jrinlv, which model chiller did you get for $140? Do you have a link?

Thanks

This was a thought i had of not taking the cooler apart but just placing the the reservoir right inside the cooler, sure you might to need to custom make a container. I was also thinking of dropping the chill plate right inside the water also. Maybe figure a timer situation that would work to keep the water at the right temp. But that way the reservoir is insulated already. Just a thought....JR

that is awesome, i never would of thought to stick the tray for a mini fridge into a rez...seemed simply except for the cutting haha, all that u did was take out the copper wire from the fridge? and the thermostat i guess. thats pretty nifty man

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Dont worry,Im not gonna do what everyone thinks im gonna do and FLIP OUT MAN!..all i wanna know is whos comin with me?Everything I say and post are lies!!!! MyGrow!!!!

I never found one for $140. I may have gone that route.
The fridge comes with a thermostat.
When I turn it all the way up it keeps temps at 42° when it is turned all the way down it shuts off.

I found when I set it at 3 it keeps the water at 68°

In the winter I will shut it off and use an aquarium heater I have.

In regards to the heat the compressor and coils make? I gave that a lot of thought.
You see I found most chillers are Thermo electric. The deal with that is the warmer the
ambient temps are the less efficient the system is.

Its like it will cool a certain amount below ambient temps. So the hotter it is the higher the
water temp is, so you need adequate ventilation. I found with a sealed system (compressor and coils)
you don't need as much ventilation. It can be hotter and the amount of difference is much less.

I grow in a cabinet. well two cabinets. So thats important.
When I first installed this I measured temps.

Heres a shot of the setup so far. (not quite done yet)



When I took this picture I turned it all the way up, left the doors closed overnight.

The temp in the res was 40°, temp in the area around the res was 69°, the temp in the area to the right
around the cooling unit was 96°, The temp in the room the cabinets are in was 85° It was 87° outside.

I found it raised my room temp 2° It actually lowered the temp in the left cabinet 2° so I am cool with that.

I read DIY's on these where people ran a cooling tube through a small fridge and thought this was more efficient.

Just be careful you don't kink the tubing.

Thanks for all the kind words, it makes me happy I can help others.

If you would like to see the cabinet build you can check this out. Dual Areoponic Cabinet Build

If you would like to follow the grow Dual Areoponic Cabinet, Ceramic Metal Halide

I am testing out Phillips new Ceramic metal halide bulb.
It should be a pretty good read.

Thanks everyone,

I hope to see you at the journal, Aeroponics are new to me and I could use some pointers.


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Waterfarm (completed) Cabinet to Waterfarm (completed) Nute Challange (completed)

LED/T5/400W Cabinet (completed) Dual Cabinet Build (current) Dual Cabinet Grow (current)

Hey JR,

I thought of putting the res inside a fridge and drilling holes in the side for tubes but it just wouldn't wok in my case.
Everything I do needs to be miniaturized and the refer would be too big.

Thanks

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Waterfarm (completed) Cabinet to Waterfarm (completed) Nute Challange (completed)

LED/T5/400W Cabinet (completed) Dual Cabinet Build (current) Dual Cabinet Grow (current)

i can't believe I wrote 140 twice and did not catch it, $240 through fosters and smith with a coupon for 25% off I found on line. Sorry to make it sound so low in price. I do like your setup Good luck JR

Hey everyone,

I did a little more research and found something for you.
Its called a nano chiller for aquariums that looks like it would work well for a small res. like 10 to 15 gal. for like $159.00
So if you don't want to build one or it is a bit intimidating heres the link:http://www.reefplayground.net/aquaeurousa.shtml

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__________________

Waterfarm (completed) Cabinet to Waterfarm (completed) Nute Challange (completed)

LED/T5/400W Cabinet (completed) Dual Cabinet Build (current) Dual Cabinet Grow (current)

I think those nano chillers are too small to work well by themselves.I think I remember them only being able to cool 10 gallons 3 deg in average situations. So maybe 2 of them would work well but then your a t 300 bones, I do like the idea and how they work. Good luck and thanks JR

Oh man , I followed the link and that is not what I was talking about at all, those look like a good unit, Good post...JR

A mini fridge will work great for a small amount of water.

I drilled holes into mine and circulate the nute soulution through a coil of tubing sitting inside a bucket of water.


With about a 25 gal reservoir it ran alot, with 40 gals it ran constantly. I was planning to strip it as you did. I tried to use my grinder and hit one of the refrigerant lines. I also drilled through a line on another one. Be careful where you drill. They are only $20 used so not a big deal.

Since the mini fridge couldn't keep up I went with a window A/C unit. It has no trouble at all and only cycles on a few minutes every hour. This is with about 40 gallons.

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