Amps
[Top] [All Lists]

[Amps] water cooling

To: amps@contesting.com
Subject: [Amps] water cooling
From: "John Lyles" <jtml@losalamos.com>
Reply-to: jtml@vla.com
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:09:53 -0700
List-post: <amps@contesting.com">mailto:amps@contesting.com>
I would recommend to check into the datasheet for flow volume versus 
dissipation, if it is a well-spec'd tube.  As for size of condensor, you are 
talking vapor cooling I guess. One good source of info is to find an older 
Thomson tube catalog, when they described their vapotron cooling technique in 
the 1970s. Then they had Supervaporton. Once they went to Hypervapotron, it got 
a lot more complicated in some ways, simpler in others. For instance, no need 
for a condensor at all. But water purity and oxygen level, plus the type of 
plumbing used, became very important. This is similar to CPI's multiphase 
cooling, where the phase changes from steam to water in the water jacket of the 
anode. 

I have been using a pair of 4CW250,000B tetrodes all week as a pulsed 200 amp 
power load. No RF, just DC driven with a pulse generator. They are loading my 
plate power supply for testing, before I finish the RF amplifier that will be 
drawing that current next spring. The power supply and capacitor bank (250 uF) 
must function well together before i stick a very expensive cavity amplifier on 
the end of the cable. 

Each Eimac tetrode has 40 GPM flowing, water is about 1 Megohm-cm resistivity, 
to allow no more than a mA or so of current in each 9 foot long 1.5 inch ID 
water hose. The real amplifier will need 130 GPM in the anode, and 5 other 
water loops of < 1 GPM for filament, screen, and cavity. When water cooling 
shoot for keeping the temp rise across the anode at about 5 - 10 deg C or less, 
and keep the flow reasonable for the pipe size, using standard pipe 
calculations. Too much flow will erode fittings. Too high a resistivity will 
strip ions from fittings and cause metal to move around and get plated in 
places you'd rather not (like inside of anode or hose fittings). For hoses, 
design them as a cylindrical resistor of water, and figure out the ohms per cm 
or meter, and then just make them long enough to keep leakage small, under a mA 
if possible. Use rubber, or polymer hoses or even PVC pipe, nothing with a lot 
of dark carbon (black hose). RCA use to say something like 4 Meg ohm pe
 r kV of
plate voltage I believe. 

Happy Holidays
John 
K5PRO

> Id like to test a Class C  industrial tube (Not on a ham band!) Ive had for 
> almost 25 years when I stripped the self excited oscillator for parts. The 
> questions would be how to calculate the necessary flow volume based on plate 
> dissipation, size of condensor, suitable hosing, controls, sensors, and all 
> that good stuff.
> 
> Carl
> KM1H

_______________________________________________
Amps mailing list
Amps@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>