Hydroponic Chillers

gvega187

gvega187

Well-Known Member
acer said:
hey guys where can i find one and what part are yall going to chill ...oh yeah my first hydro grow so still a noob....cuse the reservoir and my bassin is 10 gallons so wich one am i suspose to chill and here is the systtem i am using Sunlight Sheds Hydroponics Systems .....then click on products and click the mini cool cab and that is the one i got ..... just so yall know what iam working with .....so thanks for the help...oh yeah iam not trying to steal the thread just had a question an the same form
Click to expand...
good jesus thats an expensive filing cabinet you got there. NEwho since your resevoir is 10 gallons it should be very easy to keep cool. With the ventilation system included with your "cool cab" I would not worry to much about the water temp however. If you do find that between your AC and ventilation you still get a water temperature over 68 degrees you will need to chill your reservoir. For you this may be as easy as topping off with 2 gallons of 60-62 degree tap water.(my avg. temp out of the tap)

If you do decided to purchase a chiller because keeping your reservoir is invariably gay and hard then I suggest you go with a mini chiller somewhere in the range of 1/15th HP. Search for current USA on Google.
 
gvega187

gvega187

Well-Known Member
I have been using my 1/10th current USA chiller for about week now. Earl is definitely correct as usual. Insulation of the reservoir and chiller tubing is necessary. Mainly you want to be sure to keep your chiller in a well ventilated area. If the ambient temperature surrounding your chiller is above even 82-85 degrees I have found that chillers will struggle to maintain the requested temperature. AVOID PLACING your chiller in closets, even if they are well ventilated.

I have been able to maintain a temperature of no higher than 69 degrees by only insulating my tubing and providing decent ventilation to the chiller unit. For reference my reservoir has about 45 gallons in it now and ambient g-room temperature is 75-80F.

Earl, can you elaborate, perhaps with pictures how you plan to ventilate and or insulate your chilling equipment?
 
LoudBlunts

LoudBlunts

Well-Known Member
he shows in his thread


for insulation of the tubing you can just wrap insulation around the tubing or get duct sleeving.

i plan on insulating my res with panda film and insulating foam!
 
gvega187

gvega187

Well-Known Member
LoudBlunts said:
he shows in his thread


for insulation of the tubing you can just wrap insulation around the tubing or get duct sleeving.

i plan on insulating my res with panda film and insulating foam!
Click to expand...
true I used the exact same insulation method for the tubing. I am mainly wondering how Earl plans to ventilate his larger chiller. Right now I have my chiller right outside the G-room with the door closed. Another fan blows air into this intermediary room to keep it decently cool. I remember Earl talking about further ventilation/insulation in his next grow however.
 
gvega187

gvega187

Well-Known Member
Last edited by a moderator:
User24

User24

Well-Known Member
simple as hell, about halfway down the page

killies.com :: View topic - DIY Chiller

he just buys a dorm fridge, pops 2-3 holes in it, feeds in some flex pvc line, coils it in a rubbermaid full of water (water xfers temps faster, think warm beer/soda placed in icechest full of ice and water vs. warm beer/soda in just a chest of ice, no water.)

he has a "small powerhead to circulate the water in the tub. Without this powerhead, there's a danger the water in the coiled hose can turn to ice. Circulating the water also ensures every inch of the hose is in contact with the cold water. Besides this, there's another very important piece of equipment too. It's the thermal plate underneath the hose. This is used for making ice in fridges. The thermal plate ensures the water inside the tub becomes very very cold. It isn't very clear in the picture but if you look closely, you should be able to see a white plate underneath the hose. "

imo, as long as the input to the freezer is constantly being circulated, it has about a 0% chance to "turn to ice", so the power head isnt as essential as it is purported to be. still usefull tho


chills his large fish tank to the point that it has condensation all over it, as seen in the pics, and alot cheaper than 420+$ polar bear or active aqua. you could probably build this thing for ~ 150$ maybe 200 if you spring for a more expensive bar fridge instead of a dorm model.
 
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User24

User24

Well-Known Member
not smart to toss out your email address on a grow site imo, even if u are only selling chillers, which you are not, per your other few posts.

google/gmail probably has a people paid in a department to cooperate with LEO can just call up and get your info, RIU afaik does not.
 
U

unity

Well-Known Member
gvega187 said:
true I used the exact same insulation method for the tubing. I am mainly wondering how Earl plans to ventilate his larger chiller. Right now I have my chiller right outside the G-room with the door closed. Another fan blows air into this intermediary room to keep it decently cool. I remember Earl talking about further ventilation/insulation in his next grow however.
Click to expand...

I've been running the 1/10th HP Current Chiller with no hick ups. Mine will bring the 30 gal res down to 63 from 84 ambient. Never tried it lower :mrgreen:
I keep mine at 68.
I wish I had one from the beginning, all my root issues have gone away:hump:

As to insulation, I'm in HVAC and we use Line-Set Insulation. Very easy to work with!

Unity:peace:
 
gvega187

gvega187

Well-Known Member
unity said:
I've been running the 1/10th HP Current Chiller with no hick ups. Mine will bring the 30 gal res down to 63 from 84 ambient. Never tried it lower :mrgreen:
I keep mine at 68.
I wish I had one from the beginning, all my root issues have gone away:hump:

As to insulation, I'm in HVAC and we use Line-Set Insulation. Very easy to work with!

Unity:peace:
Click to expand...
I am receiving very similar results with my 1/10th hp.

that diy looks sketchy, but cool if u cant fork out $300.
 
purplehaze2

purplehaze2

Well-Known Member
Im going with user24.I have a fridge just sitting out there. I really think it would work,especially with that sprayed foam they have to really seal it up. it goes down this weekend.
 
mrbuzzsaw

mrbuzzsaw

Well-Known Member
User24 said:
simple as hell, about halfway down the page

killies.com :: View topic - DIY Chiller

he just buys a dorm fridge, pops 2-3 holes in it, feeds in some flex pvc line, coils it in a rubbermaid full of water (water xfers temps faster, think warm beer/soda placed in icechest full of ice and water vs. warm beer/soda in just a chest of ice, no water.)

he has a "small powerhead to circulate the water in the tub. Without this powerhead, there's a danger the water in the coiled hose can turn to ice. Circulating the water also ensures every inch of the hose is in contact with the cold water. Besides this, there's another very important piece of equipment too. It's the thermal plate underneath the hose. This is used for making ice in fridges. The thermal plate ensures the water inside the tub becomes very very cold. It isn't very clear in the picture but if you look closely, you should be able to see a white plate underneath the hose. "

imo, as long as the input to the freezer is constantly being circulated, it has about a 0% chance to "turn to ice", so the power head isnt as essential as it is purported to be. still usefull tho


chills his large fish tank to the point that it has condensation all over it, as seen in the pics, and alot cheaper than 420+$ polar bear or active aqua. you could probably build this thing for ~ 150$ maybe 200 if you spring for a more expensive bar fridge instead of a dorm model.
Click to expand...
i looked at his design my question is how does he get the freezer coil into the water tank???
mine is attached to the top!
 
D

D'FARMER

Active Member
This DIY water cooler works just fine (http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-room-design-setup/248366-klutters-diy-chiller-35-00-usd.html). I picked up a water cooler for free off Craig's List. I bought me a 10 gallon cooler off Craig's List for $5 bucks which I am using that as a cooling res. I am using 20' X 1/4" black sprinkler hose coiled up and placed into the cooling res. connected with a small pump which siphons nutes through the cold water and back into the nute res. I use a timer on the cooler plus its very generic thermostat to keep nutes at 68 degrees. Took a little tweaking though. I even bought a 1/10 chiller 4 months old for $150 bucks as I could not pass up the deal but still deiced to do the DIY water cooler project to see if it worked which it did. I now have sold my chiller and applied monies toward other necessary items. I also found a guy on Craig's List who refurbishes water coolers and he was willing to just sell me the cooling unit for $20 bucks as well as other water coolers being sold from $10 bucks to & $100 bucks.
 
J

joe macclennan

Well-Known Member
what about the copper coils being submerged in your rez water? I have read quite a few times that copper in your water is all bad. Plus i know that enough copper will kill plants. I like the idea but i would like to hear some feedback from a few more people people.
 
stelthy

stelthy

Well-Known Member
Hi, I need help :) !!! - I have 2x 10L Res. tubs in my Grow-Cab, and am using HID lighting, the rooms ambient temp with lights on is between 26 & 30oC. My problem lays with the Res. tubs, my res is between 20 and 30oC, Ideally I want both of my Res. tubs to be approx 18oC !! I am interested in getting a chiller but need to be clear on a few things 1st:-

Does the water chiller make much noise when its working ??

Can I cool 2 Reservoirs with one water chiller ??

How do I install it ??

Does the way it connects to the res. take up much space inside the res. tubs ??

Should I also use insulation on/around my res. tubs, & if so whats the best insulation to use thats not too bulky ??


I really hope y'all can answer my questions, as I want the best future for my 'Royale-Haze' girls, and really need to chill my res in the best, cheapest and smallest way possible asap! Many thanks - STELTHY :leaf:
 
stelthy

stelthy

Well-Known Member
stelthy said:
Hi, I need help :) !!! - I have 2x 10L Res. tubs in my Grow-Cab, and am using HID lighting, the rooms ambient temp with lights on is between 26 & 30oC. My problem lays with the Res. tubs, my res is between 20 and 30oC, Ideally I want both of my Res. tubs to be approx 18oC !! I am interested in getting a chiller but need to be clear on a few things 1st:-

Does the water chiller make much noise when its working ??

Can I cool 2 Reservoirs with one water chiller ??

How do I install it ??

Does the way it connects to the res. take up much space inside the res. tubs ??

Should I also use insulation on/around my res. tubs, & if so whats the best insulation to use thats not too bulky ??


I really hope y'all can answer my questions, as I want the best future for my 'Royale-Haze' girls, and really need to chill my res in the best, cheapest and smallest way possible asap! Many thanks - STELTHY :leaf:
Click to expand...



I was also wondering... Is this the correct way to set up the water cooler if I wanted to cool 2 Res. tubs? - STELTHY :leaf:
 
U

unity

Well-Known Member
stelthy said:


I was also wondering... Is this the correct way to set up the water cooler if I wanted to cool 2 Res. tubs? - STELTHY :leaf:
Click to expand...
Your return line from the res1 should be exiting res 1 at the bottom, not the top. That way water level fluctuations will not affect your chiller. A chiller can not run 'dry', it will freeze the standing water in it and bust internal components.

Kind
 
stelthy

stelthy

Well-Known Member
unity said:
Your return line from the res1 should be exiting res 1 at the bottom, not the top. That way water level fluctuations will not affect your chiller. A chiller can not run 'dry', it will freeze the standing water in it and bust internal components.

Kind
Click to expand...
Ok, that makes sense :) .. Is there a good way to stop the plants roots getting entangled/blocking both the PVC through pipe (Res. connector pipe), and also the Cooler hoses? I think after I have sorted this... I will then go and buy a cooler.. do you know if they are available in sizes smaller than 220 L per Hour? ...I only say that cos it seems a bit excessive when I only have 20 L total to keep cool ??

Cheers for wiping the dust and cobwebs from this thread :) I think what with the random heat we're having at the moment, this thread and your helpful answers could really be a life-saver for many a RIU Member :) - STELTHY :leaf:
 
stelthy

stelthy

Well-Known Member
Is it a good idea to run the Cooler the whole time?, Just whilst lights are on?, or staggered say on for an hour off for an hour etc etc ?? - STELTHY :leaf:
 
D

disposition84

Well-Known Member
Run the cooler 24/7, during lights off there won't be much to add heat so the chiller wont have to run.
Ideally you want to go for consistent temps, and keep it at the right level to help ensure proper dissolved
oxygen levels.
 
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