Aaron J. Grier wrote:

 > On Thu, Aug 09, 2001 at 11:33:49PM -0700, Carlini, Antonio wrote:
 >
 >>They say this one came with their building :-)
 >>
 >>http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1625704207
 >>
 >>It's not a VAX 6000 but it would be cool to own (and it might even be
 >>supported by NetBSD).
 >>
 >>$10 and no reserve (but shipping might be an issue I guess).
 >>
 >
 > shipping?  I'd be more worried about power and cooling requirements.
 > 8650 is ECL: my catalog says 22,000 BTU/hr...  not something for the
 > basement without serious air conditioning.  :)


Actually I was thinking about how this could be made to fit in a
home. Especially if you have a total electric home. You might
want to replace this one for your furnace like in the following
drawing:

BEFORE

      +--------
      |  +----- >> AIR OUT
      |  |
      |  |
    +-+  +
    |    |
    |    | FURNACE
    |    |
    |    +-----
    |    +----- << AIR IN
    +----+

AFTER
              +-----------------
              |  +-------------- >> AIR OUT
              |  |
    +---------+  +---------+
    | VAX 8650             |
    |                      |
    |                      |
    |                      |
    |                      |
    |                      +----
    |                      +---- << AIR IN
    +----------------------+

I am not sure how an electrical furnace would compare with a
VAX 8650 in terms of heat (1) production, (2) efficiancy, and
(3) total power uptake, and (4) plower air throughput. In the
best case the furnace would take more energy but produce the
same amount of heat over the intermittent period that it is
running. You could then swap in the VAX that would produce
less heat but would run continuously. If the numbers come
close, this might be a project to pursue. I have to replace
my furnace in the next few years anyway... however, mine is
natural gas. Any way to run the VAX on natual gas?

cheers,
-Gunther


-- 
Gunther Schadow, M.D., Ph.D.                    gschadow@regenstrief.org
Medical Information Scientist      Regenstrief Institute for Health Care
Adjunct Assistant Professor        Indiana University School of Medicine
tel:1(317)630-7960                         http://aurora.regenstrief.org