Ice probe + 5 gal cooler+ thermostat= end of heat problem

rshackleferd

rshackleferd

Well-Known Member
Here is the best possible way IMO to cool a small or large insulated dwc reservoir. No moving parts besides the fan and takes about 15 to 20 minutes to install. In the middle of summer at 100f it will run about 5 to 7 hours a day costing about $1.17 to run per month. I set mine at 66F and it stays at 66F even during the hotest time of day. No fluctuations whatsoever, if you dont have the $175 for the ice probe you can make one yourself for around $30 or less, pics below.






Thermostat



Home made peltier cooler, Very cheap to make and two of these will cool a 16 gallon insulated reservoir to 66F in the middle of summer. Run time during the hottest time of year in zone 9 is around 5 to 7 hours a day. When temps are 80F or below it hardly ever turns on.

 
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H

HelloHydro

Member
Airwalker16 said:
So just a pump inside the res pumping to that peltier?
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Yeah Works amazing once temperature is reached only comes on maybe twice a day the insulation really helps.
I just transplanted the one on the left hooked up the Peltier ready to go death to the big water chillers LOL
 

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MonkeyPickAss

MonkeyPickAss

Well-Known Member
i like it. Good for you for making something that works well for you. There is something to be said for not just buying something already made.
 
H

HelloHydro

Member
MonkeyPickAss said:
i like it. Good for you for making something that works well for you. There is something to be said for not just buying something already made.
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You are so right. This post is what gave me the idea I remember reading it a while back I just modified it a little. I remember working on my liquid cooled gaming computer and when I seen this post it's like a light came on and this was the aftermath. I was going to buy the ice probe and do it exactly like you but they wanted over a hundred bucks for that thing I found an old Dell computer on the curb took out the heatsink order some pale tears and water blocks the first experiment was a success.
 
H

HelloHydro

Member
You can also use it for Coco just use blue tubing coiled around the inside of whatever pot you're using cut an entry and exit hole run the line to a small external Reservoir connected to Peltier. Hook it up to a temperature controller stick it in the coco when the temperatures get high the pill tear comes on pumping cool water through the coil into the reservoir back in to the coil with the Peltier being the cooling device.
Hope the picture makes sense let me know if you get it and yes it works I've used it just make sure you run it along the side inside your pot with your medium being in the middle. It may be tedious to put together but it sure beats root rot in once it's made it's made
 

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H

HelloHydro

Member
Airwalker16 said:
What wattage is that peltier unit? and it keeps 5 gals cool no prob?
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12 volt 6amp 60 Watt laptop battery charger or LED strip power supply per Peltier unit.
Works like a charm c4yourself
 

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H

HelloHydro

Member
Airwalker16 said:
Oooorrrr you can order a pre assembled peltier cooler from ebay for $40. ;)
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Hell yeah I just seen them.
They didn't have them on eBay last year time to order up thanks. I was getting mine from China in ordering the water blocks from Amazon that saves time and money now
 
rshackleferd

rshackleferd

Well-Known Member
Airwalker16 said:
What wattage is that peltier unit? and it keeps 5 gals cool no prob?
Click to expand...
Like everything you cool down it must be insulated for it to work right. When I first turned mine on it dropped the temps faster than i thought, in fact when i first powered up iceprobe it started forming ice on the probe in no time at all. Im not sure how cold it can get the cooler but i turned mine off when it reached 49F. The iceprobe runs at 60 watts while my homemade one runs at 55 watts due to the size of my dc adapter. They have peltier coolers which run at 250+ watts you can buy on ebay for large hydro systems.
 
H

HelloHydro

Member
rshackleferd said:
Like everything you cool down it must be insulated for it to work right. When I first turned mine on it dropped the temps faster than i thought, in fact when i first powered up iceprobe it started forming ice on the probe in no time at all. Im not sure how cold it can get the cooler but i turned mine off when it reached 49F. The iceprobe runs at 60 watts while my homemade one runs at 55 watts due to the size of my dc adapter. They have peltier coolers which run at 250+ watts you can buy on ebay for large hydro systems.
Click to expand...
no need for the big ones unless you're running anything over 10 gallons and buy a inkbird temperature controller put it in the reservoir so you don't have to manually cut it off
 
Airwalker16

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
rshackleferd said:
Like everything you cool down it must be insulated for it to work right. When I first turned mine on it dropped the temps faster than i thought, in fact when i first powered up iceprobe it started forming ice on the probe in no time at all. Im not sure how cold it can get the cooler but i turned mine off when it reached 49F. The iceprobe runs at 60 watts while my homemade one runs at 55 watts due to the size of my dc adapter. They have peltier coolers which run at 250+ watts you can buy on ebay for large hydro systems.
Click to expand...
So your peltier cooler her sink diy pulls 55 watts exacrly?
 
rshackleferd

rshackleferd

Well-Known Member
Ice-probe
5 gallon cooler
Ink bird thermostat
silicone
drill
half inch drill bit, smaller bit will work but bigger the better.

Instructions;

Unscrew and remove the spout that came with the cooler and use the half inch drill bit to make the hole wider. Doesnt take long at all, just rotate the drill in a circular motion till its wide enough. Make sure its wide enough by placing the probe in the hole until it has room enough to push through. Once you have the hole wide enough its time to install the ice probe onto the cooler. Make sure to use a decent amount of silicone on the ice-probes plastic washer so it doesn't leak and try not to get silicone on the probe sticking through. If you do just wipe off. The ink bird thermostat will need a power cord. I bought a cheap extension cord and severed the wires on one end and used the female part to power the ice probe and the male side to power the ink bird thermostat. The instructions are very simple and some comments on amazon have some better ones with pictures.



Homemade peltier cooler;


http://www.ebay.com/itm/TEC1-12706-...988127?hash=item1c7724da1f:g:lyEAAOSw5cNYR3eG

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ultra-quiet...Pump-New-BN-/122232518690?hash=item1c75a03822

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-5A-Powe...05-P01-/162449980344?var=&hash=item25d2c5fbb8

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ARCTIC-Alpi...420470?hash=item4d58b02476:g:RokAAOSw~y9ZBVNf

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Liquid-Cool...866573?hash=item2cb38c228d:g:7jkAAOSwh2xX-WWI

You will also need tubing, I forgot what size since its been years ago. I bought the tubing from lowes awhile back. You basically sandwich the peltier plate onto the cpu cooler, then the water block. Strip the wires off the laptop ac adapter and connect them all up. Be careful about how you tie in the positive and negative on the peltier cooler. If you mix them up it will cool the wrong end :bigjoint: Its all color coded so it shouldn't be too hard. Make sure you use cpu thermal paste when you attach the pelteir cooler, cpu cooler, and water block together. After you have all that together your ready to go.
 
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