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Slim Jim Geo Lake Plate Review

Posted by Taylor Hendricksen on Jan 20, 2012 in Products, Reviews | 0 comments

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Review Summary

"Awesome for Pond Applications, Size Correct"

Rating

The Slim Jim® Geo Lake plate system has been called a “pond loop in a package”. It replaces the traditional method of using pond loops for a geothermal heating system by using large coils of polyurethane piping. That method was very material and labor intensive as well as difficult to do sometimes. You always had to manage the large amount of piping, submerging it, etc.

The Slim Jim® is a single, flat plate heat exchanger made of stainless steel or titanium that is meant to be submerged in a pond and used as the heat exchanger for the heat pump. My initial opinions are that this is a great idea, and fantastic alternative to the old way of doing things. It is more compact, provides better heat exchange material, is less labor intensive, and is easy to flush. One of the greatest advantages to the plates is the modular design. They can be pieced together to fit any sized job with no limit. That kind of product design is exactly what we need more of, and is a great product and business model.

Specs/Options

The heat exchanger comes in sizes 2-10 ton and can be combined together to create very large systems, and Aweb supply has images of very large systems that have these components compiled. The heat exchangers are said to have a heat transfer rate of 100 BTU per sq ft per degree Delta T in a still body of water.

The units come in either stainless steel or titanium construction.

Issues

When you use such a compact heat exchanger as compared to the traditional large amount of tubing spread out all over, different issues can arise. There has been complaints about the heat exchangers completely freezing up and gathering a sheet of ice around the outside of them right in the middle of a moderate temperature pond. This issue is the fault of the setting/application much more than the product. The size, flow, and temperature of the body of water you are putting the heat exchangers in and the sizing, pipe size and flow of the system are great variables on how well the system will work. For any geothermal system to work well, all the components must be sized properly for the system to function at its greatest potential. The pond must be large enough, have a sufficient yearlong temperature, and much consideration must go into the flow of the pond past the units. Obviously stagnant water will not be good for heat flow through the pond, and design consideration must be taken. The system must also be sized sufficiently to accommodate the compact size and heat transfer of the system. If it is too small, it will obviously freeze up and lock out the heat pumps, like any undersized geothermal earth loop would do.

Slim Jim Geo Lake Plate

Bottom Line

This product seems to be a great idea that filled a need in the industry as a better way to create a pond loop heat exchanger. It would be a great option to people who have a sufficient body of water nearby and are looking at using a pond loop system. The design is simple, therefore reliable, and can be connected together to make any sized system needed. Sufficient consideration would need to be had for sizing of everything (pond, heat exchangers, GPM flow, etc.), but once that is figured out, it can be a great way to do a pond loop heat exchanger for a geothermal heat pump system.

Links / Resources

Slim Jim® Information Homepage

Negative Review to consider (Sizing issue) - After reading everything there and the issues, it seems this system was undersized for the application. Take review with a grain of salt.