DIY Icebox.

fatfarmer34

fatfarmer34

Well-Known Member
Here is my homemade Icebox, I made it from basically a transmission oil cooler from ebay for about $35 and a HVAC vent which was about $10 at most. There are probably several ways that this could be done. The only problem with the way I did it was the trans cooler I bought takes special fittings that where hard to find. I saw some pretty good trans coolers at the local auto parts store that would work. I would not use the tube and fin kind, get the plate kind they are more efficient. The one I bought is about 5 1/2" x 11 1/2" by 2" thick and fit good in the vent. I will test how well it cools my reflector in a couple days when my new ballast arrives. It should do well it is close to being twice the size of the Icebox version. This should be run from a remote reservoir that has a chiller but I am going to use city water drain to waste because I dont pay for water where I live.
 

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fatfarmer34

fatfarmer34

Well-Known Member
Greg1919a4 said:
how does this cooler work what are you going to run through it
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It hooks to one end of an air cooled reflector, while a fan is hooked to the other side to pull air through the trans cooler (which is acting as a heat exchanger by chilling the air) through the reflector then just exhausted into the room. You have to have a means of circulating cold water through the trans cooler. The best way is with a remote reservoir, a chiller, and a pump. In my case I am just going to hook up a water line from a sink near by and drain to waste it down a floor drain. I should be able to control temps of my grow room with a fan controller.
 

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fatfarmer34

fatfarmer34

Well-Known Member
mindphuk said:
LOL!
This is great. Exactly what I have been planning on doing. I was going to order one of these: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200355864970
12"x12"
I haven't found the ducting yet but I thought Lowes had a 12" square to 10" round reducing duct piece. If not, I will have to make my own.
Keep it coming.
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Thanks mindphuk. That one is pretty big and would probably do a good job, but it is expensive. By the time your done it would cost almost as much as an Icebox. Although it would probably cool much better that one.
 
mindphuk

mindphuk

Well-Known Member
fatfarmer34 said:
Thanks mindphuk. That one is pretty big and would probably do a good job, but it is expensive. By the time your done it would cost almost as much as an Icebox. Although it would probably cool much better that one.
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Well, the 8" ice box will be about $180 shipped or over $200 if I buy from local hydro store. The ducting and hose for my DIY will be less than $20 so it will be about half price and will almost triple the surface area for cooling. I looked at motorcycle radiators and other heat exchangers like yours but I like the plumbing on this one (no special fittings needed) and I thought I knew I could get 12" square to 10" round ducting to attach to my 10" Can Fan Max but was unsure of other dimensions, which is a problem you apparently didn't have.

I don't think it's a good idea to draw the cooled air through the light. I think the best way is to pull air through the light, then the exchanger then into the room. I'd rather have the colder air work on the heat in the overall room (tent) rather than get heated up by the light immediately. Also condensation might be more of a problem (sudden warming of moist, cool air).
 
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LiquidLumen

Active Member
So how much water is going to be running through this thing? If you're constantly flowing water from you're sink down the drain, that might become a little suspicious once your water usage sky rockets...
 
mindphuk

mindphuk

Well-Known Member
LiquidLumen said:
So how much water is going to be running through this thing? If you're constantly flowing water from you're sink down the drain, that might become a little suspicious once your water usage sky rockets...
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Recirculating from res with 1/4 HP probe chiller.

BTW, do you know if there is a fundamental difference in design between ones that cool liquids, like yours and ones made to cool air? I wonder if the fins and the number of passes make a difference in terms of efficiency and what not.
 
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LiquidLumen

Active Member
I'm actually not sure about that, I've heard that the water chillers are more efficient than air chillers, but I don't know why they would be...interesting question

As a side note, with a 1/4 HP chiller and reservoir, why not go ahead and get a liquid-cooled light?
 
mindphuk

mindphuk

Well-Known Member
LiquidLumen said:
I'm actually not sure about that, I've heard that the water chillers are more efficient than air chillers, but I don't know why they would be...interesting question

As a side note, with a 1/4 HP chiller and reservoir, why not go ahead and get a liquid-cooled light?
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You're not sure about what? Water chillers ARE more efficient but that is irrelevant to my question. What I mean is that I wonder if there is any differences in the design of the heat exchangers themselves due to their intended purpose, IOW one is trying to cool the liquids running through them cooled by the air running over the exchanger, the other is meant to have cooled liquids run through them to accept the heat from the surrounding air.

Now that I think about it, any heat exchanger should be able to work in either direction.

LiquidLumen said:
Do you have a picture or link to your chiller btw?
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http://www.aqualogicinc.com/products/chillers/Cyclone-Air-Cooled-Water-Chiller.htm
 
mindphuk

mindphuk

Well-Known Member
LiquidLumen said:
I'm actually not sure about that, I've heard that the water chillers are more efficient than air chillers, but I don't know why they would be...interesting question

As a side note, with a 1/4 HP chiller and reservoir, why not go ahead and get a liquid-cooled light?
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The liquid cooled lights only control the heat output from the light itself. A heat exchanger in a tent will cool the whole tent, hopefully eliminating my need for a/c in the summer.

Think about a situation like mine where the tent is in a non-a/c area of my house. I can vent all day long but if the surrounding air temp is in the high 80's, I cannot cool the inside of the tent below that, even with a liquid cooled light. I need complete cooling inside my tent.
 
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LiquidLumen

Active Member
How big is your tent? Most are small enough that a decent portable A/C unit would be more than enough to keep the temps in the 70s...
 
mindphuk

mindphuk

Well-Known Member
LiquidLumen said:
How big is your tent? Most are small enough that a decent portable A/C unit would be more than enough to keep the temps in the 70s...
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I did mention I already run a/c didn't I? I'm trying to see if I can go without. We've already established that it is more efficient to cool water than air. I will be using just a fraction of the power to cool the res to 65° than it currently takes to cool the air to 78°F.

Another advantage is that I will regain the space that the portable a/c takes up. But the biggest advantage is that I can safely run co2 without losing any of it. All portable a/c, even the dual hose units will vent and waste co2. The best a/c would be a mini split but I would need to hire someone to install it and they are expensive and are still not as efficient as a water-cooled heat exchanger.
 
fatfarmer34

fatfarmer34

Well-Known Member
The great thing about this method of cooling is it cools the light and the whole room. Mainly because the air coming through the fan is still cool even after going through the reflector. Check out Hydro Innovations videos on YouTube they explain the whole process real well. Here is a link.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0uRrMvfucY
 
fatfarmer34

fatfarmer34

Well-Known Member
I got my ballast today, will be doing my tests in the next couple days. I didnt really think off it before, but I have a 30 gallon reservoir outside my grow room. I will fill it and run a pump on it recirculating to see if the water will cool off enough when the lights are off to cool them when they are on.
 
fatfarmer34

fatfarmer34

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I have everything hooked up and tested it out, it worked very well. My grow room is 3' x 4' x 7 1/2' and completely sealed. It was 72 degree's with everything off starting out. Using city water which is about 65 degree's, I turned on my 600W HPS and the water, it went up to 80 degree's and held. Then I turned the water off and in a half hour it was already up to 99 degree's, it would have gotten even hotter if I let it keep going. It really will require a chiller and reservoir to use permanetly.
 

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fatfarmer34

fatfarmer34

Well-Known Member
fatfarmer34 said:
It hooks to one end of an air cooled reflector, while a fan is hooked to the other side to pull air through the trans cooler (which is acting as a heat exchanger by chilling the air) through the reflector then just exhausted into the room. You have to have a means of circulating cold water through the trans cooler. The best way is with a remote reservoir, a chiller, and a pump. In my case I am just going to hook up a water line from a sink near by and drain to waste it down a floor drain. I should be able to control temps of my grow room with a fan controller.
Click to expand...
Actually part of this is wrong jberry caught it in another thread and pointed it out. You can only have the Icebox on the exhaust side of the reflector to avoid any condesation from splashing on you bulb which would cause it to explode. A big thanks to jberry!
 
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