I dont feel confident I understand how the refrigeration compressor works. There is mention of plans to make youtube videos and I think that would help my understanding of it. So, I am wondering if there is an estimate of when that will happen?
I dont feel confident I understand how the refrigeration compressor works. There is mention of plans to make youtube videos and I think that would help my understanding of it. So, I am wondering if there is an estimate of when that will happen?
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As of now, I am hoping to make our first video by the end of summer 2026. We are a small team and so it is a challenge to keep up with with all our plans. But our first video will be focusing on the solar thermal compressor. Is there anything specific you would like to know that I can answer now?
I guess what I am most curious about is where the 1-3 Watts you mentioned comes from. I didn't read anything about it in the compressor or feedwater pump. can it really run on such little power? How?
Hello Boarder,
I moved your post to the Feedwater/Compressor/Generator category since this is a question about the compressor.
To explain the approximate 1-3 Watts of power. I will need to go into my design for operating Mark's machine. The book talks about how it works and how the prototype was built. It was operated by manual valves. I designed a way to control the valves with a microcontroller (computer chip) that works with sensors on the piston and operates a valve mechanism that cycles how they shut on and off as the piston moves.
Below is a screenshot of my presentation regarding this very question:
As the picture suggests, the 2 groups of valves need to alternate for this machine to function. The microcontroller manages these valves and the 2 sensors for a fully automatic system. The microcontroller (PIC32) that I chose for this project uses approximately 0.5 to 1 Watt of electricity. the sensor and valve mechanism based on the ones I chose would use between 1 and 2 watts together. This is a very rough approximation based on how fast the piston is going to move and how often as well as manufacturing reports on the parts I chose. I have not yet tested this and so I cannot be very accurate. However, it is a decent educated guess.
I hope this answered your question. Please let me know if you have any further questions or need me to elaborate more.