DIY Chiller
- Thread starter tyronvs
- Start date
Looks like part of my garage. LOL 
Elaborate a little more on what you are trying to do and how you envisage the end product. Also what old refrigeration compressor you are going yo use.
Elaborate a little more on what you are trying to do and how you envisage the end product. Also what old refrigeration compressor you are going yo use.
Looks like part of my garage. LOL
Elaborate a little more on what you are trying to do and how you envisage the end product. Also what old refrigeration compressor you are going yo use.
Its a 12000 Btu A.C. I coiled a 6m s/s brake pipe as my chilling coil inside the blue 90mm water pipe. So water will run from the top of the T on left in the pipe to the 90 bend on the right top. Ill conect the s/steel pipe to the side of the A.C
Wow what is the compressor HP rating ?
Yup that is my concern. The compressor may be tooooo big for the volume of water you want to chill. You ideally want a 1/2 HP compressor for that volume of water. A compressor that will chill to quickly will give you hysteresis issues when trying to maintain a steady temperature. Find out what the HP of the compressor is before going too far with the project. But yeah if the compressor does not chill to aggressively.
As far as I can remember it is about 1.5HP electric use. Expect over 4HP cooling capability
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HOT SAUCE
If Im not their shepherd then I must be the Wolf
looks interesting.. wouldn't a thermostat fix the issue of over chilling ?
I have I digital one so I thought it would be more exact.
OK let's look at this analogy. We use a 400lph pump to top off our sumps. This supply's water at a slow rate to keep the water level in the sump. Now if we used a swimming pool pump as the top off pump, as soon as the switch starts the top off the sump will flood and overflow. The same will happen with temperature.
Also the cost of running (stop start) a compressor of that size is extremely expensive.
The idea is great but IMO I would look for a more suitable compressor.
Also the cost of running (stop start) a compressor of that size is extremely expensive.
The idea is great but IMO I would look for a more suitable compressor.
I have another option, Use the chiller coil to cool a liquid like plain water or a gel. In this water or gel coil a pipe in which the aquarium water is pumped through.
This will ensure that you do not get any metal in your tank as well as build a heat sink that can put a bit of hysteresis into the system.
If you keep the chiller coils and the plastic pipe in close proximity and you isolate the whole" heat exchanges" you might even have good thermal efficiency.
Also note that you do not want to start the compressor to close in time after you stopped it. I would recommend a minimum off time of about 5 min.
This will ensure that you do not get any metal in your tank as well as build a heat sink that can put a bit of hysteresis into the system.
If you keep the chiller coils and the plastic pipe in close proximity and you isolate the whole" heat exchanges" you might even have good thermal efficiency.
Also note that you do not want to start the compressor to close in time after you stopped it. I would recommend a minimum off time of about 5 min.
You can get the gist of the power and flow you require from here.
http://www.hailea.com/e-hailea/product1/HC-500A.htm
http://www.hailea.com/e-hailea/product1/HC-500A.htm
That will certainly work as I built one out of an office water cooler. ZBut it is big, heavy, expensive, uses a lot of power and is complicated. I built a much simpler one. An evaporative cooler where water flows across the plates and a fan evaporates the water. It was to small for my tank and was just a test but it cooled my 100 gallon tank about 4 degrees for practically free. If I made it twice as large it would be perfect. Now I use LEDs on my tank and don't need the chiller for my main tank and more so I use it on my worm tank.
That will certainly work as I built one out of an office water cooler. ZBut it is big, heavy, expensive, uses a lot of power and is complicated. I built a much simpler one. An evaporative cooler where water flows across the plates and a fan evaporates the water. It was to small for my tank and was just a test but it cooled my 100 gallon tank about 4 degrees for practically free. If I made it twice as large it would be perfect. Now I use LEDs on my tank and don't need the chiller for my main tank and more so I use it on my worm tank.
If I used that here ill have no water left in my tank. Humidity
I live in Long Island New York where our humidity in the summer is usually between 80% and 95%. My water system on the tank is automatic.
HOT SAUCE
If Im not their shepherd then I must be the Wolf
what if you make the box where the plates and the fan is closed except for a hole from which the fan can blow in the cool air.. like that the water that evaporates will condensate on the top and drip back into the cooler
a CHILLER is about 200w i think that unit you using will be just under 2kw!!
you will just need to regulate the temp so heater will work full time! just need to sort temp regulation issues out then it should be 100s set the remote to 28 and see what happens LOL
you will just need to regulate the temp so heater will work full time! just need to sort temp regulation issues out then it should be 100s set the remote to 28 and see what happens LOL