM actually..

[Rod]

I think my reading has focussed mainly on France for various reasons - but I think you are quite right.

[geoff]

Flanders mostly

in fact