Frenette's heater

[lancaIV]

There is an idea from a guy named Michael Huffman,US5419306 ,
a friction heater concept,from the images easy to replicate in 3D,
as motor I would use a magnet-motor
or ,you know, the Li Yng Tyan system,US5463914 !

S
  dL 

[lancaIV]

Ron(-ald) McMurty Friction heater:
Google:Ron Mcmurty,Friction

www.motherearthnews.com
search: "The Plowboy Interview:Rex Oberhelman" or enter with "Ron McMurty"

Whitepages:
Rex Oberhelman
Fairmont,MN (507) 632 4561
I only reached his answering machine,"HERE IS REX,...."but I think that he is alive !
He is or has been a user of the McMurty Friction Heater !

S
  dL

p.s.: from the McMurty Patent publication: 25500 BTU per hour out with input
       5,5A/115V = 632,5 W
       25500 BTU X 0,293 = 7471,5W ! ( but C.O.P. ambient temperature dependant )

[lancaIV]

Some "seconds" before I spoke with Mr. Oberhelman :
a "Blue Ribbon Foundation" will do a "McMurty Heater" revival !

Probably this:  www.blueribbonfoundation.org/

S
  dL

p.s.:he also spoke of a comeback of his agriculture project.

      So dear US-guys, please call to him for more detailed info
      about the heater and plans and this "org"!           
      He also spoked about "McMurty Heater Technology" suppression !
      He gave me the org-e-mail,
      but I can not discover my own letters. ("so auf die Schnelle/Sauklaue-level")
     

[magellan]

Hello all,
  I was searching for something else and happened to come across this website and thread.

  I have spoken to Ron McMurtry at length on a few occasions. His heater not only worked, but was UL listed and independently tested to verify its efficiency. Ron really knew his stuff. He was a friend of Eugene Frenette as well.

  Unfortunately he could not compete with established conventional furnace companies for cost. His furnace used three different motors; 1, 2 or 3hp depending on heat output requirements. It also doubled as a pump which he leased to an oil company to pump a well. The main advantages to his furnace was a)safe in operation b)minimal maintenance and c)even heat. Once the unit came up to steady state, the oil circulated through a heat exchanger at 176 deg F. This assured the ambient air would not dry out, and did not require outside air for combustion (obviously). It was well suited for greenhouses as well for the same reason.

  There was no conspiracy to keep his furnace off the market, but let's face it, it's not easy or cheap to sell a brand new product. He eventually abandoned the project. I spoke with him about 4 years ago. At that time he was planning on selling complete plans for anyone wishing to build one, sell it or whatever they wish. Unfortunately I've been unsuccessful in contacting him again since that time. At the time he was ill so it's possible he's not alive now.

I too have dabbled in this type of heat. Below is a picture of a Frenette type heater that I never completed. The plan was to adapt a heat exchanger because the thing acts like a heat sink. The trick to making these work is extracting the heat. We used light weight spindle oil at about 500 RPM if I recall which yielded 385 deg F. One limiting factor is the flash point and breakdown temp of the fluid. It was an interesting project. We also started something similar to Griggs, but the funds needed to complete was excessive. 

Dimensions of the heater are 16" dia x 20" tall I believe, made from aluminum cooking pots. It sits in the garage now. We are considering building another unit replicating more closely to McMurtry's design, although the Griggs type would be another possibility.

I don't say much about this in forums because people say it's not possible to be as or more efficient than a NG/propane furnace. However, Ron had his furnace tested and it was actually cheaper than NG for reasons he could not explain, nor could the lab. He had no reason to exaggerate to me as there was nothing to gain in it for him. Perhaps when Griggs' hydrosonic heater can be explained, maybe it will explain Ron's.

Trust me folks though, there's no suppression going on.

Well, here's another urban legend to digest 
BTW, the stuff your read at fuelless.com about Frenette's furnace is pure crap. Ron laughed when I read their claims.

[rodibruno]

Hello to all:
Forgive my lexicon, I do not speak English.
I have constructed a heating type griggs, but it does not work, respect to stop 1/8 " between(among) the rotor and the exterior(foreign) shirt. We work with speeds of 1600rpm 2800rpm and 7000rpm.
We do not achieve valuable temperatures in short time.
The cylinder is 10 cm of diameter for 15cm width, the perforations are of 10mm of diameter with 8mm of depth, distributed in three rows in the whole rotating cylinder. I supported certain pressure, doing mas small the water exit that the entry with water pressure of current network(net). Can someone give me some idea of what happens?
Thank you
From Argentina
Rodolfo