SpudFiles

Just wondering if this could be used as a steam boiler.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Black-Aluminu ... 531wt_1085

Water would be fed in, and the heating source underneath the radiator (firebox, propane etc) would heat the water to steam in no time at all due to the very high surface area correct?

nope, mythbusters tried it

oh, I cant find a video of the particular episode, care to post a link?

thanks

Uh, if it's heated past 212 degrees F, and the energy input is maintained, it'll turn water to steam very rapidly.

But I'm not sure how fast you actually want the steam to be produced. That depends on your heater. It takes about 2.26 kilojoules to boil a gram of water, assuming the water is already near 212F.

Your weak link in heat transfer is between the fire and the boiler, not the boiler and the water. I'd use the exchanger to capture energy rather than distribute it, taking care not to melt the thing.

I just wanted to use it as a quick test bed, since building a mini copper mono tube boiler would cost an arm and a leg at the moment. As for heat I would use a vaporising alcohol burner.

i think it would be best though to pass a hot flame underneath the radiator, so that the hot gases would rise between. the fins and boil the water.