DIY Chiller for smaller/nano tank

[Jaguar]

Welp while you guys were sleeping I was trying my hand at playing with electrical wires. For my particular needs I used:

2 Coolworks Ice Probe Thermoelectric Water Chiller ($78.10)
1 ATX Computer Power Supply
Electrical Tape
Heat Shrink Tape (electrical safe) ($3)

2 PCI Adapter Cables (one per probe) ($3)
These should have one male part and one female part each with 4 wire prongs and fit perfectly with the 4 part on your power supply.

1 25ft roll of 18 gauge electric wire (optional)
Heat Sink Compound
Zip Ties (4") ($2)
1 very small power switch (about the size of your thumb) ($3)
2 90mm computer fan covers ($3)
Screwdrivers, soldering gun, solder, and a lighter
and the most important part a
10 Ohm, 10 Watt wirewound resistor ($1)

Now if you buy the $110 model of Ice Probe this is all done for you. However I just happened to come across a guy on ebay that sold me 2 probes for, well as you see $78.10 shipped. This entire project cost me under $100 for two.

I apologize in advance for the bad photography. I just happened to leave my camera at home and we went of of what camera we had and my cell phone camera.

All junk on the table top:

The model I received didn't have a fan cover on it, and I wanted to add one. So first I took off all 4 screws which attach the fan to the heatsink part and placed the fan guard over it and screwed the screws all back in. The photo on the left is the before, and the photo on the right is the after.

Then I wanted to make sure that the open parts were insulated so if touched no one would get shocked. So I just put about a 1 1/2" piece of electrical tape on it. We wanted to see what was inside so we took it apart. It's apparently the thermometer so it doesn't overheat. At least that's what we think. Left side is the after, right is the before this time.

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST. DUE TO IMAGES IT HAD TO BE SPLIT UP.

 

[Jaguar]

While I was doing this stuff. My friend, who without his help none of this would be possible, was opening the power supply and looking at the cords inside to see which is the ground, which is the 12v and which is the power cord.

He cuts all the wires that are attached to anything except 4 wire plastic casing. He then finds the power cord, ground cord. and 12v cord. I would personally look up your individual power supply online for the specs, wire information, and color. We had to. He then takes the large bundle of cut wires and puts shrink wrap tubing on the end of them to insulate them. You can also use electrical tape. Make sure you cut the wires short enough they do not get caught in the fan that keeps the power supply cool and fit in the case once you close it back up.

After finding the ground wire and the 12v wire we find a spot inside the case for mounting the resistor. Preferably somewhere on the grill side so that air flow can get to it easily. It will get extreamly hot. After finding a spot we then solder one side to the 12v wire and the other to the ground wire. (Okay actually he did all the soldering.) We then put shrink wrap over all solderings to insulate it. NOTE: The shrink wrap has to be precut and put one wire totally through *before* solderings are made so that after soldering you can just side it right over. If you forget you can always just put electrical tape over it too.

Then before mounting this is very important place the heat sink compound on any metal surfaces your resistor will touch. Apply generously. If you don't put this on it will explode when it overheats. Attach and hold your resistor where you will be zip tying it.

Zip tie any lose wires inside your power supply and clip your zip ties to make things look tidy. This serves two purposes. It looks nice and it allows air to travel easier inside your power supply preventing overheating and/or allowing it to cool better.

Then you get to make your on/off switch. This is apparently not nessasary, but it makes things nicer if you can actually turn your unit(s) off without having to pull the cord out of the wall everytime.

This particular switch we used is a push button switch. (It actually didn't work and we had to remove it and change the switch to a pull cord type used on ceiling fans.) Light switches are too big due to the fact that they have to go in a very already cramped power supply. But for photos I just went with the first switch. An ideal switch is a small metal flicking type.

First we solder the power cord to one side and the ground into the other. I believe we found two ground cords in the power supply. Then we put shrink wrap over all soldering connections. Don't forget this must be precut and placed on the wire before solderings are done. We actually had to make sure it covered the metal prongs on the first power switch. Most switches come with wires of some sort and you just have to solder the wires from power switch to power cord in the power supply and ground in the power supply. Shrink wrap or tape your solderings. NOTE: Some power supply's come with on/off switches already.

[/img]http://www.shakahnsgrove.com/tanks/diychil11.jpg[/img]

Unfortunately we started to get a bit tired and some photos are missing as we got excited that things were coming together.

Find a place to put your power switch where you can access it from the outside. If no where else the gap where you cut most of the wires out initially should fit it.

Double and triple check all your loose wiring and solderings to make sure you've insulated them. Close up your power supply and run to the electrical outlet to see if it works.

If your fan turns you didn't break it, if not try turning it on. Then off, hopefully it works.

(Pictures lacking) Put your power supply away for now. Turn to your ice probe now. You should have 4 wires about 8" long 2 red, 2 black. Temporarily twist both red wires together. Repeat with black wires. Get your PCI Adapter Cables and cut off the female part leaving you with the male part and a long wire attached. Cut off your 5v wire and shrink wrap or electrical tape the stray end. Solder one pair of red wires (Ice Probe wires) to the 12v on the male plastic housing of the PCI adapter. NOTE: Make sure that when you connect the plugs the wires on both ends of the plug match. Both grounds should be on mirrored the opposite side of the plug. Same for the 12v wire so that proper cords are properly connected when plugs are combined. Failure to do so will fry your Ice Probe. Insulate solder with shrink wrap or electric tape (I can't stress this enough.) Solder the black pair of wires (Ice Probe wires) to the grounding pair of wires on PCI adapter male plastic housing. Insulate your solder. At this point I personally didn't like having 2-4 separate wires before my plastic plug. I just electrical taped it all together and made my own electrical cord 100% insulated.

Finished Ice Probe with a cord:

Now before you take it and your power supply over to the electric outlet and plug it all in becareful where you point the tip of the ice probe. Ice Probes create an invisible thermal-electric plasma stream from their tip. You can actually see the tip of the air get fuzzy if you look closely.

I actually had to wire two ice probes, but should you need to just repeat the process above. One power supply can safely run about 4 ice probes.

I had a blast and I hope this helps anyone trying to save money on those $110+ each already aquarium ready sets. Doing it yourself is way more fun, messy, rewarding, and let's not forget cheap. I'm going to go fill up my tank and stick these things in it to see how many degrees they cool it off now.

 

[TroyPierce]

Ice Probes create an invisible thermal-electric plasma stream from their tip

Thanks for the good laugh.