DIY Ghetto-Fab Chiller under $20

[rc51sport]

Originally Posted by TorturedSoul

Air-to-(liquid-filled-)Cu seemed rather inefficient as far as transfer of heat without fabricating some sort of heat-exchanger out of an old heater core or intercooler.

A large bowl of water that the coiled Cu was placed in seemed like a (crude) form of heat-exchanger. Although something with fins or other surface area would of course be better.

you beat me to it, exactly what i was thinking... this takes me back to my PC overclocking/cooling days.

was thinking the same about using an old heater core


also i would say that the white paint would insulate the warm water in the copper line or hose a small bit and keep it from cooling it most efficiently (not that it wont work that way) also i would say have the copper line about an inch away from the cooler walls all around (to maximize surface area to be cooled) and wind the coil tighter from the middle of the cooler to the bottom (cooler water will sink) this way you can get that water to travel the greater bit of its journey in the coldest part of the cooler

or even take an old heater core, build a baffle around it and screw it to a box fan, might knock off a couple deg that way

just saying this to give ideas on maybe easily improving the design if you want. i have no res to cool so im not even gonna try building one lol
good luck

[Wolfbuddie]

I am constantly amazed at the ingenuity of people on this website when it comes problem solving. Kuddos on the idea and the design and especially on the price. + rep

hit it once for me!

[SouthernWeed]

Nice adaptation of an idea that's been in use for hundreds of years...you've adapted a distilation "worm" to a res chiller. nice!

[teamgilly]

i tried it and it leaked, i have to hone my skills more. i think ill just put both in and out on top and snake the hose under the water. what do you think

[munki]

Originally Posted by TorturedSoul

Drill hole into fridge. Run copper tubing from reservoir pump into fridge, coil it into a large bowl of water in the fridge, back into reservoir.

Why not just put the whole reservoir into an old fridge bought at a garage sale, set up kind of like a Keg-O-Rator. Temps could be dialed in and there is less surface area for heat to leak in. Scour Craigslist for a while and a good candidate should pop up.

Yeah, I know it would be more than $20 bucks, but should be had for less than $100

[Hackk]

I was just thinking the same thing Monki... Went on craigslist and found mini-fridges going for around $40. Figure run the tubing around the inside of the fridge, and the beers will help keep it cooler so the fridge has to work less. Yeah, electric bill will go up a bit, but if you seal it well it should help. I think the trade off is better for those that dont have an ice machine already....

[munki]

Originally Posted by Hackk

I was just thinking the same thing Monki... Went on craigslist and found mini-fridges going for around $40. Figure run the tubing around the inside of the fridge, and the beers will help keep it cooler so the fridge has to work less. Yeah, electric bill will go up a bit, but if you seal it well it should help. I think the trade off is better for those that dont have an ice machine already....

All the beers can do is work as a temp buffer. They do not actively cool. Getting the cooling elements from the fridge and putting it directly into the rez would work too just looks messy. Remember, the refrigerator is only a heat pump, chilling the interior and pumping the heat out to the outside so the fridge needs to be in a place that the surrounding air can vent to the outside. Cannot destroy the heat energy.

[Jamahl]

Originally Posted by eScott

Here's my interior after sealing the hose into place and a couple coats of white plastic spraypaint to give it the "fridge look" lol




This is powered by a small pump I have for draining res's. Any small pump is good. The idea is to let the nutes flow through the chiller as slow as possible, accelerating cooling. a small aquarium powerhead would work fine. The only time in hydro where smaller is OK lol

The brilliance of this is that if set up at the same height as the Res, the fact that hot water is less dense than cold water will actually cause the whole system to circulate without a pump at all.....

[munki]

Originally Posted by Jamahl

The brilliance of this is that if set up at the same height as the Res, the fact that hot water is less dense than cold water will actually cause the whole system to circulate without a pump at all.....

You will want to test that theory before using in a grow. The flow may not be sufficient and pumps are very cheap.

[Jamahl]

Originally Posted by munki

You will want to test that theory before using in a grow. The flow may not be sufficient and pumps are very cheap.

Yes i get what your saying munki, and yes i would probably have a pump on it....just thought it was cool that it would actually work without one. I like things that are simple and have no moving parts. (you can do the same thing with solar panels and a indoor water tank to heat your house on sunny winter days if the solar panels are located downslope of the house.....no valves to shut off if its cold and no pump to make it work).

[munki]

Originally Posted by Jamahl

Yes i get what your saying munki, and yes i would probably have a pump on it....just thought it was cool that it would actually work without one. I like things that are simple and have no moving parts. (you can do the same thing with solar panels and a indoor water tank to heat your house on sunny winter days if the solar panels are located downslope of the house.....no valves to shut off if its cold and no pump to make it work).

Then you will love the wick cloner.

Wick Cloner: simple, cheap, and effective

No moving parts, highly effective, and very cheap to "operate".

[Jamahl]

Originally Posted by munki

Then you will love the wick cloner.

Wick Cloner: simple, cheap, and effective

No moving parts, highly effective, and very cheap to "operate".

Yep Munki love the cloner...simple and effective.

Thanks for pointing me to it.