$110 DIY Water chiller works!

So I actually have a single res system- everything inside the tent. It's a big 28g sterrilite, i wrapped it in that thick aluminum tape. It's not the best insulator, but it reflects like 90% of radiant heat which is the biggest source of heat transfer to that dark plastic. I'm honestly not sure what did more- the aluminum tape or the cooler, but they definitely work amazingly together.

The air in the tent does get pretty hot, but it's really not affecting the rez temps that much. I actually run a sealed tent that's semi-outdoors, so I have almost 0 venting. I just run a cool-tube to keep the air from the light cooled from outside the tent. Heat definitely builds up during lights on, but doesn't seem to transfer to the rez as much and cools down to the target during lights out.

Is it surprising that radiated heat is such as factor under high efficiency cobs?

Heh, yea i suppose thats trick. Light efficiency just means how much of the energy used results in visible light energy, but... the visible light still has to go somewhere in the end (otherwise the light would get perpetually brighter until infinity). Plus when a material absorbs radiant energy, as it warms it starts to radiate more infrared and other non-visible light (black body radiation) and that ends up heating up the shit around it. So even at lights out, everything that's warm starts to 'glow' infrared, but even more so when its being bombarded with visible light.

Guess the goal of the aluminum tape here is to get the energy to settle elsewhere, which is great. So far I've seen a temperature differential of 68 f in the res and almost 90 f in the air inside the tent, last for about 6 hours before starting to shift a degree. At lights out it can drop the temp about 1-2 f per hour, so as long as it doesnt rise much when the lights are on, it has plenty of time to recover.

Im really curious as to how long the project in the OP will last. Refrigerator compressors are not designed to constantly be on. Dehumidifier or AC rebuild is the best DIY chiller option.

Shugglet said:

Im really curious as to how long the project in the OP will last. Refrigerator compressors are not designed to constantly be on. Dehumidifier or AC rebuild is the best DIY chiller option.

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Definitely agree on the dehuey chiller... I did the cheap ass thing n picked up one for $65 specifically because it had dial controls rather than a digi control...however that one musta had the shit ran out of it because I couldn't get it to drop temps as fast as the last one I managed to break a compressor line on... Ended up buying a new one and just unplugged the digital keypad and hooked it up to a timer.... But shit drops a 30 gal multi pump res setup from 76 to low 50's in a hour +\-....can't beat that shit for $165....unless you break a perfectly fine one from fucking with it too much.... then buy a cheap pos.....then buy a new one... But the dehueys rock... Just gotta get the timers set right on the dehuey and however many pumps you have but vs buying a 1/4 or 1/2hp chiller.... Can't beats em...

MeGaKiLlErMaN said:

That sucks man, it works well for me but I have 200' and the pump not runs directly into the different buckets and then returns to the res. Im now under 70 degrees at about 67. So I turned the temp up a bit.

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I made something similar but I used a deep freezer and a stainless steel wort chiller..~$200

Also, for any diy temp control this little outlet works extremely well.
https://www.amazon.com/WILLHI-WH1436A-110V-Temperature-Controller/dp/B00V4TJR00

disratory said:

I made something similar but I used a deep freezer and a stainless steel wort chiller..~$200

Also, for any diy temp control this little outlet works extremely well.
https://www.amazon.com/WILLHI-WH1436A-110V-Temperature-Controller/dp/B00V4TJR00

Click to expand...

Yeah basically the wort chiller setup is what I did except I used 1/2" pex tubing for the coils... I had it on hand n after the snafus I had I was running short on semi-disposable $ but I eventually plan to get a few SS wort chillers... But thank you for that link, I've been trying to figure something like that out but that solves it....

How many gallons do you need to chill? If you don't want to DIY, here's a couple high quality coolers. Just drill holes in the lid if using as a hydro rez to pump the nutes

https://www.amazon.com/Yeti-Roadie-20-Cooler-White/dp/B004YIBWNS/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1474304329&sr=8-8&keywords=arctic+coolers

https://www.amazon.com/Driftsun-Arctik-Cooler-Military-Grade-Handles/dp/B01GGUXY5U/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&qid=1474304329&sr=8-17-spons&keywords=arctic+coolers&psc=1

whitey78 said:

Yeah basically the wort chiller setup is what I did except I used 1/2" pex tubing for the coils... I had it on hand n after the snafus I had I was running short on semi-disposable $ but I eventually plan to get a few SS wort chillers... But thank you for that link, I've been trying to figure something like that out but that solves it....

Click to expand...

that little $25 controller is super easy to program too and hasnt failed me in any way yet.. (only been a month though) Ive also considered flipping the setup if needed and using the freezer as a reservoir to pump water out of and into a wort chiller placed in the plant reservoir with the pump plugged into the controller... Oh if you do go the SS wort chiller route eventually i recommend placing them in 5gal buckets filled with water(maybe antifreeze mix depending on setup config), helps absorb the heat out of the wort coil.

disratory said:

that little $25 controller is super easy to program too and hasnt failed me in any way yet.. (only been a month though) Ive also considered flipping the setup if needed and using the freezer as a reservoir to pump water out of and into a wort chiller placed in the plant reservoir with the pump plugged into the controller... Oh if you do go the SS wort chiller route eventually i recommend placing them in 5gal buckets filled with water(maybe antifreeze mix depending on setup config), helps absorb the heat out of the wort coil.

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For now the hot season is almost over and I'm sure I'll be buying aquarium heaters before my wort coils but a couple of those sensors could really work out any kind of issues... I was trying to think of something but was able to maintain desired temps with the timers for the moment but I plan to upgrade it before next summer so it's 100% auto without timers, I'd need a couple but well worth it.... A fully automated chilling system for less than $500... That's big plus imo... I was gonna buy a 1/4 or 1/2hp chiller to end up being disappointed with it anyhow, I'm glad I did the dehuey route... I could buy 4 of these setups before I'd exceed the price of a proper chiller with similar results... Now if I was a commercial warehouse type of grower, then real chillers are the obvious choice but for the hobbiest, I think it was the best $ I've spent on my setup so far...

whitey78 said:

Definitely agree on the dehuey chiller... I did the cheap ass thing n picked up one for $65 specifically because it had dial controls rather than a digi control...however that one musta had the shit ran out of it because I couldn't get it to drop temps as fast as the last one I managed to break a compressor line on... Ended up buying a new one and just unplugged the digital keypad and hooked it up to a timer.... But shit drops a 30 gal multi pump res setup from 76 to low 50's in a hour +\-....can't beat that shit for $165....unless you break a perfectly fine one from fucking with it too much.... then buy a cheap pos.....then buy a new one... But the dehueys rock... Just gotta get the timers set right on the dehuey and however many pumps you have but vs buying a 1/4 or 1/2hp chiller.... Can't beats em...

Click to expand...

Instead of a timer why not use a temp probe and relay? I'll get a pic up of what I've done, you could even put the probe control NO contacts in series with the control voltage in the contactor of the compressor. I paid $45 for my digital controller to bring on my glycol loop pumps.

Fastslappy said:

ever try a auto radiator placed in a cool crawl space or basement ?
pump yer water thru the rad in a cool spot in the house

run a fan on the radiator pipe a closed loop sys to the rad & res
run a loops of Copper pipe inside the res ( that' the heat transfer unit that cools the res)
you should get near ambient temps for the crawl space in your res
just an idea I've seen guys do this to cool shit on the cheap

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I have 150' of 1/2" copper slinkied under the the shaded side of my shed and temps need to be around 50f to keep res temps below 68 (I keep them at 66) but have been meaning to try rads of some type.

Shugglet said:

Im really curious as to how long the project in the OP will last. Refrigerator compressors are not designed to constantly be on. Dehumidifier or AC rebuild is the best DIY chiller option.

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They will run a long time if they are ran within the proper specs, it's the same with any compressor, need to maintain proper superheat and sub cooling to protect the compressor.