Approx:8-20degree DYI Chiller

CustomHydro

CustomHydro

Well-Known Member
(I will be doing this over the next few days. Pleases wait till the chiller is done to post comments, unless it is to subscribe)...

Okay, I used to use a whole fridge for a chiller, but it's bulky and I could only get the res lower by a steady 8 degrees (sometimes more, but 8 was the low average). Within the next few days will take only the neccessary parts and get rid of the big ass box that holds all the parts.

TYPE OF FRIDGE NEEDED
Kenmore Dorm Room Fridge or a similar kind. I'm guessing that Not all dorm room fridges will work! (It must have a freon line running to the freezer box, and the freezer box must be removable, freezer compartment must look something like this one.freonLine.jpg


Tools Needed:
Basic Screw Driver Set
Basic Socket Wrench Set
Cutting Device (Saws All, Cutting wheel, or Hack Saw, etc...)
Safety Glasses
(I WILL ADD MORE AS I GO, SINCE I HAVEN'T DONE THIS YET I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHAT IT WILL TAKE)
Uwill need to take out the temperature control, the motor, the Ice box compartment, and the freon line running into the ice box compartment, and whatever else it takes. The goal here is to be able to put the freezer compartment directly into the rez. The classic Dorm Room Fridge DYI is what I have now, but I need a few more degrees and I'm hoping this will do it! I will get started tonight or tomorrow. See u soon!
 
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BigBudBalls

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
Interesting. Looking forward to more.

but I think a water-to-air would be best.
Fill the fridge with water(in a jug of sorts), pump the water out to a radiator and back. Let a fan blow through the radiator.
 
CustomHydro

CustomHydro

Well-Known Member
I know it is all a little confusing but I will try to sort that out with these pics. Here is the freezer box (already un-attached, and all removable parts are taken off) I'm holding it in place (sideways) so you can get an idea of where it used to be. freezerBox.jpg The simple goal here is to take the freezer box and the motor out of the fridge as a whole so I can drop the freezer box directly into a resivoir and only have the motor as bulk outide of the res. I believe this will be possible with a few carefull cuts, and a couple bolts removed rom the motor. Minor electrical work is going to be part of this also. I will then wire the thermostat to the temp control and stick the thermostat into the res. Then I should be able to dial my res temp in to right where I want it, granted it is within range of what the freezer box can cool.

I will probably start cutting later today if I get off of work in time
 

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CustomHydro

CustomHydro

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Alright guys, I'm nearly done, I just have one more step to do and I will have everything posted with pics early tomorrow. Everything is going along just as I planned. Sorry for taking so long.... Work is so busy, I'm in construction and in WI so I have to take advantage of it when I can...
 
MetalSmelter

MetalSmelter

Well-Known Member
Was throwing this idea around today myself, just very unsure how to do it, 10 degrees is all i need.

Looks very promising.......But if you can chill some coils similar to a heating element, then blow a fan across it, the air is automatically cool entering........Not sure if this is the same principle as i'm not sure how the freon elements work, but will keep an eye on it as well.
 
CustomHydro

CustomHydro

Well-Known Member
MetalSmelter said:
Was throwing this idea around today myself, just very unsure how to do it, 10 degrees is all i need.

Looks very promising.......But if you can chill some coils similar to a heating element, then blow a fan across it, the air is automatically cool entering........Not sure if this is the same principle as i'm not sure how the freon elements work, but will keep an eye on it as well.
Click to expand...
I have heard of people getting 10 degrees just by blowing computer fans into the res... Check out my old chiller on page 1, it got me a 8-14 degrees, in a 30gal tub... I'm hoping this will get me close to 20degrees in a 30 gal res.

siht7419 said:
anxiously waiting!, i had a similar brainstorm trying to use one of these D13 Soft Sided Cooler – Soft Sided Cooler Bag – Portable Travel Cooler
Click to expand...
It seems small to me... It only can hold 4 gallons, this may work for a small setup, but I think u would need something more like this...Koolatron P-27 Voyager - A Thermoelectric Cooler, but check your local stores first, I saw similar large electric coolers for $80 at Farm and Fleet, but that's here in WI, so pending on where u are it will be different...
 
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CustomHydro

CustomHydro

Well-Known Member
Okay, sorry this is taking soooo long... I have been very busy... I had a chance to de-capitate the fridge yesterday and I have all the parts removed from the fridge that I need. Here we go!.......

First you need to go get a dorm room fridge. I found one on the side of the road that someone was tossing (free), I found another at a rummage sale ($25), and I found another at a thrift store that sells used furniture, etc... ($50). You only need one so look around and find a deal....





Tools I needed were-
  • 8mil + 10mil wrench
  • Cutting wheel or Saws All, (hacksaw is possible but it is a lot of cutting to do with a hack saw, plus u will also need to make relief cuts)
  • Phillips head screw driver....
Tools will vary depending on the manufacturer of the fridge. Mine was a Kenmore....




Here we go... ALL THESE PARTS TAKEN OUT HAVE A FREON LINE CONNECTING THEM ALL TOGETHER SO THEY ALL NEED TO BE REMOVED AT THE SAME TIME. THE THERMOSTAT IS THE ONLY THING THAT CAN BE RE-ATTACHED, SO BE CAUTIOUS DURING THID WHOLE PROJECT!!!
  1. Unscrew the thermostat cover and the thermostatthermostatCopy.jpgThermo2.jpg, mark where the wires go, or take a few digital photos so u will know how to wire this thing back up later. Then unhook or cut the wires away from the thermostat so you can seperate it from the fridge. Leave enough slack on the wires to reconnect them later if u have to cut them..... DO NOT CUT THE ACTUAL THERMO WIRE!![ThermoWires.jpg
  2. Cut the entire top of the fridge off with your cutting device. You need to do this to remove the freezer box later, for now just make the cut and leave the box in there. This will cause a ton of dust and sparks so use extreme caution. Always wear safety glasses, a mask and thick gloves when working with power cutting tools. Be very carefull for the freon lines, if u cut one of them or bend it too much the project is over for u, and you will have just leaked a terrible gas into the atmosphere. cutFridge.jpg
  3. Lay the fridge on the door side, get out your wrench set and undo any bolts neccessary to remove the compressor, you will also need to cut the wires leading to the compressor, make sure if u unattach any wire u know where they go later and leave slack to reconnect(see Pic)compressor.jpg
  4. The grid that runs up the back side of the fridge also needs to be removed. Mine just had three screws holding it.grid.jpg
  5. Now u should have the top cut off, the thermostat removed and the compressor with the grid and freezer box attached, but everything should be ready to take out... BE CAREFULL!!!!! Bend the freon lines as little as possible!!! You Should have somethoing like this when u are doneChiller.jpg
  6. Now I just have to mount the compressor, and grid, and re-wire it and it will be in operation, I should do that within a day or two, and I will post pics of the final unit then.
 
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MetalSmelter

MetalSmelter

Well-Known Member
Gonna have to find a usable minifridge, but going to try this when i get a much more perminent grow box.

Going to save this for future use.
 
CustomHydro

CustomHydro

Well-Known Member
Once again, I'm falling behind on my grow, and DYI chiller, I have not mounted the chiller yet, but atleast anyone who is interested can get the point. I have to move a whole house full of shit and I probably won't get to anything related to growing for a few days yet..... Plus I have to finish this fucking job, I was an hour away from finishing and the raain came down heavy, so I couldn't finish, which means no check to spend on equip...... I'm pissed, it's suppossed to rain all day friday(today), so I probably won't finish til saturday and the banks are closed at noon so I'm fucked til monday....
 
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