Grow Mediums Ice probe + 5 gal cooler+ thermostat= end of heat problem

[rshackleferd]

Here is the best possible way IMO to cool a small or large insulated dwc reservoir. No moving parts besides the fan and takes about 15 to 20 minutes to install. In the middle of summer at 100f it will run about 5 to 7 hours a day costing about $1.17 to run per month. I set mine at 66F and it stays at 66F even during the hotest time of day. No fluctuations whatsoever, if you dont have the $175 for the ice probe you can make one yourself for around $30 or less, pics below.







Home made peltier cooler, Very cheap to make and two of these will cool a 16 gallon insulated reservoir to 66F in the middle of summer. Run time during the hottest time of year in zone 9 is around 5 to 7 hours a day. When temps are 80F or below it hardly ever turns on.

 

[Rayden]

Hey rshackel cool setup could you please provide a parts list of what and how to use it I would like to make one for my ghetto cooler thanks

 

[MoreBerry]

I would also love to see the parts list and how to make this! I was considering making my own peltier cooler

 

[Z_Burp]

I would also be interested in an instructional thread on how to build this and a parts list. Thanks for putting up the thread!

 

[rshackleferd]

Ice-probe
5 gallon cooler
Ink bird thermostat
silicone

Tools= drill and half inch drill bit, you can use a smaller drill bit but it will not be as precise as a larger one but it really doesn't matter since the probe has a large plastic washer to cover any mistakes.

Unscrew the spout that came with the cooler and use the half inch drill to make the hole wider. Doesnt take long at all, just rotate the drill in a circular motion till its wide enough. Make sure its wide enough by placing the probe in the hole. Keep drilling till it goes through, it doesn't have to be perfect. Now its time to put the ice probe onto the cooler. Make sure to use a decent amount of silicone on the ice probe washer so it doesn't leak and try not to get silicone on the probe sticking through. If you do just wipe off. The ink bird thermostat will need a power cord. I bought a cheap extension cord and severed the wires on one end and used the female part to power the ice probe and the male side to power the ink bird thermostat. The instructions are very simple and some comments on amazon have some better ones with pictures.

Homemade peltier cooler;


http://www.ebay.com/itm/TEC1-12706-...988127?hash=item1c7724da1f:g:lyEAAOSw5cNYR3eG

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ultra-quiet...Pump-New-BN-/122232518690?hash=item1c75a03822

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-5A-Powe...05-P01-/162449980344?var=&hash=item25d2c5fbb8

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ARCTIC-Alpi...420470?hash=item4d58b02476:g:RokAAOSw~y9ZBVNf

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Liquid-Cool...866573?hash=item2cb38c228d:g:7jkAAOSwh2xX-WWI

You will also need tubing, I forgot what size since its been years ago. I bought the tubing from lowes awhile back. You basically sandwich the peltier plate onto the cpu cooler, then the water block. Strip the wires off the laptop ac adapter and connect them all up. Be careful how you tie in the positive and negative on the peltier cooler. If you mix them up it will cool the wrong end Its all color coded so it shouldn't be too hard. Make sure you use cpu thermal paste when you attach the pelteir cooler, cpu cooler, and water block together. After you have that together run them to your reservoir

 

[rshackleferd]

Hey rshackel cool setup could you please provide a parts list of what and how to use it I would like to make one for my ghetto cooler thanks

Let me know if you have any questions

 

[Z_Burp]

Ice-probe
5 gallon cooler
Ink bird thermostat
silicone

Tools= drill and half inch drill bit, you can use a smaller drill bit but it will not be as precise as a larger one but it really doesn't matter since the probe has a large plastic washer to cover any mistakes.

Unscrew the spout that came with the cooler and use the half inch drill to make the hole wider. Doesnt take long at all, just rotate the drill in a circular motion till its wide enough. Make sure its wide enough by placing the probe in the hole. Keep drilling till it goes through, it doesn't have to be perfect. Now its time to put the ice probe onto the cooler. Make sure to use a decent amount of silicone on the ice probe washer so it doesn't leak and try not to get silicone on the probe sticking through. If you do just wipe off. The ink bird thermostat will need a power cord. I bought a cheap extension cord and severed the wires on one end and used the female part to power the ice probe and the male side to power the ink bird thermostat. The instructions are very simple and some comments on amazon have some better ones with pictures.

Homemade peltier cooler;


http://www.ebay.com/itm/TEC1-12706-...988127?hash=item1c7724da1f:g:lyEAAOSw5cNYR3eG

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ultra-quiet...Pump-New-BN-/122232518690?hash=item1c75a03822

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-5A-Powe...05-P01-/162449980344?var=&hash=item25d2c5fbb8

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ARCTIC-Alpi...420470?hash=item4d58b02476:g:RokAAOSw~y9ZBVNf

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Liquid-Cool...866573?hash=item2cb38c228d:g:7jkAAOSwh2xX-WWI

You will also need tubing, I forgot what size since its been years ago. I bought the tubing from lowes awhile back. You basically sandwich the peltier plate onto the cpu cooler, then the water block. Strip the wires off the laptop ac adapter and connect them all up. Be careful about how you tie in the positive and negative on the peltier cooler. If you mix them up it will cool the wrong end Its all color coded so it shouldn't be too hard. Make sure you use cpu thermal paste when you attach the pelteir cooler, cpu cooler, and water block together. After you have that together run them to your reservoir

Thanks a lot!

 

[Rayden]

Hey Rshackleferd your pictures I couldn't load so I couldn't see what do you do with the submerseable water pump, or how to attach it all together could you please explain thank you

 

[Archiweedies]

Hey Rshackleferd your pictures I couldn't load so I couldn't see what do you do with the submerseable water pump, or how to attach it all together could you please explain thank you

Hey my dude! This is my first post here, I registered so I could talk about this subject , and more! Haha.
Anyways, I own an ice probe and I paid that price tag, ouch!

What this member has done is essentially made a device that uses the pump to send water through a heating/fan combo that will remove heat as it circulated the water through the block.
The reason I just had to comment is because I'd love to build and test this homemade solution. The iceprobe works awesome, but if I can get the same results for a fraction of the cost, well...

Has anyone used this homemade setup and can give us a review?

 

[Rayden]

Archiweedie:Thank you for the reply I am a definate D.I.y junkie I was hoping to build an ice probe for my ghetto igloo cooler to chill my rig this summer frozen water bottles just don't do it anymore so where did you get your ice probe? I wish this was the DIY version do you think it is possible to build one