diy chiller from a fast cool fridge"

Discussion in 'I made this!' started by airtruck, May 21, 2009.

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  1. airtruck

    airtruck Astrea Snail

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    starting a diy chiller that started off as a water cooler with a fast cool fridge , the fridge part has a seperate condensor and cooling plate ,thats the part im after. the plate is vinyl coated and has raised area's in the middle that the r134a flows, im hoping this part will stand the test of salwater . it forms ice on the plate in a matter of minutes, submerge in sump ,hook up a temp controller and away we go instant cooling, will try and get pics this weekend.. please help by pokeing holes in this idea, have not seen this one yet on 3reef.. :cheesy:
     
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  3. sostoudt

    sostoudt Giant Squid

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    i dont know it may work with a fast cool fridge, im guessing that similar to a fridge at a place i worked that was made to cool down food in minutes instead of hours like a traditional one.

    a traditional fridge wont work if you do the math, it wont be able to cool down water fast enough. the only problem i see is not having shocking cold water hit the animals, so you would have to play with the coil length. also there might be a better material then plastic because it insulates i think. you prolly need to find a metal that is rust proof, and doesnt contain copper or other posioness minerals. stainless steel dose rust btw

    it may work to make a mini sump with a return overflow to the sump in there, but it might be really had control the icing, so it would have to be a very high flow rate
     
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  4. sostoudt

    sostoudt Giant Squid

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    isnt a fast cool fridge very expensive tho so is it worth ruining it for a chiller, that would probably cost the equivalent or less
     
  5. PackLeader

    PackLeader Giant Squid

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    I am confused. If you take the heat sink part, and submerse it in the sump, how exactly is it going to cool at all? If the surrounding water is the same temp as the water passing through the heat sink, there will not be a drop in temperature.
    Or am I misunderstanding something?
     
  6. airtruck

    airtruck Astrea Snail

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    got the fridge/cooler for free was a rental return
     
  7. airtruck

    airtruck Astrea Snail

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    it has a 10" x 10" plate vinel coated the freon goes thru it and instantly cools it, so if that part was in the sump then as the water goes around it would cool it.
     
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  9. sostoudt

    sostoudt Giant Squid

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    well hopefully this wont burn out the motor, or leak something in to the tank. im not sure how long vinyl will last against saltwater and constant temperature changes.
     
  10. sostoudt

    sostoudt Giant Squid

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    worst case scenario freon leaks and you sufficate :)
     
  11. airtruck

    airtruck Astrea Snail

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    reliability i guess would be the big question
     
  12. airtruck

    airtruck Astrea Snail

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    why that stuff is not that deadly .. i dont think...