homemade mini fridge chiller

[Hawzzy]

I have a small bar fridge that im thinking about using as a chiller in the summer for my dwc.
Any thoughts or suggestions.....?
Maybe putting a res and pump in or maybe a large coil of copper or hose curled up in the fridge that the solution is pumped through?
Thought it might work in a pinch....chillers are crazy expensive.
Brainstorm away...

 

[HydroRed]

Have the copper coil in the fridge with the pump hooked to a timer so the solution can sit in the coil long enough to get cold. Set your timer accordingly to match whatever res temp you are trying to achieve.

 

[completenoobie]

no copper. a tiny bit is ok but copper tubing will leach into the nutes and eventually become toxic. copper sulfate is about $20 a pound sold as root killer, it ain't the sulfate that does it. every living organism needs microtraces of everything, but nute salts will react with the tubing and leach copper and kill your babies.

Hope you didn't find this out the hard way seeing as you're no longer around and this thread is dead as fuck, maybe someone else will build one and not use copper, this is actually a decent idea.

a dorm fridge or a small chest freezer, cut holes to run non toxic tubing through (read DEFINITELY NOT COPPER), put in a big pot or container and coil the shit out of the tubing inside container, and fill it with water. cycle the nutes through the chiller, done.

 

[ttystikk]

no copper. a tiny bit is ok but copper tubing will leach into the nutes and eventually become toxic. copper sulfate is about $20 a pound sold as root killer, it ain't the sulfate that does it. every living organism needs microtraces of everything, but nute salts will react with the tubing and leach copper and kill your babies.

Hope you didn't find this out the hard way seeing as you're no longer around and this thread is dead as fuck, maybe someone else will build one and not use copper, this is actually a decent idea.

a dorm fridge or a small chest freezer, cut holes to run non toxic tubing through (read DEFINITELY NOT COPPER), put in a big pot or container and coil the shit out of the tubing inside container, and fill it with water. cycle the nutes through the chiller, done.

Don't fear the copper tubing. Unless your solution is crazy acidic it won't leach enough to matter.

 

[ttystikk]

I have a small bar fridge that im thinking about using as a chiller in the summer for my dwc.
Any thoughts or suggestions.....?
Maybe putting a res and pump in or maybe a large coil of copper or hose curled up in the fridge that the solution is pumped through?
Thought it might work in a pinch....chillers are crazy expensive.
Brainstorm away...

If all you're doing is chilling your RDWC then you'll do okay, but the mini fridge compressor won't keep up with more than that.

Then there's the reliability factor.

Chillers are generally worth what you pay for them. Just find a cheaper source than a hydro store outlet.