Igloo cooler dwc setup

Igloo Cooler DWC Setup: Thermal Insulated Reservoir
Lower reservoir temps and light proof

100 Litre Cooler with threaded drain plug


Remove these screws and put the lid away for safe storage. Screw the screws back into the cooler after you remove the lid so you don't lose them.


3 layers thick of residential sheathing insulation or styrofoam


Duct tape around the insulation while you mark and cut your holes to help hold it in place


Cover with mylar and you have an insulated and lightproof res and lid. you can see part of my drain to the left. Hook a water hose to the shut off valve and drain the water out and fill it back up with water hose as well or fill thru the chunk that is cut out for checking water levels and ph. With this setup my res temps have remained a steady 66-67 even if your grow cab is 90

how is it that res temps remained 67 with cab at 90 when you're pumping air from your cab in water?

because the res is insulated unlike using a 5 gallon bucket or rubbermaid where the heat gets thru and heats the water. My cab temp stays around 80 but with the lid and res being insulated it stays cool. I have 2 air pumps 2 6 inch round stones 1 10 in and 1 14 inch stone pumping plenty of oxygen into the water. dont understand why u say im pumping air from cab into water. no im not. the two air pumps are pumping air thru air stones

I think he is saying that the 90 degree air is being pumped into your water...., unless of course your air pumps are located outside your grow box.

yah, i didn't really understand the pumping air from the grow into the igloo statement too much either..
so, what did you do, just drill some holes in the lid for some net pots? if so, how many plants would you reckon one could fit into that setup??
thanks for the diy,

i have my air pumps in the cab and have absolutley no problem with res temps getting high. but you could always put pumps outside the cab. i have my cooler lid in storage so i can use the cooler for other purposes after the grow is over. i used a rubbermaid for a while and kept having issues with water temps getting high so I spent the $69 on the cooler. well worth it and you will have a good cooler to store plenty of cold beer in

well your airpump is in the cab isnt it? so it's pumping cab air in the igloo. i dont think the cooler water temp is caused by the insulation, otherwise it's a great way to grow and will help a lot in preserving temps if you were using a chiller or heater

Looks like one of Boomers old igloo setups

res temps stay a steady 66-67 is all i know. and my cab has been up to 84. if it begins to be a problem then I may move the pumps out. thats where I got the idea from Alex. very knowledgeable guy BB is

I agree. I think it is thermal mass that is keeping the res cooler. It holds a larger amount and it takes time for it to warm up throughout the 'day'. I've seen these types of grows, but yeah, they are using a chiller to cool the water.

zem said:

well your airpump is in the cab isnt it? so it's pumping cab air in the igloo. i dont think the cooler water temp is caused by the insulation, otherwise it's a great way to grow and will help a lot in preserving temps if you were using a chiller or heater

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Exactly!! I was thinking the exact same thing. I'm surprised it doesn't have a PVC frame around it with black netting ... ;p

alexonfire said:

Looks like one of Boomers old igloo setups

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I looked around alot and could not find laid out steps for this build then I found it on his page, so I try to make it easy for other people to find it in case they wanted to try it by posting it here. I never said this res was ALL my idea. I just simply wanted to show people how to make it the way I did. It works great in my opinion. A hell of alot better than the Rubbermaid I was using did. Im not stealing his idea (not that it matters), just using the thought and concept of the res. And if it works that well for him then why not give it a shot. Im not gonna be putting the PVC frame around it for my scrog tho and I wont be lowering my scrog net down on the plants like he did and I dont have it out in the open like he did, so yes the concept of the res (not the grow) is basically the same other than that. Different nutes, different lights, no light movers, same res setup. Ill be making my own scrog net out of 1x2s and thin rope to make my net. You people keep talking about a water chiller. Actually if anything my water has been too chilly. It dropped to 63 but that was only because I didnt have the heat on in the house but I have had absolutley no problems with my water temps being too high or too low other than the 63. I don't like using bottled water to lower temps so thats not a choice for me. You guys might use them and I have tried them but the frozen bottles bounce and hit your roots causing damage to the roots as well as if the bottle sits in one place under the roots then it could cause the roots to die or get freeze damage done to them. Sorry for venting but it kinda perturbs me when I try to post something that I think people will find interesting and useful and I get attacked (not really) because I post a concept that took me a month to find and was probably a year or so old that I brought back into circulation on RIU. It works for me with no problems so far, Boomer seems to be very happy with his setup. There is a reason Boomer says ditch the rubbermaid and get an Igloo. Im with ya Boomer. Thanks for the idea behind this. Maybe some others will ditch the rubbermaids and get an Igloo. So if you want to build one then there are the instructions. Happy Growing RIU!!

Great idea bluberry. Im gonna copy this within the month. I see that you cut out a bit of the stryofoam to check ph etc. Any problems with algae as i imagine some light can get through were u made the cutting?

Check this out.....I might try it with one of these! http://www.igloo-store.com/detail/IGL+MAX+COLD+5

Our longest cooling water jug!

Having even better cold retention than regular Igloo water coolers, this MaxCold cooler keeps water cold longest and is ideal for hydrating the team at the kids ' games, at school or church events, while camping or at your backyard party.

• MaxCold insulation – Maintains ice for 5 days at 90° F!
• Pressure-fit lid won't trap dirt/mold
• Recessed and angled drip-resistant spigot for easy dispensing
• Reinforced handles for strength and product longevity
• Bracket affixed for optional cup dispenser
• Flat lid creates a seat when not in use, and is stackable
• Keeps ice 5 days

Blu, just checked out your grows...Nice and I see you made some upgrades throughout the process will have to go back when I gots more time. I have been very interested in DWC but always discouraged hearing about controlling res temps with a small grow closet 2x4x8 with my 400 and having temps between now 79-83 I was going to wait until the cooler months and give it a go with my lowes bucket but def going to invest in something like above.

I realise this is an old thread but I find it hard to find much information on this subject but anyhow if I wanted to do this with 1 plant per cooler couldn't I just put a hole in the the cooler lid instead of removing it and just drop my net pot and plant in the lid

Bluethumb94 said:

I realise this is an old thread but I find it hard to find much information on this subject but anyhow if I wanted to do this with 1 plant per cooler couldn't I just put a hole in the the cooler lid instead of removing it and just drop my net pot and plant in the lid

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He was saving the lid for future use besides growing. I was thinking the same thing. It would give you better insulation with the lid made for it.