DIY DIY Water Chiller

[Monkeypox]

Just curious as to why you think you need to chill your water btw . Having run hydro setups , I never had to chill my water . Res was in adjoining room at room temp . Water does not stay within the system under the lights long enough to raise the temp any appreciable amount .

 

[Gage]

So i'm sure this has already been mentioned but by the time i finished the question I already Had an idea.

Material

Get a Styrofoam Cooler such as
View attachment 34026

Large rubber maid or trashcan to hold the water you want to chill
View attachment 34028

small water pump to move water through small copper coil.
View attachment 34029
Lots of copper tubing in one piece

Dry Ice.


Digital Aquarium Water heater.


Safety Gloves and Eye Protection

Rubber tubing

Water Thermometer.

Heavy duty Timer (help regulate temp)


What To Do With It All

Step 1) Crush dry ice to 1/2 inch - 1 inch pieces.

Step 2)

Take copper tubbing and spin into a spiral. I would recommend taking a broom stick and wraping the tubbing around it to make a "rope" of spiral tubing. Make the "rope" long enough to stuff half of the foam box up, make sure you have enough none spiraled tube to have a male(point where you connect rubber hose and connect rubber hose to water pump) and a female( point where you have a rubber hose exiting and puting cool water back into trash can.)

Step 3)

insert the spiral into the foam box.

Step 4) Fill box with crushed dry ice making sure to get ice in between the spiral. the point is to have AS MUCH "Ice to Copper" contact as possible. allow the male and female to come out of lid to foam

Step 5) Put Heater into bottom next to where you plan to put your air stone.

Step 6) Insert water pump to bottom or bottom on side of inside of trash can.

Step 7) Attach rubber tubing to the end of your water pump that will pump water through the coil.

Step 8) Attach other end of tubing to the coil inside of the box.

Step 9) Attach second rubber tubing on the female end of the coil that will have the cold water exiting.

Step 10) Insert the female tubing into the top of the trash can.

Step 11) Insert your air stone.

Step 12) Fill Trash Can with water.

Step 13) Add Water Thermometer.

Step 14) Turn on pump and digital heater

Step 15) Adjust temp after a half hour to desired temp.

Concept: The water will run through the coil which is super cooled by the dry ice then exit back into the trash can. Depending on size of pump the water should cool really fast. Useing the water heater you can have excactly what temp of water you want. If water is cooling to fast and heater is doing justice then add then

Step 16) Add Timer. I'm guessing 15min:15Min on/off might work. Just time how long it take for it to cool from room temp to desired temp then make that your off time then see how long it take to get pass your undesired temp then have that be your on time.

My inspiration..

Mythbusters: Cooling Beer.
[video=youtube;riMqzcuCdfY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riMqzcuCdfY[/video] part 1
[video=youtube;SrX_xcOyDnw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrX_xcOyDnw[/video] part 2

and

Home made Air conditioners


my lack of art skills

 

[JM]

Concept: The water will run through the coil which is super cooled by the dry ice then exit back into the trash can. Depending on size of pump the water should cool really fast. Useing the water heater you can have excactly what temp of water you want. If water is cooling to fast and heater is doing justice then add then

like you idea but i think your coils will freeze... dry ice at negative 75 or more deg f.... water freezes at 32.... plus dry ice costs will add up quick.... res temp doesnt need to be that cold.... :smokebuds:

 

[Muddy]

Thanks for the info. I was looking at something similar the other day at the hardware store.

PEX tubing is food grade ( used for hot/cold water in houses) and not expensive . 100' is around $45 at Home Depot . And they make cheap fittings for the pEX , as well as you can probably rent/borrow the tool for connections.

Heres 1/2 " x 50 foot pex for $14 .

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

---------- Post added 10-14-2011 at 08:23 PM ----------

That would work in the winter as the water temp then is about 55. But it's much warmer in the summer. With little to no frost here the lines don't have to be as deep and it gets hot enough, long enough, here in the summer that the water would be too warm sometimes.

well if your incoming cold water supply is cold enough a few copper coils like 1/4" would work through your res and then dump to drain... a slow trickle would keep it chilly.

---------- Post added 10-14-2011 at 08:25 PM ----------

The res will be in the same room and the room will be 79. Everything I've read/know about hydro suggests res temps below 70, with 65 being ideal I believe.

Just curious as to why you think you need to chill your water btw . Having run hydro setups , I never had to chill my water . Res was in adjoining room at room temp . Water does not stay within the system under the lights long enough to raise the temp any appreciable amount .

 

[Muddy]

Thanks for the detailed instructions. That's pretty much the same idea I'm thinking about only using a tank of water inside a refrigerator instead of dry ice. I haven't bought dry ice in a long time and have no idea what it costs, or how long it will last.

So i'm sure this has already been mentioned but by the time i finished the question I already Had an idea.

 

[JM]

yes... chillers are really a good idea with hydro... definetly...

 

[Nelson]

I use an air bubbly tank. My tank temperature was too high. Just taking the air from outside into the air bubbly machine lowered the temperature in the tank a lot. The evenings are cool up here in Canada. If I am going to run next Summer indoors I will have to add a refrigerature to cool the bubbly tank. I may just shut the tank down for the summer I haven't decided.

 

[Gage]

JM - Well as long as the water doesn't stop moving the water won't freeze. you'll have to take away the timers and maybe add an extra heater or get a more efficent one. but then u got me at cost of dry ice.

Muddy. So you could put it in afreezer on those retarded hot days and make sure you don't turn the pump off and it wont' freeze.

 

[Monkeypox]

Keeping oxygen optimal as well as nute intake will be hard without an actual chiller . Temps of the solution should be mid to high 60s . DIY solutions will work , but not as well as an actual chiller .

That being said , I think a fridge with a thermostat can be dialed in so that it comes pretty close . If you keep the fridge in the same room as the grow , expect a slight temp rise .

Interested in what you end up doing .

 

[Nelson]

I use CFL but the room gets hot in the Summer they do put out heat. If I get a fridge I think I will put it in another room cause I don't need the heat from the fridge cooling coils making the room hotter than it already is. My air pump has an intake inlet. I never intended to circulate water through the fridge. I just want to suck air out of it for the inlet of the air pump. Cool nights work well but if I am going to grow in the summer when the evenings are warm I will need some cooling air. I agree with your assessment of ideal tank temperature 65 to a max of 70 degrees F would be ideal.

Keeping oxygen optimal as well as nute intake will be hard without an actual chiller . Temps of the solution should be mid to high 60s . DIY solutions will work , but not as well as an actual chiller .

That being said , I think a fridge with a thermostat can be dialed in so that it comes pretty close . If you keep the fridge in the same room as the grow , expect a slight temp rise .

Interested in what you end up doing .