Some people have commented that a flow rate of 1 L/s is rather high, or that you might not be able to achieve it, or that it might be difficult to meter. These comments are incorrect. I have a large bathtub with an unimpeded faucet close to the house water main that fills this fast. (I mean there is no filter inside it, to catch pebbles and whatnot.) In a commercial real estate building the water main is large and can easily flow this fast.
1 L/s = 60 L/min = 15 gallons per minute (GPM). Here is a typical flow meter for a house, building or submeter application (an apartment or or single boiler): http://assuredautomation.com/WM/ This kind of meter costs $50 to $100. As you see, they have models ranging from 20 gpm to 160 gpm. This shows the instantaneous flow rate and it records total consumption on an odometer, which goes up to 10 million gallons. Billions of meters like this are in use worldwide. They are extremely reliable. So it is not difficult or unusual to measure flow rates in this range. As I mentioned, 1 L/s was a little high for a 16 kW reactor, but it was the right choice for the 130 kW excursion. Perhaps that means Rossi triggered that excursion deliberately, just to show how hot this reactor can get. I would aim for a high temperature between 30°C and 40°C. Calorimetric precision starts to degrade above that. As far as I know, most hot water heaters for houses and apartments do not go above 45°C. I would not recommend such high temperatures. Japanese baths are sometimes that hot. They usually have stand-alone, in-bath heaters. The same water is used by different family members. They wash outside the tub. So it is re-heated between baths. Many Japanese tubs are fed directly by solar heaters which get quite hot, even by 8 am in summer. (Too hot for me to shower with.) They can be dangerous. Water or hot beverages above 60°C can cause serious injuries in 5 or 10 seconds of exposure. 80°C is a lot worse. The famous McDonalds hot coffee lawsuit was caused by coffee held at 88°C, which nearly killed the victim, and caused extensive permanent injuries and a huge hospital bill which McDonalds refused to pay. Keeping or selling coffee at this temperature is insane. People at home generally serve coffee at around 60°C. See: http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm QUOTE: "Plaintiffs' expert, a scholar in thermodynamics applied to human skin burns, testified that liquids, at 180 degrees (82°C), will cause a full thickness burn to human skin in two to seven seconds. Other testimony showed that as the temperature decreases toward 155 degrees (68°C), the extent of the burn relative to that temperature decreases exponentially." - Jed
