Generator hot water to heat colarifier

[HOMETUNEDAVE]

I have a built in generator on my boat, it is cooled by the same skin tanks that cool the main engine,  the engine cooling water heats the colarifier, could l use the generator cooling water to heat the colarifier? ,the engine is a 1ltr 3 cylinder mitsubishi engine, would the engine water pump be big enough to circulate the water or would I need a separate 12v pump ?

[blackrose]

Wouldn't the engine cooling pump only be circulating water if the engine was running? In which case that heats the calorifier without running the generator. 

 

Does the generator cooling circuit go through the calorifier? I guess not or you wouldn't be asking the question. 

 

Without knowing the system it's difficult to tell, but it sounds like you might need a 12v pump and a bit of plumbing.

[HOMETUNEDAVE]

The generator engine has its own water pump, I was hoping that would pump sufficiently. 

[blackrose]

12 minutes ago, HOMETUNEDAVE said:

The generator engine has its own water pump, I was hoping that would pump sufficiently. 

 

Well if it pumps the water through the skin tank as you say I see no reason why it wouldn't pump it through the calorifier. Sounds like you need to do a bit of plumbing and test it.

Edited November 16, 2022 by blackrose

[IanD]

Having a calorifier heating coil for a generator is common, but this is usually a separate coil not common with anything else (e.g. heating or engine).

 

Sharing one coil could cause problems when the generator is running but not the engine (or vice versa) with backflow through whichever isn't running.

 

You could get a calorifier with an extra coil (e.g. three total).

[Jen-in-Wellies]

57 minutes ago, IanD said:

Having a calorifier heating coil for a generator is common, but this is usually a separate coil not common with anything else (e.g. heating or engine).

 

Sharing one coil could cause problems when the generator is running but not the engine (or vice versa) with backflow through whichever isn't running.

 

You could get a calorifier with an extra coil (e.g. three total).

The OP says that the engine and generator share the same skin tanks already, so running the generator circuit through the cauliflower coil first should be fine. The engine sends only part of its coolant through the calorifier, with a seperate circuit between engine top and the water pump to the circuit that goes through the skin tank. Depending on the size of the pipes that the generator coolant runs in, it might be worth also dividing it in to two loops, in case the calorifier coil is too restrictive on the flow from the generator and cause it to overheat. In that case, you'd want a thermostat in the generator to skin tank circuit, as the engine has, to ensure that hot water is sent to the cauliflower in preference till the generator is up to temperature. Depending on the generator, it probably already has such a thermostat and may have a take off point that can be used to supply the calorifier. Otherwise, if the calorifier coil can take the full generator flow, then a single generator, calorifier, skin tank, return to engine circuit could be used. A two way valve could be used between engine and generator calorifier circuits to prevent any back flow issues. This might even be automated, so it selects either engine, or generator, depending on which is running. Say a solonoid valve that defaults to engine and switches to generator, when the generator is started.

Jen

 

Did you mean to put a screen shot of the restuarant booking in your post?

[Alan de Enfield]

41 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Did you mean to put a screen shot of the restuarant booking in your post?

 

 

Now the whole world knows his house will be unoccupied and will be full of Christmas 'cheer' and other goodies on the 22nd Dececember at 8:30pm.

(Maybe just leave the key in the door to safe unwanted damage to doors or windows).

[IanD]

3 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

[snip]

 

Did you mean to put a screen shot of the restuarant booking in your post?

 

No, and I've got no idea how it got there either !!! Probably a push notification (that I didn't ask for!) while I was composing the post... 😞

2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Now the whole world knows his house will be unoccupied and will be full of Christmas 'cheer' and other goodies on the 22nd Dececember at 8:30pm.

(Maybe just leave the key in the door to safe unwanted damage to doors or windows).

 

That would make a nice dinner for the rottweiler then... 😉

Edited November 16, 2022 by IanD

[GUMPY]

6 hours ago, IanD said:

That would make a nice dinner for the rottweiler then... 😉

Nothing a tranquilizer gun wouldn't sort out. 

[36national]

Bit mean to shoot his dog on his birthday: respec:

but  to return to topic

In the OP you write skin tanks plural. Are you certain that there isn't one tank for the propulsion engine

and the other tank is separate and for the generator? 

If the engine water heats the cauliflower and the tanks are connected then generator water  heats the

cauliflower too, probably a very inefficient system, but If presume that the 3 pot Missibissi you mentioned

is the generator engine not the propulsion engine then you are probably better off

using y meaty generator to power an immersion heater. (unless you got a gas boiler too) 

This makes using the cauliflower  pretty much academic.

If the engines are on separate circuits could you use the generator water to feed a run of radiators and 

a nice heated towel rail.

Might be a piping dream.

 

 

 

 

[peterboat]

30 minutes ago, 36national said:

Bit mean to shoot his dog on his birthday: respec:

but  to return to topic

In the OP you write skin tanks plural. Are you certain that there isn't one tank for the propulsion engine

and the other tank is separate and for the generator? 

If the engine water heats the cauliflower and the tanks are connected then generator water  heats the

cauliflower too, probably a very inefficient system, but If presume that the 3 pot Missibissi you mentioned

is the generator engine not the propulsion engine then you are probably better off

using y meaty generator to power an immersion heater. (unless you got a gas boiler too) 

This makes using the cauliflower  pretty much academic.

If the engines are on separate circuits could you use the generator water to feed a run of radiators and 

a nice heated towel rail.

Might be a piping dream.

 

 

 

 

My generator heats water and will power up the central heating, it feeds into the heat store, I don't use the skin tank, the amount of coolant and radiators seems to cool things down nicely.