Update: DIY Chiller Progress

[amnesiac]

ok, where to begin. had a free week so i started putting together what little i could of the chiller. went down to home depot and got a bunch of parts that seemingly had nothing to do with each other (i told the lady at the counter i was building a time machine) including a 4x8 sheet of 3/4 ply, some casters, a vent screen, some misc pvc and hardware 8 cans of primer and some semi black and went to work.

DIY chiller

Vent hole

Intake and Outlet PVC (one isnt threaded yet)

Condenser Coils in place of vent

Inside (compressor, heat exchanger, attic fan)

theres still a bit of work to be done, but for the most part all the big stuff is complete. i actually started this a while back using 1/2 ply but after it was all assembled it just didnt seem sturdy enough so i scapped it and started again this time with the 3/4 ply. i still need to run all the copper lines, have the lines vacuumed and then charge the system with r22 (this will all be done by a professional) not to mention finish sanding and painting the rest of it. ill post more as i get more done. -anthony

 

[AZreefkeeper]

Anthony,
hope I remembered your name looks good. wouldn't it be better to place the heat exchanger outside away compressor and condenser? I've seen some of these units where the HE is placed under the tank and the rest of it is place outside or in the garage.

looking good, whats the estimated test run?

vince

 

[amnesiac]

i thought the same thing to keep air obstruction down to a minimum but i really wanted to keep it all contained for the convenience. its on casters which really makes it nice. also the attic fan REALLY moves a lot of air (its the Katrina model). i plan on test running it probably next month sometime. whenever i do ill keep you guys posted. -anthony

 

[SWSaltwater]

whats the cost been so far? and what the estimated end cost of the unit?

 

[amnesiac]

well i got real lucky with the compressor. i got that off of ebay maybe 2 years ago (planning for the future) for 35 bucks. try finding a 15000btu 1 1/4hp compressor nowadays. itll run you at the very least 175 if you find a deal. the condeser coils were about 40 bucks a pop x2 as i plan to run 2 with this big a compressor. the attic fan was 50 at home depot. the heat exchanger was 250 (this was one of the main reasons i waited on making a chiller for so long. until this one became available the cheapest one i could find for my application was a polar eyes titanium heat exchanger at 500+ off of aquaticeco.com). two start-up capacitors for the compressor at 20 and 40. a sporlan filter, a bullet filter and other misc parts off of rparts.com cost me about 80 bucks. 20 bucks worth of pvc parts and 20 bucks worth of 3/4" ply at home depot for an approximate grand total of 545.00 with maybe another 100 or so for the refridgerator repair guy i know to come and seal all the lines, vacuum the system and charge it with r22. ill still need a couple of cans of paint and primer too. try to find a chiller similarly rated for under 800. shoot try to find one similarly rated under 1500. there are none. i feel like im beating the system