diy chiller. need thought and suggestions

Jump to Last
I

iamvictor2k

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 16, 2011
Messages
89
Reaction score
0
Location
smyrna
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
has any one made a chiller from a small fridge? was thinking of drilling 2 holes (one entrance and one exit) in the side of it running pvc back and forth inside of the fridge. removing the thermostat from the fridge and running a water thermostat to the tank setting it to the temps i want it to kick on and off. any one have any thoughts or suggestions?
 
WWC
iamvictor2k said:
has any one made a chiller from a small fridge? was thinking of drilling 2 holes (one entrance and one exit) in the side of it running pvc back and forth inside of the fridge. removing the thermostat from the fridge and running a water thermostat to the tank setting it to the temps i want it to kick on and off. any one have any thoughts or suggestions?
Click to expand...
Ive played with this idea before, but i switched to led and lost interest. I think its a good idea and i was going the same route with the mini fridge my idea was to put a jug of water inside the fridge, then make a coil of flexible tubing around the jug. IMO this reduce the temp of the water more rapidly. or you could run the coil inside the jug of water. Just some diff ideas hope this helps.
 
you know if you had a solenoid that would bypass the plumbing into the fridge with a thermostat in the tank you wouldnt have to wait for the fridge to cool down the water. it would be a jet of cool water to the tank at first and then slowly cooling down the tank as the water passed threw the tank. which way do you think would work better.
1. having the fridge kick on and off by the thermostat in the tank
2. having the solenoid turn the water flow on and off threw the fridge.

i think it would be faster and more energy efficient to have the solenoid turn the flow on and off wile the fridge stayed on 24 7 with the original thermostat.
 
Chewy.com
I think your right, im gona say number 2. also on another note imo i dont see the fridge lasting to long if you were to switch it on and off multiple times like that.
 
the site states that evaporation is the preferred method but i know that using the evaporation method will only lower the ambient temperature 5-8 degrees.
 
www.dinkinsaquaticgardens.com
i was thinking about keeping a 50 gallon on a attached garage that isnt ac'ed or insulated. so pretty hot it will be!
 
Deltec
the ice blocks sound like continual maintenance to me. not something that i would enjoy at all.
any one else have any experience with making chillers??
any forums or web sights?
 
I put a rubbermaid stock tank in the basement for a sump. The temp in the basement is always cool. My chiller never comes on even with two 400 watt halides.
Probably don't need one, I just have it for piece of mind.
 
Last edited:
I ran fans to cause more evaporation years ago along with AC in the house to keep temp down around 80 deg in my old tank, but the fans are LOUD and annoying.
A chiller next to your tank will heat the room, then you will need to cool that with air conditioning. The best way to do it would be to put a chiller outside or in the basement on a closed loop.

If you put your sump in the basement you may not need a chiller.
 
Last edited:
Top Shelf Aquatics
DIY chillers have failed almost every time due to the bad heat transfer of PVC and the high cost of titanium tubing. I would just go get a good chiller and be done with it. I have been happy with my fans.

The only one I have seen work involved geothermal and a heat exchanger with custom titanium tubing. This was an expensive ordeal though it looked like...
 
I have recently set up a prop system in my garage and am going the chiller route as well. It just seems more cost effective and efficient to buy an aquarium chiller. Usually DIY projects end up costing me close to the cost of just buying something made for the job. You could always look around for a used chiller to save a few bones.
 
best way to diy a chiller is ger ine of the newer mini fridges they have a circut board clamped inbetween 2 heatsinks pull it out and clamp it to the side of your sump with a thermostat
 
Nutramar Foods
cdness said:
DIY chillers have failed almost every time due to the bad heat transfer of PVC and the high cost of titanium tubing. I would just go get a good chiller and be done with it. I have been happy with my fans.

The only one I have seen work involved geothermal and a heat exchanger with custom titanium tubing. This was an expensive ordeal though it looked like...
Click to expand...

why titanium tubing couldnt you just use copper and put it in a small chamber of the sump so the water with the copper wont run threw the system? basically just a couple cold walls in the sump
 
The mini fridge method does not work for more than one reason. As already pointed out, plastic is a horrible conductor of heat and cold so heat exchange is almost nonexistant. Then the fact the compressors are not designed for continous duty, more like 10-15% duty means they burn up quickly.
Add to that the cost to run a pump to feed the loop of chilled water and the extra heat load it generates, which also needs to be cooled really makes it even less efficient.
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%

  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%

  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%

  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
See comments…

New Posts

NooPsyche CORAL LIGHT
Dinkins Aquatic Gardens
Top Shelf Aquatics
Chewy.com
Nutramar Foods
Deltec
Tidal Gardens
World Wide Corals
TCK Corals
New Posts
Back
Top