J_Geisinger000
New member
has anyone made a diy chiller some how
Im trying to get some ideas to make one
Im trying to get some ideas to make one
diy chiller
- Thread starter J_Geisinger000
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BruiseAndy
New member
Those usually have copper tubing in them.
J_Geisinger000
New member
Yeah they prolly do use copper tubing in them
cause I was thinking of using a minnie fridge but the coils in those are copper too
cause I was thinking of using a minnie fridge but the coils in those are copper too
J_Geisinger000
New member
guess I'll just have to reak down and buy one
BruiseAndy
New member
Unless you have access to a cheap window unit, titanium heat exchanger, and a fair amount of A/C knowledge a DIY chiller that will work right is not really feasible.
ichthyophile
New member
you can buy an aluminum transmission radiator from summit, and pass air through it with fans, unless you really need active refrigeration.
BruiseAndy
New member
salt water will eat the aluminum
hot4teacher
New member
Use the mini fridge to drop treated ice cubes into the sump. 
I guess you'll need the ice maker that feeds through the door. 
I guess you'll need the ice maker that feeds through the door. A cheap solution is to use a small refrigerator (like the ones in college dorms) and run plain garden hose in it. Several feet (I run about 60-70 feet) of the tube, and a small pump to feed the water through it slowly.
I drilled two holes on the side of the fridge, one gets the warm water input from the sump (the small pump pushes sump water into the fridge) and the other hole is the cooller water exiting the fridge back into the sump.
My set up drop the water's temp up to 3-4 degrees (centigrade) on the warmest days, sometimes it's enough, sometimes it's not. It all depends on how hot is hot for your setup!?
I drilled two holes on the side of the fridge, one gets the warm water input from the sump (the small pump pushes sump water into the fridge) and the other hole is the cooller water exiting the fridge back into the sump.
My set up drop the water's temp up to 3-4 degrees (centigrade) on the warmest days, sometimes it's enough, sometimes it's not. It all depends on how hot is hot for your setup!?
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
mmbuna I hate to jump all over you but....
The dorm fridge will not work. It simply does not have the capacity to cool even the most modest tank and heat load. Even your example shows that it does not. "sometimes it's enough, sometines it's not" Your statement means that the dorm fridge is ruuning 24.7 to try and keep up. This is not energy efficient or condusive to a long compressor life. What I am saying is that for a lot less energy you could use evaporative cooling to drop the tank the same amount.
Also:
You said you run the water "slowly". Actually the faster the water runs through the tube, the more efficient the system is. The larger hte heat differential between the water and the chiller, the faster the heat is removed. Assuming the unit is already undersized, you want "warmer" tank water moved into the unit FASTER, not SLOWER. This may sound counter intuitive, but simple thermodynaimcs shows that it is the best way to move a fluid through a chilling (or heating) system.
A window shaker is a beter fit, but will take a fair amount of work to convert.
The dorm fridge will not work. It simply does not have the capacity to cool even the most modest tank and heat load. Even your example shows that it does not. "sometimes it's enough, sometines it's not" Your statement means that the dorm fridge is ruuning 24.7 to try and keep up. This is not energy efficient or condusive to a long compressor life. What I am saying is that for a lot less energy you could use evaporative cooling to drop the tank the same amount.
Also:
You said you run the water "slowly". Actually the faster the water runs through the tube, the more efficient the system is. The larger hte heat differential between the water and the chiller, the faster the heat is removed. Assuming the unit is already undersized, you want "warmer" tank water moved into the unit FASTER, not SLOWER. This may sound counter intuitive, but simple thermodynaimcs shows that it is the best way to move a fluid through a chilling (or heating) system.
A window shaker is a beter fit, but will take a fair amount of work to convert.
J_Geisinger000
New member
Im trying to think of how you would covert a window shaker
I am a refrigeration tech so I do have a good background in this
butI build grocery stores at work this is a little different lol
I am a refrigeration tech so I do have a good background in this
butI build grocery stores at work this is a little different lol
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
You will need to replace the copper cooling coil with a titanium coil. You will also need add a suitable expansion valve (the one on the unit is not likely going to work) and tune the systems superheat a bit differently. The titanium coil emersed in water will tend to reheat the coolant A LOT FASTER and you will need to compensate for that. Otherwise you will slug the compressor with liquid coolant instead of vapor.
There are some good threads around here where some gurus have set these up.
There are some good threads around here where some gurus have set these up.
GROSSR
Active member
Try if you want to use a fan.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=617581&highlight=cooling
rich
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=617581&highlight=cooling
rich
Re: diy chiller
I made a very good one out of an air dehumidifier, but it was for freshwater. Making it reef safe could be a major hassle:
http://home.online.no/~joobjoer/eng_diy/chiller/chiller.html
I made a very good one out of an air dehumidifier, but it was for freshwater. Making it reef safe could be a major hassle:
http://home.online.no/~joobjoer/eng_diy/chiller/chiller.html
