# cheap and EFFECTIVE DIY water chiller



## legallyflying (Aug 7, 2011)

Thought I would share this as I finally got around to giving it a try and man of man, it is the fucking bomb! Similar units have been described so I didn't invent it but thought I would post it up as it really does work well and only cost me around $150. 

You basically use a dehumidifier and a cooling coil for making beer (wort chiller). 
A dehumidifier works like an air con, using the phase change of liquid to gas and back again to get rid of heat. A dehumidifier works by passing air through a very cold radiator. The water in the air condenses and drips into a bucket. 

So what do is take the shell of your dehumidifier. There are two radiators in there, one for cooling and one that gets hot to dissipate the collected heat. 

I had a 40 pint dehu that I used but I'm sure you could use a smaller unit as it was soo effective. So what I did was take the shell of the dehumidifier off and GENTLY bend the cold radiator into a medium sized cooler. Then I filled the cooler with water and placed a stainless steel wort chilller coil in the cooler. You can find them on e-bay. You could probably use plastic pipe instead of the wort chiller but it won't be near as effective. This is what I'm talking about..http://www.amazon.com/Super-Efficient-Stainless-Steel-Chiller/dp/B004D4QPQW

Then I have a SMALL pump and plastic tubing that pumps water from my rez, through the wort chiller, and back again. 

So my 50 gallon rez was at 73 degrees. The water in the cooler was at 67. I turned the dehu on and crossed my fingers. I came back an hour and half later and my rez was at 61!!! There was actually a block of ice around the radiator in the cooler. That is a 12 degree drop in one hour!! The ice stayed around for several hours, I actually had to shut the pump off as the cooler water was in the 50's and I didn't want my rez and colder. About 7 hours later my rez was up to 70 so I turned the dehu on for 30 minutes and the rez dropped down to 65 within the hour. SO at this point I'm going to put the dehu on a timer to turn on for about 30 minutes every 3-4 hours and call it good. That is not a whole lot of power to cool 50 gallons. I'm pretty fucking stoked as chillers are very expensive and typically have to be run all the time. 

In order to avoid posting pictures I did a web search and found a cool website that explains exactly what I did.

http://www.jonolavsakvarium.com/eng_diy/chiller/chiller.html

Cheers!


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## SimplySmoked (Aug 12, 2011)

That is a great design. Not many people here would build something like that, although I would, if I had the need for one. Nice find my friend.


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## legallyflying (Aug 12, 2011)

If people spent $400 on an ecoplus chiller that was a power hog and didn't work as well they would.


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## MEANGREEN69 (Aug 12, 2011)

can you still use the dehumidifier in the room?


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## legallyflying (Aug 12, 2011)

The dehu works by sucking air across ice cold coils. The air temp drops and water condenses and falls into the bucket. 

Since that ice cold coil is now sitting in a bucket of water...no.


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## allybam (Aug 19, 2011)

Heres an idea, a fridge could be fitted with lots of tubing running through the inside and i mean lots of tubing, and then bore 2 holes and run the 2 ends of the tubing out and attach a water pump to one peice of tubing and run the other into your hydro tank, and there ya have it folks a cheap and very effective water cooler!

Ya could prob get an old fridge for well nothing so all ya would have to do is pay for a water pump and a few rolls of hose pipe, what yas think?

And im pretty sure a fridge could cope no problem with the extra cooling and be left on constantly without breaking down,

I poster this elsewhere but thought it seemed more suitable on here ​


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## GoodGollyMsMolly (Aug 19, 2011)

i picked up a deep freeze freezer and tried to make a chiller out of it and the problem i had was that the copper coil i put in the freezer would melt the block if ice faster then it could freeze back up. i think the wort chiller coil might work better but not sure. i think for the amount of time i have spent trying to get it to work i could have just bought a chiller.but thats just what i think


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## legallyflying (Aug 20, 2011)

The fridge idea is no good because the compresses are not designed to run non stop, they are expensive to run, will not have as effective of heat transfer without water immersion plus, who the hell has space for an extra fridge? 

My whole dehu set up sits under my nutrient shelves. I forbit the other day and left it on for 1.5 hours. There was 1" of ice on the coil. Oopsie.


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## allybam (Aug 23, 2011)

legallyflying said:


> The fridge idea is no good because the compresses are not designed to run non stop, they are expensive to run, will not have as effective of heat transfer without water immersion plus, who the hell has space for an extra fridge?
> 
> My whole dehu set up sits under my nutrient shelves. I forbit the other day and left it on for 1.5 hours. There was 1" of ice on the coil. Oopsie.


 
I have to disagree with ya there and lots of people have room for a few fridges in there grow rooms if not more, and the fridge wouldnt be blasting none stop it would probabley cool down the inside a little more that normal, and if you where to use a lower powered water pump and tons of hose pipe by the time the slightly warmish water worked its way through all the nice cold hose pipe(60s atleast) and back into the tank it would take a few degrees of it!(im thinking a good 10-15 degrees)


I mean its not like im running boiling water through the things ffs, its only 70-80 degrees and water at that temp running through a fridge most defffinatly would not have the thing turning on 24/7 and burning itself out, at most it would turn on several times extra per day depending on how cold you set it to be!


If that was'nt the case then there would'nt be no fridges in desert countrys because the compresser would over heat when the fridge turns on because the air surrounding it and the fridge is much much warmer than what the water passing through an already cool hose pipe would be, which means in a desert country the fridge would turn on alot more due to the intense heat and burn out(but thats not the case), and I live in a temperate area so the outside air will easy cool it before it turns on again!


Or just like my air pump that heats to the point it near burns the hand of ya, just get a small fan and keep it blowing on the compressor thing on back of fridge and it will help cool it just like it does my air pump, to the point were its actuall cold in most places to touch and at its warmest its luke warm!


And when ya never open a fridge door it rarely turns on to cool down, so there straight of, is a load of times less than it would normaly turn on!


Dehumidifers arent exactly cheap why would you butcher 1 to make a cooler if ya have that sort of money to do that what can i say.......... go and buy a real cooler you cheap bastards llf


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## legallyflying (Aug 23, 2011)

Dude your wrong. Not going to sit here and try and convince you about it. Ask yourself this..is food in your fridge a constant source of heat? No it's not. Once your fridge and food is at a given temp, the only thing the fridge is fighting against is outside air temp. 

What transfers heat better? Water or air? 

I bought a used dehu on CL for $30, threw it in the back of my car and when i got home, made another cooler for my veg rez in 
about 20 minutes. 

Go ahead, buy a fridge. Borrow your friends truck, haul it into your basement and then put 100 feet of hose in it. You'll soon discover that it doesn't work for shit. That is, if you don't rupture the cooling coils when driinh into the side of it. People have tried it and documented that it doesn't work. 

It's not about being cheap, it's about being smart. Your logic is fairly sound but they lack an understanding of physics, mechanics, and practicality. I would love to see you buy and fuck with an old fridge though.


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## NiKEUS (Aug 28, 2011)

before this thread does die....

i came across these by accident while looking for ways to chill water:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TEC1-12705-Thermoelectric-Cooler-Peltier-12V-50W-77Wmax-/280404808193?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41496dd201#ht_500wt_1156 and
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Temperature-Controller-Thermoelectric-Cooler-Peltier-/300556512826?pt=UK_AudioElectronicsVideo_Video_TelevisionSetTopBoxes&hash=item45fa906e3a#ht_3703wt_905

any thoughts on if anyone thinks these could be put to good use :/


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## legallyflying (Aug 28, 2011)

only because you have a sweet avatar. 

I have no idea what the hell that is, or how it would actually get cold just using electricity. I mean, there is no endothermic reaction to absorb heat.. maybe there is, I dunno, but that looks like some kind of weird heat sink. At any rate, assuming that it did get cold, water has a very large thermal capacity..meaning that it requires a pretty fair amount of energy to cool it. That unit only looks to run on 70 summ watts. So if 
i ahd to guess, I would say it wouldn't work but that is just an educated guess.


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## Mrfootball420 (Aug 28, 2011)

never seen one of those before but they are pretty small, not much bigger then a pack of matches. here is what i found.




This thermoelectric cooler (TEC), otherwise known as a Peltier plate freezes to icy cold in just a matter of minutes, or alternatively, reverse the polarity and heat it to boiling point.


*What Can I Use It In?*

CPU&#8217;s
Picnic cooler/ice boxes
Drinks coolers/ice boxes
Laser diodes
CCD cameras
*How Does It Work?*

Utilizing electricity, a TEC has an electrified metal plate that generates a heat pump which works when it is slid in between the CPU (for example) and the heat sink to keep the CPU side cool while the heat sink side stays warm.



*Benefits:*

Capable of generating electricity when one side is kept cool and heat is applied to the other
No moving internal parts to damage when in transit
Makes absolutely no noise and does not vibrate
Long life
Slim and compact
Excellent quality
Brand new and unused
*Specifications:*

Type: TEC1-12726
400W
12V
Couples: 127
Imax (A): 26/li>
Vmax (V): 15.4
QCmax (W) 177.8
Tmax &#730;C: 68
Dimensions: 50 x 50 x 3.65mm (2 x 2 x 0.15")
Wire length: 101mm (4")
Fully sealed for protection against moisture
V1.3


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## NiKEUS (Aug 29, 2011)

i was thinking a few of these and some sort of ceramic heat sink?


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## legallyflying (Aug 29, 2011)

Just to clarify, the peltier plate does not just get cold. It functions on a heat gradient. So yes, one side will get nice and cold while the other side will get hot and some sort of heat sink is needed to get rid of that heat. 

In theory it could work if you could keep one side in the water an the other side in the open air. Again, your battling against allot of thermal mass. Could be sweet if you had them attached to the side of a bucket or something but seems like you would be taking heat out of the water and into the room...which then will transfer to the water. 

Yeah hellraiser, I have my own personal troll. Sounds like a reciepe for a grow off.


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## Mrfootball420 (Aug 29, 2011)

hellraizer30 said:


> Wtf mrfoot whys it I always see you trolling on legal thread or anything he posts? You sir are a true dip shit!
> Could be the biggest RIU troll to date, wait REP fuck rep somebody get this guy a merit badge for troller of
> The year! Dude do us all a favor and cancel your account


 i posted here because i am needing a chiller, just like i need airstones, obviously both threads are in my interest. i have posted in exactly 2 threads of the op. one was the airstone test where you were ridding my jock and this one. go click like on every thread you read and get lost! i spend most time helping people in the plant problems section. im such a troll for helping people, and calling bs when i see it! 

poster: hey will this work? a "tec"?.............. my reply: i never heard of one before but here is what i found out(list)....... im such a troll for actually helping people. legals reply: I have no idea what the hell that is, or how it would actually get cold just using electricity. what a great contributor to this forum he is. such valuable input.

poster: i have an idea for a chiller, a bunch of hose in a fridge.... my reply: they have those already and here is a link and picture of a riu members working unit....... im such a troll for actually helping people. legals reply same question: that wont work you dumb brit, it physics. you are a dumbass.... what a great contributor to this forum he is. such valuable input.

legal then had to jump down my throat telling me it wouldnt work, when it does work and i proved it working with his own info and i also showed another working model with link. who is the troll here? 

dont post false info and you wont get called on it.....


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## ghantron (Sep 2, 2011)

hey legally flying im tryin to figure this out. I dont have a recirculating system (i could make one but rather not) and im trying to apply your idea. N E ideas? have a pump in rez that activates a sprinkler system, netted pots above.

Does the nute water run through the coils or is there water specifically for cooling purposes? How many gallons would i need (minimum) to stay on the safe side and away from a freezing resevoir? Thanks.. and +rep for erbody who stops bitchin


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## legallyflying (Sep 2, 2011)

Yo Ghan, this setup will work great. I initially pumped nute water through but it caused build up in the coils. Now the coils just sit in the Rez, the cooler (or any container) just has water, the cooling element and a small pump. You only need 5-10 gallons of water in the container. This system is extremely effective and will quickly make your Rez too cold!!! I can drop 50 gallons at 75 to 65 in about 45 minutes. Try that with an eco-shit cooler. 

Any dehu off craigslist will work. One that automatically turns on when it receives power will work best and allow you to put the coil pump and dehu on a timer. The it just turns on once or twice a day and runs for 30 min a time. Bam! Fully auto, cost effective chilling with minimal BS and hoses. 

A couple notes: stainless coils only! Copper will leach and kill plants. If you only have one Rez it's not an issue but I move this from Rez to Rez and found that securely strapping the dehu to the water filled cooler will prevent the copper lines from getting kinked. Be careful when bending the copper into the cooler! Grab the long parts tO make the bends, the pre-bent lines are fragile! 
Lastly, the smaller the pump the better. 

Please post your results. I think you will be amazed, the water comIng back from the coils in your Rez will feel like bath water compared to the icy cooler water. It just sucks the heat right out of the rez!! 

Disclaimer: all this info is false and this is by now means the cheapest and fastest way to cool your Rez. Please feel free to be a dick for the sake of just being a dick cause that just proves to me that your meds are schwag.


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## ghantron (Sep 4, 2011)

instead of the wort chiller i think im gonna try and use this clear vinyl tubing i got laying around. C N E problems with that?


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## legallyflying (Sep 4, 2011)

It won't be as effective as plastic doesn't transfer as much heat as metal does. It should still work, how well it will
Work... I guess you will find out.


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## frogster (Sep 6, 2011)

Ok.. the ref. is here .. I will read this thread in all its glory later and decide who is the douche' ....swift justice& sentencing to be held afterward..


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## Realclosetgreenz (Sep 6, 2011)

Like watching two kids fight over a drunk slut..LOL entertaining!!!


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## frogster (Sep 8, 2011)

Off to work,,, getting closer on the prototype light,, will keep you guys in the loop , and will ship you one Legal... asap


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## legallyflying (Sep 9, 2011)

Ohh frogster. That is almost as good as an idea as using chicken wire as a SCROG screen. Lol

Sorry, I had to. 

Wait till you see the next grow. "mega-SCROG". 3600 watts and 70 sq ft of back breaking SCROG screen. 
Shooting for 6lbs off of 12 plants, 6 week veg.


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## SinCitySaints (May 6, 2012)

does you still use your diy chiller? anything you would change or improve on?
i skimmed thru this thread not sure if this was settled but the fridge/freezer idea wont work you will burn it out and waste power running it all day. same thing goes for water cooler chillers for office break-rooms.


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## thatguy69 (Jun 26, 2012)

that people that brew their own beer do is buy a chest freezer and build a wooden "collar" so u take the top hinges off from the body build a frame and glue it to the top of the freezer and attach the top to the wood and that way you dont have to drill wholes into the freezer you drill the wood and they put their kegs and tap the wood for a at home beer bar. also the purchase sumthing called a freezer temperature control and connect it to the wall outlet and the freezer to the controller and place the temperature probe into the freezer perferable in a small glass of water to get the liquid temperature in the freezer and it will cut power to the freezer and so on keeping temperatures at plus or minus 5 degrees from your set temperature the controller is 100 and a chest freezer from craiglist or kijiji is 40-80 and then the wood to build the coller and i dont no the cost of wood. what you do is you keep your res in there with the probe in it and it will stay the same temperature or u can get the controller and attach it to your dehumidifier and your golden. your idea is pretty cool im a diy person and i give you a thumbs up


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## mytwhyt (Aug 5, 2012)

I found this temp. controller while looking for a stainless wort coil. I like the idea of using it with a freezer. So many ways to go. You could even put the whole reservoir in a big freezer, and set it to whatever temp you want.... Almost all 5 star reviews http://www.amazon.com/Johnson-Controls-Digital-Thermostat-Control/dp/B00368D6JA/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top


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## Evo8Emperor (Dec 27, 2012)

hey legal so ive found a few threads from you on some stuff and you have had great ideas and even better input. So now I have a question about this seeing as I am interested in doing the same thing.

So first off is i read through the link you posted and followed how he did it. With his idea he has the cooler in his own box like how your using the cooler. But where he just adds water and runs and inlet and outlet to his tank you used the wort chiller to hold and circulate the nute solution through the cooled water in the cooler from the radiator on the dehumdifier ? Hope you follow me. lol.

I just want to make sure I do it the most effective way now that its been done a few times and people have an idea like you. lol.

Then there's the question of should i try a mini dehumidifier for the ease of just being able to keep its running instead of having to put it on a timer ? I bought a brand new 70pint dehumidifier I didn't end up needing so I'm going to return it and get a mini one depending how much new. Or I seen a mini one and a reg one for a couple bucks on cl i might go get instead.


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## legallyflying (Dec 27, 2012)

I like the cooler just fine. I haven't looked through the thread in awhile to see what I put in here but I did purchase a tempwrature controller to turn the dehu on and off. It was like $60. Very nice unit that is fully adjustable for turn on, turn off, and dead band 

I do not chill the Nute solution. I filled the cooler with water and added a little bleach to keep it clean. The water goes through the coils and comes back to the cooler warm and gets chilled and back to the coils 

But, since it is winter. I just stuck a 20 gallon tote outside and use that water (which is cooled by the air) to chill the Rez. You just need a good pump to be able to lift the water up and out the window. Free chilling!!! 
I would buy a SS coil and give that a try 

Cheers


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## Evo8Emperor (Jan 9, 2013)

Ok so now I have a question or idea I want to run by you...

I have a brewery store like right next door to my house and I went in and they have copper wort chiller's. I have him looking into a stainless steel one but he's not sure if his guy has it or not and I forgot to even ask a price. lol. I looked online and can easily find one but just didn't have the money to order it.

Now I really need to get a chiller in my res and I don't have the time to order one. So I am trying to think of a way to either cover the copper or so other way to use it even till I get a stainless steel one ordered.

I'm going to go pick up a used dehumidifier this weekend and hopefully get a chiller built. My plants are suffering in the UC and growth rate is so slow because of it. It's killing me watching them.


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## sudodaemon (Jan 9, 2013)

I did this with a dehumidifier I had... It works, it absolutely does... BUT, and a BIG BUT, the heat put off by the dehumidifer (maybe just mine) increased my closet temp to 100 effing degrees... I had the coils in one bucket cooling that water and a tube going from my main bucket, through the chilled bucket and back, so no water got contaminated from the metal coils... All in all though, it didn't work for me, and dehumidifiers are LOUD AS SHIT... What I ended up doing is getting Ducting Insulation... I used it to reduce noise when I got HID's and a fan/filter, and used the extra to insulate my rez... Everything except the bottom... I now have air temps in the mid to upper 70's and my res NEVER goes above 68 degrees... The cold nights help chill it good to and the insulation makes the cold last all through the lights on period.


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## Evo8Emperor (Jan 9, 2013)

Yah but every dehumidifier is different concerning the noise aspect. Either way I'm not worried about noise. I run air pumps, ventilation,a/c, water pumps. lol. Only thing doesn't make noise are my lights and ballast's. lol

As for my situation though I run an under current with 4 sites. 13 gal grow mod's so I circulate 50 gallons of water through a 1300gph pump that's on 24/7. The heat from the pump alone keeps my res temps in the high 70's if I don't keep on top of it with 2L Ice bottles to get it to a hair below 70 and that's a lot of work for me. Like changing out 2 2L bottles every 8 hrs. Doesn't sound like a lot but staying on top of it is just another thing for me to forget.

As for heat I am running an a/c right now to keep my temps where ever I want but I plan on going get a nice 10 or 12 in fan to vent my whole room and it keeps it nice. 

For the money to build my own right now and get my plants on track is worth what ever else until the time comes I can buy a nice chiller. Already have my eye on one.


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## Duckweed Dan (Jan 9, 2013)

Are you running any CO2? You can increase the concentration up to 2000-2100 ppm and the plants won't get stressed during the hot times until you can get the coil straight.


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## Evo8Emperor (Jan 9, 2013)

No I don't run co2. Plus I am having water reservoir temp issues. Not air temp issues.


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## Duckweed Dan (Jan 9, 2013)

The CO2 helps the plants deal with all kinds of heat stress issues, water and air.


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## legallyflying (Jan 10, 2013)

#1.. don't put the chiller in the room with your plants. Pretty easy solution. 
#2. Running above 1500 PPM is a complete waste of co2. Mine is essentially free and I still only top out at 1500. 

I think I should also add that even with CO2, you don't want to be running those high temps in the end of flower. 

Cheers.


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## Evo8Emperor (Jan 10, 2013)

That doesn't help me with my situation. lol. You went to his issue's and not my dilemma. lol.

I'm thinking of maybe finding a stainless steel box the coil will fit in so I can just pit it inside the stainless box and then drop that in the res. a little more work and pieces but if i can get it to work for now then Ill be happy to get my plants happier. lol.


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## legallyflying (Jan 11, 2013)

Bend radiator into a cooler. Pump cold water through tubing and SS wart chiller coil. Throw the wort chiler coil in your in your return box or whatever the hell its called in the RDWC system. the "manifold" or whatever. 

That's what I did when I was running an undercurrent. here is a picture.


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## Evo8Emperor (Jan 11, 2013)

lol. Thanks but I got that part man. I was just curious about some idea's using a copper coil because I have a brewery store like right next door to me and he's got a couple. Just doesn't have stainless on hand and would have to order.

So I was thinking of a way to use the copper one some how. 

If if I can find a place that sell's stainless steel tubing or coil would be great too. I would just make my own lines or coil.

Only reason I am going about it the hard way instead of just ordering the stainless one is due to time constraints and not having money to order one during the week. I have some cash now that its friday. So ya follow me ? lol.


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## legallyflying (Jan 11, 2013)

eBay $40 if i remember correctly


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## inspired333 (May 19, 2013)

Thanks for this thread Legal. You're the ma.. you're the wom.. - You're the person!
I got one built from a window ac. Haven't used it yet (only tested). This gave me some more insight/ideas.

Peace.


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## legallyflying (May 19, 2013)

nice, over a year and my original one is still trucking along. Been trouble free except for the time the water pump stopped working. Came home after work and the cooler was a SOLID block of ice. The dehumidifier tubing also had like an inch of ice on it. ooops.


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## budtoker0987 (Jun 27, 2013)

Wow this thread is awesome Legally, thanks for giving me the link!! I will deff be making two of these


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## midgaar (Feb 2, 2014)

How would one go about hooking up a thermostat to a converted dehumidifier? Or how could you bypass the controls all together so that the compressor and fan are always on when the unit is plugged in?

The dehumidifier I used does not turn on when plugged in and it's too big to just leave running 24/7.


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## kinddiesel (Feb 2, 2014)

use a old freezer. cut a hole in it pipe in a small heater core for a car from an auto parts store 30 bucks . and fan attached to the core blowing through it. this goes inside the freezer . and the pump that moves the water plumbs into that core. and it circulates the water through the freezer . and you can cool 25 to 50 gallons of water . buttttt the temp is not steady. but it works . you can control the temp with a speed control fan that's inside the freezer . to a point with in a few. total investment is about 35 bucks . if you have a old freezer laying around . saves electricity . because the fridge stores beer .


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## midgaar (Feb 3, 2014)

midgaar said:


> How would one go about hooking up a thermostat to a converted dehumidifier? Or how could you bypass the controls all together so that the compressor and fan are always on when the unit is plugged in?
> 
> The dehumidifier I used does not turn on when plugged in and it's too big to just leave running 24/7.


Anyone know how to do this?


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## squirt1961 (Nov 16, 2015)

legallyflying said:


> Yo Ghan, this setup will work great. I initially pumped nute water through but it caused build up in the coils. Now the coils just sit in the Rez, the cooler (or any container) just has water, the cooling element and a small pump. You only need 5-10 gallons of water in the container. This system is extremely effective and will quickly make your Rez too cold!!! I can drop 50 gallons at 75 to 65 in about 45 minutes. Try that with an eco-shit cooler.
> 
> Any dehu off craigslist will work. One that automatically turns on when it receives power will work best and allow you to put the coil pump and dehu on a timer. The it just turns on once or twice a day and runs for 30 min a time. Bam! Fully auto, cost effective chilling with minimal BS and hoses.
> 
> ...


What if I'm not using a reservoir?

I only have a 5 gallon bucket dwc system with drippers run on air I've got 4 buckets like this running.separately

I would like to cool my water temp down to 68° from avg of 72-74°

What's my best bet other than buying an expensive water chiller its just not in my budget


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## legallyflying (Nov 16, 2015)

Set this one up if you can find a cheap dehu on CL or pop for a commercial chiller


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## legallyflying (Nov 16, 2015)

midgaar said:


> How would one go about hooking up a thermostat to a converted dehumidifier? Or how could you bypass the controls all together so that the compressor and fan are always on when the unit is plugged in?
> 
> The dehumidifier I used does not turn on when plugged in and it's too big to just leave running 24/7.



The temp control part is easy... ranco temperature controller. The dehu not turning on though.. that is a head scratcher


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## ttystikk (Nov 16, 2015)

squirt1961 said:


> What if I'm not using a reservoir?
> 
> I only have a 5 gallon bucket dwc system with drippers run on air I've got 4 buckets like this running.separately
> 
> ...


Find a small AC unit. You may be able to do something similar with it.


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## squirt1961 (Nov 16, 2015)

ttystikk said:


> Find a small AC unit. You may be able to do something similar with it.



Does it need to be in a window? 

My grow room is in basement no windows.


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## ttystikk (Nov 17, 2015)

squirt1961 said:


> Does it need to be in a window?
> 
> My grow room is in basement no windows.


Not necessarily, but it is going to be shedding heat wherever you put it. You'll need a plan for getting rid of that heat.

In my case, I scaled the sizing of my water cooling system up to the point where it handles all my HVAC needs for grow AND home. Not only was I able to place chillers and heat pump where it made the most sense for them, I've been recapturing my 'waste' heat for years and reusing it to warm my home.

The ultimate expression of this idea is the heat pump I'm installing; it removes heat from one water circuit and puts it in another. The cold circuit services RDWC systems, cools my growing spaces, while the hot side dehueys those same growing spaces, heats my house, heats my hot water and will provide heat for my garage, back patio, hot tub and even a driveway warming circuit so my lazy ass won't need to shovel snow...

...All while saving the home grower a small fortune in HVAC costs!


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## legallyflying (Nov 17, 2015)

Lol. Driveway heater!! Fucking sweet! 

Our co2 rez is a 12' diameter blow up pool. Heats the WH in the winter, we put it outside in the summer. Free hot tub!! 

But it is kind of gross, we mega dose it with chlorine and toss all our bet pits, cloning trays, etc in it to Sanitize them.


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## ttystikk (Nov 18, 2015)

legallyflying said:


> Lol. Driveway heater!! Fucking sweet!
> 
> Our co2 rez is a 12' diameter blow up pool. Heats the WH in the winter, we put it outside in the summer. Free hot tub!!
> 
> But it is kind of gross, we mega dose it with chlorine and toss all our bet pits, cloning trays, etc in it to Sanitize them.


I wouldn't put a liquid cooled CO² burner on a cold water circuit on a bet, lol. But the hot tub idea has legs! One circuit will go heat mine, if it runs hot enough!

Tankless water heater would work fine on the hot side circuit, because of all the places to dump that heat all plumbed into the same system... and since the same hot water system also heats my house, it will be back to old times, heating the house with natural gas, LOL


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## legallyflying (Nov 18, 2015)

Bet pits? Lol. Net pots. 

Yeah, we are on a well so we could very well do drain to waste water on the co2 burners... but I'm fairly certain that anyone that actually wasted that much water will burn in hell. 

Or, they should anyways. 

How are things going stck? Dude, we have some gorilla glue at 6 weeks... holly shit is it frosty!! Fucking weird growth pattern... bunch of long stalks, but actually it's a vert growers dream. 

Maybe I could drop.some cuts off? You got anything particularly nice?


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## squirt1961 (Nov 19, 2015)

I guess before I go crazy trying to find a dehumidifier and rig this up to circulate cooler water to my buckets I should find out if it'll make a huge difference my water is always right around 72° my goal is 68° So I guess my question is will that make a big difference. Don't get me wrong I'm all for anything that gives my grows a better chance at perfection. So each thing I can do to make it better I'm all for. But I am on a limited budget here I've never had great luck growing in soil pots and so far all three of my hydro grows have been great. I'm on disability and would like to keep growing hydroponically but can only add so many features or improvements per month so I'm trying to get the most bang for my buck. With I would've started doing this while I was still able to work I'd have the best of everything. Wishful thinking LOL. WOULD it be harmful to plant if I put a frozen bottle of water in one of my 5 gallon bucket rdwc systems and see if it makes a big difference I'm sure I'd have to change it out a couple times a day but that would be a way to see if its worth it for me at least I'd be worried about bottle hurting roots while getting pushed around by air bubbles


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## squirt1961 (Nov 19, 2015)

I'll apologize now for last post I was high kept rambling on sorry guys but I hope my point got access


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## squirt1961 (Nov 19, 2015)

Always trying to add something to my grow room or grow system to take it to the next level


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## ttystikk (Nov 19, 2015)

legallyflying said:


> Bet pits? Lol. Net pots.
> 
> Yeah, we are on a well so we could very well do drain to waste water on the co2 burners... but I'm fairly certain that anyone that actually wasted that much water will burn in hell.
> 
> ...


I'd take a proven GG cut in a heartbeat! And a good blue dream is always welcome.

I'm afraid you might be disappointed. In my humble strain stable, I only have cuts that live to grow tall, respond vigorously to training, yield like crazy and get you so stoned you'll forget your car keys... They're in your pocket.

I recycle all the reclaim water from my water cooled air handlers. Some days I don't need to touch the hose at all. 0.0 EC, plants love it.


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## ttystikk (Nov 19, 2015)

squirt1961 said:


> Always trying to add something to my grow room or grow system to take it to the next level


What's the lineage on her?


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## squirt1961 (Nov 19, 2015)

ttystikk said:


> What's the lineage on her?



Blue Mystic from Nirvana


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## ttystikk (Nov 19, 2015)

squirt1961 said:


> I'll apologize now for last post I was high kept rambling on sorry guys but I hope my point got access


I run my RDWC water in the low to mid sixties. Aeration to keep the anaerobic bacteria and mold at bay is the reason for me.


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## ttystikk (Nov 19, 2015)

squirt1961 said:


> Blue Mystic from Nirvana


Didn't see the parentage, but I stay away from straight indicas- especially those described as 'short' because I grow vertical and I'm not going to wait six months for the damned things to grow up!


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## squirt1961 (Nov 19, 2015)

ttystikk said:


> I run my RDWC water in the low to mid sixties. Aeration to keep the anaerobic bacteria and mold at bay is the reason for me.


What type of chiller are you using expensive store bought or a homemade unit? And as far as grow quality does the colder water in res. help all that much I'm not being sarcastic just trying to learn all I can to be that much better as a grower. I'm sure every little thing helps.


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## ttystikk (Nov 19, 2015)

squirt1961 said:


> What type of chiller are you using expensive store bought or a homemade unit? And as far as grow quality does the colder water in res. help all that much I'm not being sarcastic just trying to learn all I can to be that much better as a grower. I'm sure every little thing helps.


RDWC water temps are a crap shoot. Don't chill it and roll the dice... chill it and those dice are loaded in your favor. What happens when it craps out is a lot of dead roots... which doesn't help in the yield department!

I'm not necessarily the best example. I just spent several thousand dollars on a full-on dual circuit heat pump that will heat my home, chill my entire op, warm my hot water, provide garage and hot tub heating... and wipe my ass, lol

Before I got the heat pump, I used chillers for the same job.


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## squirt1961 (Nov 19, 2015)

ttystikk said:


> RDWC water temps are a crap shoot. Don't chill it and roll the dice... chill it and those dice are loaded in your favor. What happens when it craps out is a lot of dead roots... which doesn't help in the yield department!
> 
> I'm not necessarily the best example. I just spent several thousand dollars on a full-on dual circuit heat pump that will heat my home, chill my entire op, warm my hot water, provide garage and hot tub heating... and wipe my ass, lol
> 
> Before I got the heat pump, I used chillers for the same job.


That's cool as long as its effective. If I was able to still work I'd probably do the same I'm actually in my hot tub right now lol. 
I guess my question is answered even 4 ° makes a difference I've never had a root rot problem yet ( knock on wood). But I can see where it would help. So I guess this is my next project in the grow room.going to thrift stores today to look for used dehumidifier., mini fridge, or mini wine cooler. At night my water temps are always in the mid- high 60s and 72 when lights on. I have bucket sitting on milk crate to make water / nute changes easier I'm sure if I kept it on concrete floor it would stay cooler and just lift up during weekly res change. Thanks for helping me come to right desicion ttystikk. I'm gonna get right on it. Now I guess next question is the coil of hose in each bucket probably needs to be stainless steel so it won't react to nutes. Or would plastic garden hose work fine. I'm using Technaflora recipe for success plus great white good bacteria for root health I also just started adding a capful of bleach per gallon of water/ nutes to help sanitize I noticed a huge growth spurt as soon as I started adding the bleach. I also noticed my drippers don't have as much salt residue buildup since bleach added. I was having to clean them at least once a week I'll continue to clean weekly anyway but definitely alot less salt residue present now. It's just those plastic rings that drip using forced air in line to create a vacuum they work fine thoygh


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## squirt1961 (Nov 19, 2015)

ttystikk said:


> Didn't see the parentage, but I stay away from straight indicas- especially those described as 'short' because I grow vertical and I'm not going to wait six months for the damned things to grow up!



It's around 80-20 I think northern lights crossed with blueberry. Very effective for pain, nausea, and relaxation without couchlock.it grows very similar to northern lights with a nice berry aroma and taste. Gets you pretty high as well. LOL.


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## ttystikk (Nov 19, 2015)

squirt1961 said:


> That's cool as long as its effective. If I was able to still work I'd probably do the same I'm actually in my hot tub right now lol.
> I guess my question is answered even 4 ° makes a difference I've never had a root rot problem yet ( knock on wood). But I can see where it would help. So I guess this is my next project in the grow room.going to thrift stores today to look for used dehumidifier., mini fridge, or mini wine cooler. At night my water temps are always in the mid- high 60s and 72 when lights on. I have bucket sitting on milk crate to make water / nute changes easier I'm sure if I kept it on concrete floor it would stay cooler and just lift up during weekly res change. Thanks for helping me come to right desicion ttystikk. I'm gonna get right on it. Now I guess next question is the coil of hose in each bucket probably needs to be stainless steel so it won't react to nutes. Or would plastic garden hose work fine. I'm using Technaflora recipe for success plus great white good bacteria for root health I also just started adding a capful of bleach per gallon of water/ nutes to help sanitize I noticed a huge growth spurt as soon as I started adding the bleach. I also noticed my drippers don't have as much salt residue buildup since bleach added. I was having to clean them at least once a week I'll continue to clean weekly anyway but definitely alot less salt residue present now. It's just those plastic rings that drip using forced air in line to create a vacuum they work fine thoygh


If your reservoir is open on top, set up a fan to blow air across the water surface. This will aerate, but more importantly it will also cool the water. You might even get the four degrees (F!) you're looking for.


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## squirt1961 (Nov 19, 2015)

ttystikk said:


> If your reservoir is open on top, set up a fan to blow air across the water surface. This will aerate, but more importantly it will also cool the water. You might even get the four degrees (F!) you're looking for.


It's got a ten inch net pot on top full of hydroton over 4" rockwool cube. I've got 3 fans running on them constantly. 
Only reason I'm looking at 68° is that from everything I've read it says that this is ideal water temp with an air or room temp in low to mid 70's. If I'm wrong about temps I stand corrected.


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## ttystikk (Nov 19, 2015)

squirt1961 said:


> It's got a ten inch net pot on top full of hydroton over 4" rockwool cube. I've got 3 fans running on them constantly.
> Only reason I'm looking at 68° is that from everything I've read it says that this is ideal water temp with an air or room temp in low to mid 70's. If I'm wrong about temps I stand corrected.


I like them five degrees cooler than that, myself.

The blowing air across the water's surface idea was to see if it would help keep temps down.

It works; due to this effect, sometimes the tubs under my ebb n food table in veg are colder than my temp controlled RDWC!


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## squirt1961 (Nov 19, 2015)

ttystikk said:


> I like them five degrees cooler than that, myself.
> 
> The blowing air across the water's surface idea was to see if it would help keep temps down.
> 
> It works; due to this effect, sometimes the tubs under my ebb n food table in veg are colder than my temp controlled RDWC!


Cool be nice if I could figure a way to channel the cold air into buckets but still keep them closed to control algae


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## legallyflying (Nov 19, 2015)

Well are blie dream tested at 26% thc and 2% cbd.... but you know how test results go. 
Will be a couple weeks till the GG gets tested. It's THE strangest plant I have seen though. Kind of grows like train wreck.. but jesus fucking christ is it COVERED in trichs. 

Blue dream is a ridiculous grower. Absolutely off the chain fast. Like stupid fast. 

I'm going to start a thread "wow" wall of weed. I have three BD that are too large to put in our cages. Going to put them in a row, run fencing 2 feet apart the length of the room. Two 1k vert reflectors on each side and two over head. I'm trying to hit 10 lbs on 3 blue dreams


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## legallyflying (Nov 19, 2015)

Sorry off topic on that post...

Like tystk said 68 at a minimum!! We have defiantly had much better results and way way way less problems with water at 64-65. 

More to the point though... that plant does not exactly look healthy... you have a decent ph pen aND ppm meter? .


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## squirt1961 (Nov 20, 2015)

legallyflying said:


> Sorry off topic on that post...
> 
> Like tystk said 68 at a minimum!! We have defiantly had much better results and way way way less problems with water at 64-65.
> 
> More to the point though... that plant does not exactly look healthy... you have a decent ph pen aND ppm meter? .


OK thanks again guys and if your talking to me legallyflying yes I have a good ph pen and tds meter my ph has been fluctuating between 5-7 and 6-4 I try to keep around 5.7-5.9 the plant is actually bouncing back from a mag def. It was stunted for a while but now doing much better. Growing at a rate of an inch a day now and drinking about half gallon a day. I'm keeping my eyes on her though. This pic is from today. I noticed tiny red spots so I moved led light away from canopy from 12" to 16-18". I don't think it's spider mites I looked with 30x lope don't see anything moving. Had this problem with another plant before and it was led too close to canopy but I'll be keeping eyes open thanks again guys working to lower my water temps now


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## AZChillen (Jan 27, 2021)

legallyflying said:


> Thought I would share this as I finally got around to giving it a try and man of man, it is the fucking bomb! Similar units have been described so I didn't invent it but thought I would post it up as it really does work well and only cost me around $150.
> 
> You basically use a dehumidifier and a cooling coil for making beer (wort chiller).
> A dehumidifier works like an air con, using the phase change of liquid to gas and back again to get rid of heat. A dehumidifier works by passing air through a very cold radiator. The water in the air condenses and drips into a bucket.
> ...


Bringing this up from the dead.. although I had an idea of what if running a car radiator or even Small AC radiator, pulling through with a DC pump, and using a box fan behind it, with just plain water in the radiator.. hooked to a stainless steel wort chiller dipped into the res bucket. Seems like it would work


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