DIY Chiller Beer Fridge

[Duncan62]

OK, I'll be the one to say it point blank...it won't work.

Plastic tubing, air interface, heat transfer, flow rate. You couldn't pack enough plastic tubing in that frig to make a difference.

It's been tried with chilled water and efficiency is so poor, it won't work.

Throw an inexpensive window air conditioner in your fish room and sit back and have a cold beer!

Putting the coil of tubing in a pot of water in the fridge increases the thermal transfer dramatically . I kept a 55 insulated on 3 sides at 60 degrees year round. Weather you need it for a reef is up to the OP. I can turn the ceiling fan on high and keep mine at 79 when it's pretty hot. If he's just wanting to drop it a few degrees the fridge will do that.

 

[bh750]

Putting the coil of tubing in a pot of water in the fridge increases the thermal transfer dramatically . I kept a 55 insulated on 3 sides at 60 degrees year round. Weather you need it for a reef is up to the OP. I can turn the ceiling fan on high and keep mine at 79 when it's pretty hot. If he's just wanting to drop it a few degrees the fridge will do that.

Actually yea my intention/hope would be just to help keep the temps down in the summer. Not necessarily cool the whole tank, say keeping it from 83-78. But if I could drop it a degree or two lower during those times that would help.

Doesnt sound like it would even do that tho.

 

[BanjoBandito]

....I just showed up because someone said BEER.

 

[Mschmidt]

Actually yea my intention/hope would be just to help keep the temps down in the summer. Not necessarily cool the whole tank, say keeping it from 83-78. But if I could drop it a degree or two lower during those times that would help.

Doesnt sound like it would even do that tho.

It looks like at least jbj uses titanium in their heat exchanger for their chiller. You could pump water either from a reservoir in the fridge through some titanium pipe in the sump and back to the fridge to pull heat out that way, or pump it the other way through small pipes in the fridge. As mentioned above, cold water in the fridge will take more heat out faster. You could probably go through the side of the fridge without too much worry of hitting something critical there.

 

[Duncan62]

Actually yea my intention/hope would be just to help keep the temps down in the summer. Not necessarily cool the whole tank, say keeping it from 83-78. But if I could drop it a degree or two lower during those times that would help.

Doesnt sound like it would even do that tho.

I don't think even a commercial chiller would react quick enough. Are all pieces of heat generating equipment necessary? My uv gets warm enough to cause issues so I limit time on to a couple hours at a time. My diy chiller ran 24/7 to achieve a temp below 60s and it worked for that. Good luck finding a solution.

 

[bnord]

All I read was beer fridge.

what kind of beer and what are you doing tomorrow afternoon - will praise you for your aquascape ... as long as the beer lasts, and doesn't taste like sump water...