Using A Refrigerator To Cool Your Box???

JSB99

JSB99

Well-Known Member
Has anyone ever tried this one (and if I'm the first to come up with this idea then I want my copyright :) )

What if I took the coils, compressor, etc...off of a refrigerator and adapted it to the outside of my grow box (4x3x9)? The coils could sit outside the box and the fan could blow air into the box (just like a fridge).

How about a mini-cooling system that you could place in the duct input of an air-cooled hood?

So, I can already see the issue here...the compressor would run almost 24 hours a day (or at least while the lights are on). Are there any industrial compressors out there that are made to run like this without breaking down?

Hey, if I could get this to work then that's basically a dedicated air conditioner for my grow box.

Okay all you HVAC and appliance pro's out there, go ahead and start destroying my idea :-)
 
tea tree

tea tree

Well-Known Member
what you can do is take the mini fridge and seal is shut. Then run tubes thru them and then get a grow light radiator called an "ice box" or make it and hook it up to your lights and an a pump and the fridge. Then pump that cold water thru the system. Water completely absorbs all the heat and if it gets cold enough works like air. But you really need a big chiller. That is the only design I have seen, lol, using a fridge. The replacemnt water chiller idea. Except for one guy that put his plant inside a refrigarator to grow it. He just bypassed the door switch so the light stayed on!


I wonder about the industrial str model. I think that without a thermstat why wouldnt the machine just keep compressing? I dont know shit about them except that gas cools when it expands and the compressor pumps it. I always wonder why it cant be cheaper if that is all it does and why I cant just make my own for 20 dollars or so. It is a mystery of life and I am waiting to see it covered on "poltergeist. the leagcy". Then I will know, truly know. :)
 
JSB99

JSB99

Well-Known Member
tea tree said:
what you can do is take the mini fridge and seal is shut. Then run tubes thru them and then get a grow light radiator called an "ice box" or make it and hook it up to your lights and an a pump and the fridge. Then pump that cold water thru the system. Water completely absorbs all the heat and if it gets cold enough works like air. But you really need a big chiller. That is the only design I have seen, lol, using a fridge. The replacemnt water chiller idea. Except for one guy that put his plant inside a refrigarator to grow it. He just bypassed the door switch so the light stayed on!


I wonder about the industrial str model. I think that without a thermstat why wouldnt the machine just keep compressing? I dont know shit about them except that gas cools when it expands and the compressor pumps it. I always wonder why it cant be cheaper if that is all it does and why I cant just make my own for 20 dollars or so. It is a mystery of life and I am waiting to see it covered on "poltergeist. the leagcy". Then I will know, truly know. :)
Click to expand...

Okay, after reading what you wrote I started doing some research into WCS. I've only recently learned of this through high times but the article didn't go into much detail.

Sounds like WCS would be a much better choice than trying to use a fridge to "air" cool my box rather than use liquid (many reasons from what I read).

Since this is new to me, can anyone suggest a good, easy system to set up? Are there any DIY designs out there? From what I read (and obviously, from what you said), it sounds like reflector coolers are the way to go. They cool the exhaust from the light as well as the room itself.

I'm sure there are heat exchangers out there (and I'm sure they're pricey). Anyone build their own cooler out of a mini-fridge? The way I see doing that is to drill a couple holes in the fridge, put a small barrel or bucket in the fridge with a water pump, an run the hoses through the holes to the ice box. Is this a waste of time (meaning I should buy an actual chiller rather than try messing with a mini-fridge)?

Any and all advice is welcome.

Thanks

PS: Once the chiller is set up and running, I imagine you keep your grow room sealed. Don't the plants need fresh air exchange every now and then? Do you just have a couple fans on a timer to kick on every once in a while to exchange the air?
 
P

Plebscrubber

Active Member
fridge is fail for air cooling

you cant dismantle it as suggested cause its designed to cool an area the size of the fridge sealed up, you could pump air in one end and suck it out the other back into the room, but the air would cycle too fast to be cooled

its better that your plants have fresh air constantly for more co2
 
W

Wishbuilder

Member
its a great idea iam working on one now mid size whirlpool,4inch blower motor and a 4x12 phresh filter in the freezer,2x2 botanicare tray int he bottom and a 8 gallon rez.continuous read ph-ec-ppm-temp,90watt led ufo and 4 2ft tek lights .. ive started taking pics i will put some in my album i just finished my Patriot Grow Box
 
O

outofbodyspecial

Active Member
Reviving again.

Where I'm at, outside temperature goes over 90 degrees during summer, and there's no way to bring down my box temp below 90 with just vents & fans-not even a cool tube which I have.

Airconditioning can be a bit expensive given that they run at least 500 watts.

Now I have a mini fridge with freezer lying around and I'm considering it for cooling. It's small, just below my waist & consumes 70 watts with the compressor on.

As I've read here, ducting my intake through it might not work since the the air goes through really fast. Another option is water. I can have a water reservoir in the ref and recirculate it with 4mm hydro hose in the cab. Will that work? I'm thinking of running it around the floor to make some sort of "radiator".
 
M

mrmadcow

Well-Known Member
outofbodyspecial said:
Reviving again. ......Airconditioning can be a bit expensive given that they run at least 500 watts....
Click to expand...
if you are worried about the cost of cooling,dont you think a device (AC unit) designed to cool an area will be more efficient than anything you could cobble together? as for drawing 500-1000 watts, it will only draw that when the compressor is running, a few minutes every hour.
 
B

boxdoctor

Member
This posting is to let you know that you can convert a working refrigerator into a grow box with air conditioner. The conversion obviously require some electronic knowledge to wire the compressor through the temperature controller with relays, but with some work it can be done. The attached images are a prototype I put together last year. It was a GE refrigerator (top freezer/bottom fridge) conversion. As you can see, the entire structure has been covered in wood, and the door was redesigned as one. The light used for this project was a 300 watt LED and optional CFL bulbs.
 

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