Small Chest Freezer for a DWC grow

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faithfulmastiff

Active Member
:idea:

call me crazy but i had an idea, would it be possible to use a small chest freezer as a reservoir, my reasoning for thinking this was that if it was on low setting it could keep water temps just right, no frozen water bottles & no expensive chillers, good old walfart has a 3.5-cu. ft, l 24" x w 24" x h 34", i know i know its kinda tall, but if you have the height...... whats everyones thoughts


peace
 
Sounds damn good.
Some models you can't adjust the temp, so make sure you have that option.
Some of these you have to unplug and let it thaw out a little.
I'd still add you to the cooler club too ! lol
 
now how about something like this .....

if its too deep then just add 3 or 4 gallon juggs of water in there & that will take up less gallons of water = less nutes

Keep your food fresh in this Haier 3.5 cu. ft. chest freezer. It holds approximately 105 lbs. of frozen food plus it has adjustable thermostat control and an easy-access defrost drain.



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I think NL#5 means the temp settings.
Some you can control, some you can't.
My 12gal cooler is 15" wide x 21" long.
So I'd guesstimate that freezer is about 28 - 30 gallons.
It would be perfect for a RDWC too !
Slap a insulated styrofoam lid, like mines, on there and go for it ! lol
The rez will/should stay hella stable too !
 
You are using a chest freezer, I do not think you can turn it into a refrigerator just by turning down that knob. That being said....

I have made a chest freezer into a kegerator... a simple plug & play thermometer that plugs into the wall before the outlet of the chest freezer could maintain air temps at a desired level...

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This is an interesting concept... I would use the chest freezer as refrigerator to hold your buckets thus keeping your water temps perfectly inline & insuring that the freezer does not flood with water. You can easily plumb PVC by drilling holes through the sides of the chest freezer I did this as a drain for the kegerator. Plumb in connections for your buckets, air etc.

Using a RDWC like Flo said would be ideal your reservoir could sit inside the chest freezer and just adjust temps to desired level via the plug & play thermometer... Cheap water cooler :D
 
thanks for that info weedler, i'm still fixated on this chest freezer idea...lol, my theory is, if its a sealed 1 piece instert in the freezer, no seams, why wouldn't it hold water, & if the freezer has a thermostat, can i dial it in to hold the water at my desired temp, 65 approx, if those 2 concepts are possible then i got it licked, some further investigating to do, off to applience stores the weekend for a snoop, i'll report back....lol
 
faithfulmastiff said:
thanks for that info weedler, i'm still fixated on this chest freezer idea...lol, my theory is, if its a sealed 1 piece instert in the freezer, no seams, why wouldn't it hold water, & if the freezer has a thermostat, can i dial it in to hold the water at my desired temp, 65 approx, if those 2 concepts are possible then i got it licked, some further investigating to do, off to applience stores the weekend for a snoop, i'll report back....lol
Click to expand...

They are 100% sealed... I like to be double sure its sealed. Most larger chest freezers come with a drain tube so you can utilize that in your design concept also so you can thaw the freezer & drain it without tipping the unit over which damages the freon

Interesting concept. What I would do is use that thermometer & stick it in the chest freezer where your nutes would be and if it climbed past a certain degree mark the unit would kick on... The other thing you need to take into account is these were designed to hold food not water. Water will be pushing against the sides so while your out looking push hard against the sides make sure it can actually hold the volume of water your after. I have filled up my 14Q before with bleach water so I know that model can hold the weight of the water. Your electrical sits right below the reservoir just another thing to be "worried" about
 
Weedler said:
They are 100% sealed... I like to be double sure its sealed. Most larger chest freezers come with a drain tube so you can utilize that in your design concept also so you can thaw the freezer & drain it without tipping the unit over which damages the freon

Interesting concept. What I would do is use that thermometer & stick it in the chest freezer where your nutes would be and if it climbed past a certain degree mark the unit would kick on... The other thing you need to take into account is these were designed to hold food not water. Water will be pushing against the sides so while your out looking push hard against the sides make sure it can actually hold the volume of water your after. I have filled up my 14Q before with bleach water so I know that model can hold the weight of the water. Your electrical sits right below the reservoir just another thing to be "worried" about
Click to expand...

I see where your coming from, boy do i hate conversations in text, if we was all sitting in a cirlie this would be resolved in 5 minutes, well maybe not, seeing as we sitting in a circle i'm sure theres probably a cloud hovering above & in that case we would be discussing it for hours...lol
the hole in the bottom i would seal for starters, good old clear silicone, if its good enough for my 125 gallon fish tank its good for my res too,
also i'm not looking to hold too much water, 10, 15 gallon max, hence the smal 3.5 cu ft freezer, any bigger means more nutes, more money
that thermometer i thought was only for air, if it works in water would make a great safety shut on or off switch
the other part of the plan is to mount a small pump in bottom corner & run hose up & out, will serve to empty & fill

i'm still bouncing around with ideas, bounce yours back & we will all compare n learn

happy toking
 
It would take until 2012 to figure this out if we were sitting in a cirlie pow-wowing !! lmao

My thought was that the inside is completely sealed too.
Also, the manufactuer KNOWS that they put that cord down there on something that will/could get wet so I would hope it meets a higher standard.
Real curious now ! lol
It should also contain a few gallons of liquid since it can hold pounds of meat and shit.
By the way, 1 gallon = 8 lbs
 
faithfulmastiff said:
thanks for that info weedler, i'm still fixated on this chest freezer idea...lol, my theory is, if its a sealed 1 piece instert in the freezer, no seams, why wouldn't it hold water, & if the freezer has a thermostat, can i dial it in to hold the water at my desired temp, 65 approx, if those 2 concepts are possible then i got it licked, some further investigating to do, off to applience stores the weekend for a snoop, i'll report back....lol
Click to expand...

Why don't you just use a water chiller? I don't think it would be a problem for a chiller to get to that temp. would it?
 
I want to use my little chest freeze for a water chiller i am afraid it will leak at the seams, it is not a one piece plastic and not sure if the sealer will stick to it at temp. i just know i can not find the right fitting container to have max cold water stored. I am using a plug in digital controller.
 
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