Unobtanium

[shadygrady]

Wow! I've been searching for copper heatexchangers for my van engine cooled unit. Hoping to get a good used set at a reasonable price. Cleanco/AquaTech style. Priced a pair of new ones. 25' coiled, ready to install...$444.00 cdn each. Was told the copper used is a special thick-wall material, due to the vibrations and pulsations in this application. Seems like a small fortune for 50' of material.
I had a pair built for me locally years ago that are still going strong, but the guy is no longer with us. He made them up for $300.00 for the pair.
Any suggestions?

 

[John Olson]

Buy the ones that are ready to go. You will spend more time and lose more money if you are down searching then you will possibly save and you might not even find them cheaper and still have to come back and buy them and the person selling them might have sold the ones they had and the next ones cost more or may take longer to get in etc. But that's just my opinion

 

[shadygrady]

Thanks John. I phoned the supplier directly after posting this to order replacement coils and was told they were "absolutely 100% discontinued.

 

[GeneMiller]

The price of copper has sky rocketed in the last couple of years. The last time i had my radiator recored it was twice the previous time and maybe a little more. Call hotheatexchanger and have some made. Don't go cheap on your machine your asking for trouble

Gene

 

[shadygrady]

My reservoirs are 6" wide by 12" tall. The copper coils are about 10" with a centre opening that would probably be wrapped around a 3" pipe to fabricate. I haven't seen any Cleanco exchangers, but they must be very similar in dimensions, because the guy wanted to sell me a new pair at $2265 cdn. I won`t cheap out, but its a big step from coils to complete replacement. I would be very disappointed to find out that the Cleanco exchangers were the same as what I have, seeing that they were patterned after the AquaTech . I had a feeling after talking to the guy that I was hitting a wall, I mean its copper, they`re bending it every day, if mine are an inch shorter or could they not adjust to accommodate. There were enough AquaTechs made for Esteam to buy the company out and roll it into Cleanco, so why not order up a few AquaTech coils for the owners to maintain their machines.
Just saying.