I learned a hell of a lot building my first test bench. However I am not satisfied with it's construction and usability. What I want suggestions on is:
1) die sim construction
2) acceptable flow meter
3) acceptable pressure meter
and anything else you might want to chime in on.
Equipment I have right now:
1)
Cole Parmer Thermometer
2)
Cystal Fonts CF633
3)
Gen-X Mak4 1190GPH Pump
That is pretty much everything I have that I could use in the new bench. I have a 24VDC 15 amp power supply (2 12V in series) and a little 12V 3amp supply.
My current die sim is in the attached pic. I have a YSI 703 probe on there on the right. That is 5/32" diameter and is just to big. I want to pick up some 423's or similar. Should be a little better. I would raise the step the probe is in above the rest of the die slug to better represent die temp. On the left is a CF633 probe for redundancy. I have a watlow 1/4" x 2" 40VDC 150watt max heater cartridge in there running at 24VDC to get approx 70watts. I would like to change this to a AC heater cartridge found on mcmaster and make it variable from 50watts to 150watts. I havn't figured out how to do that with a AC cartridge though. I seem to remember some saying they can be run DC though?????
My radiator fan combo is a 1990 ford F-150 heater core with a cardboard shroud with a 86CFM Panaflow 120mm fan. It actually works pretty good at keeping water temp approx 2C over ambient.
I need input on pressure differential measurement. I have pondered using a manometer? Something like this:
http://testproducts.com/safecart/pro...18fa3505d2b804
Can that be used with water though? I assume water will never get the meter anyway. I have little idea how to best hook that up. That is the least expensive route I can think of.
Once I get a drawing of the new die sim I have in mind I will post it here. I am also wanting to know what die size to go with? 10mm? 11mm? 12mm?