Would this make a good air compressor aftercooler?

[mcj115]

I have this radiator which was removed from my houses off peak heating system when I replaced the HVAC a few years back. The radiator measures is 20"x 30" x 3" the input and output lines are 3/4" and the radiator has a copper core.

Would it be safe to use this as an air compressor after cooler which has a max pressure of 135 PSI? As this was designed to hold hot water at lower pressure I am sure of the risk if any of putting it up to 135 PSI.

I assume I an just solder on NPT fittings to make this part of the overall compressor system

 

[RacerX]

Does it have a tag anywhere on it showing the ratings?

I would think it would be fine. You're talking about using it between the pump and tank, correct?

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[Jswain]

If there's no ratings on it fill it with water first(very important) then pressure test it to 250-300psi using either a pressure washer or a grease gun.

If it does fail it will not be violent, like it would filled with air.

 

[The Cobbler]

hot water heating is usually about 15psi. not sure how thick the copper would be, but I would be leary on using a coil designed for liquid @ 15 psi on compressed air at 135 psi

 

[metlmunchr]

It should be fine. Hot water fin tube baseboard is made from about the thinnest wall tubing you'll find, yet when you dig thru Slantfin's product literature, its rated for a working pressure of 195-200 psi.

I would pressure test it though since its a used coil, in case any sort of boiler flush chemicals might have been used in the past that could have affected the interior of the tubing. 200 psi would be adequate as that would be 1.5 times the max working pressure for the OP's application.

The coil should be connected to the compressor with hydraulic hoses or some other type of flexible connectors suitable for the temperature and pressure so as to isolate the coil from the vibrations of the compressor.

Also, with a 3" thick coil and close fin spacing, you'll need to fabricate a fan shroud to direct the air thru the coil. Simply aiming a propeller fan at the coil and blowing air at it won't accomplish much as the majority of the air will see the coil as a wall and bypass it rather than flowing thru it.

Properly implemented, that coil should bring the compressed air temp very close to ambient on most any home shop size compressor.