DIY Chiller

serankko · 12-12-2004, 10:19 PM

Hello guys,

I was thinking in this homemade chiller to install in my new reef tank. This acrylic column is to be install in between the overflow and the sump, is 39 inches long and 4 inches each side. Do you think is going to work ???? By the way, I know is probably a stupid idea

Thanks,

Seranko

genehart · 12-13-2004, 12:30 AM

I see the baffles are designed to keep the water from blowing out, but... I think the sheer air preasure that is built up from those fans will still blow water out of the vented holes. Also, the fact that the fans are blowing directly and so close to the water that this will cause the water to become airborn and again blow it out of the vents. Don't let it stop you from trying, this is only an opinion. I would love to see it work so I don't have to six hundred plus dollars on a chiller!

Geoff · 12-13-2004, 09:39 AM

that should work fine. salt creep will be your biggest problem, then then again if you see salt creep that means it is doing its job.

i would be interested in knowing how much it lowers the temp in your system.

BTW- this will not be quietest thing you can connect to your system.

G~

davidc · 12-13-2004, 03:33 PM

looks kinda like a "DIY aquarium evaporator"

let us know how well it works though, my tank is plenty hot right now!

EnderG60 · 12-17-2004, 11:04 PM

that is gonna be majorly complex to make. A simple Bong type evaporator will work just as good and be much cheaper and easyer to make.

You use something like a shower head a fan and some PVC to make it. They are used on computer water cooling systems.

an example

http://eyecannon.com/bong.html
http://www.overclockers.com.au/techs...ng/page2.shtml

serankko · 12-20-2004, 04:42 PM

Thanks for the answers guys. Just for fun, I did a small acrylic column with just one fan and it was running for 3 days until this morning.

Results : Humidity all around the fan and spilled water thru the ventilations holes.

Conclusions : buy a chiller.

Thanks, again

Serankop

Steve-O · 12-24-2004, 07:37 PM

Fun idea.

ballvice · 12-24-2004, 09:46 PM

Looks like you punted...I was going to say (before you punted) that I would reverse the fan flow to PULL the air through the system as opposed to pushing it. More efficient that way.

Frank

Justin · 01-02-2005, 04:52 PM

Something anyway, i think its very creative.Dont be so quick to stop, I think your on to something. You may spend close to the price of a chiller perfecting it, but if you did, think of the copyrights and marketing possibilities!!Heat is all to common, obviously, i did a search and found this

,I think most of us would love to have more economical choices in this hobby!

By the design, theres lots of different variations and tinkering for more desired outcomes that you could make, maybe shorter length baffles, or smaller fans, or larger ventilation?
Anyway hope you dont stop tinkering, like i said , i think your on to something.

newerthannew · 01-05-2005, 09:23 AM

I'd like to pick this idea up.
The cooling bong idea seems workable, but how would you guys deal w/ the creep? It seems possible that we'd lose as much salt (and air flow) as we'd save in not buying a chiller.

It seems to me that there would be two ways to go, either use use the bong to cool fresh water and use that as the cool fluid in some sort of heat exchanger.....or try to develop the bong in such a way as to "self clean" away the salt creep.

I personally would like to have something in place for this summer, I had every fan going and still was floating 1 and 2 liter soda bottle of ice in my sump last year.

Tom

Geoff · 01-05-2005, 10:17 AM

depends on how the fans are pointing. you could possibly do a dual chamber type and have the outer chamber canted inward. that way the saltcreep could break away due to gravity. the problem with this idea is that fans would need to be more robust and be able to handle getting wet and salty.

another idea would be to use a tall 4-6" diameter PVC pipe with a large fan at the top of it blowing down. at the bottom of the pipe where it sits in the sump.have many large holes cut into the pip near the water line so air can get out easily. put a small fountain pump in the center of the pipe. use a fountain head that sprays water along the sides of the PVC pipe. this should help with cooling a lot. the bigger/taller the pipe the better.

G~

newerthannew · 01-06-2005, 09:38 AM

I also came up with the idea of adding top off at the top to spray the walls down, seems that this idea would certainly need a fair amount of replacement water, that might do the trick.

Geoff · 01-06-2005, 08:25 PM

needing a lot or replacement water is a good thing. well, for those that use kalk reactors. this is a great way to keep the Ca and alk up. most of the time it is difficult to get enough evaporation to keep the levels up.

G~

newerthannew · 01-07-2005, 09:45 AM

true,
So where are we? does anyone have any recomendations for size? I was going to use 4" pvc and had thought that 4' overall would be a good starting point, thopughts?

Tom

customshopguy · 01-14-2005, 01:11 PM

Hey guy's this is one of my first posts so i welcome myself. Anyways i was wondering why nobody just uses an in-line pump to force water through a small heater core say for a honda accord, and run about 4 small computer fans on it. this would definatally cool your water down and you could put the fans on a variable output power converter to control the speed/noise. I think it would work great and would be very cheap. Please post any comments on the idea.

DIY Chiller

water to air cooling fins