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I have a project to build and I want to use finned tubing (like in baseboard radiators) but I am unable to find the tubing without buying the enclosure as well.

(This is for a hobby project - I want to make a heat exchanger to take latent heat out of steam and heat fluid in the copper tubes.)

Can anyone suggest a source to buy these without the baseboard enclosure?

EDIT - the project is a "preheater" for maple syrup evaporator.

The evaporator is a firebox with pans of maple sap sitting on top. The water evaporates from the sap and leaves behind the concentrated syrup.

To improve efficiency the goal is to use the heat in the steam to preheat sap before it hits the pan - thus using wasted heat energy.

http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmaple/sappreheaters.pdf http://www.leaderevaporator.com/p-286-parallel-flow-sap-pre-heater.aspx

Sap flows from a holding tank (cold sap) through the copper tubes that are positioned over the pan and inside a hood. Then from there it goes through a float valve into the syrup pan. (hopefully at a higher temperature than when it entered the copper tubing)

Tim
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You might try a scrapyard. There are probably old radiators kicking around from people who scavenge worksites. Maybe not, though--they may have been sold off when the price of copper jumped.

Alex Feinman
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You can buy replacement parts for those baseboard heaters, although anything designed for heating isn't going to be certified food safe. Copper in general is usually clad with stainless when used for cooking, plus the solder used with copper isn't going to be food safe.

Zach
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I just found a website from Delta T, a company that sells finned aluminum piping. Hope this helps. ( I found it by typing in "finned water pipes") in Google search.

Bob
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