There are a lot of factors-in-play here, including how big a tank you're trying to chill, how much you need to chill it, what your relative humidity is, whether you *want* the whole room air to be cooled to the temp of the tank or not, and how much you like "tinkering" rather than just buying something. If I was going to chill a 20 gal to 10 degrees below ambient and was willing to insultate the bottom/sides/back, I'm still going to guess that a coil running through a refrigerator is going to do it. No, the fridge may not be the most efficient method, but it's *already* running all the time (if you can make use of your kitchen fridge). You're only going to force it to run more, rather than having a whole second unit going. I can't really predict whether it would be cheaper than evaporative cooling a-la Todd's fans, but I think it probably would if relative humidity was-in-all high (thus evaporative cooling very inneficient).
If you're trying to cool a 100gal tank to 20 degrees below ambient, I agree, a jury-rigged coil in a fridge isn't going to cut it.
-Jase
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: NANFA-L-- Homemade chiller
> From: Prizma-in-aol.com
> Date: Tue, May 30, 2006 9:51 am
> To: nanfa-l-in-nanfa.org
>
> In a message dated 5/29/2006 10:40:07 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> derekparr-in-earthlink.net writes:
>
> I've read that article. Also, I have a marine friend who has done a lot
> research and such on thw subject. He uses an old air conditioner with the
> coil hanging in a bucket and coils of tubing that contain water being
> pumped to and from the tank. I've seen it, and it works very well. Almost
> as efficient as a chiller.
>
> -derek parr
> chapel hill, nc
>
>
> ive seen this setup in many bait stores. works well tho unsightly. could be
> rigged in a garage or patio and then plumbed to the tank.
> i dont think a mini fridge can do it. they are not designed for that much
> heat transfer. period.
> i do like the idea of circulating water to a coil buryed underground. a
> bonus of extra water too.
> titanium... yes the material. never copper or aluminum. plastic, tho cheap,
> does not transfer heat well. perhaps tho if it was very long and had lots of
> ground contact.
> the best homemade cooler article was written by pat johnson and in an old
> american currents. ive seen it. best looking darters ive ever seen... except in
> the wild while snorkeling.
> if a tank gets too cool compared to the room you will get condensation...
> another problem.
> ac for the fish room seems to be the best all around! by far.
>
> casper... in a too warm studio w/ a broken ac wall unit.
> /-----------------------------------------------------------------------
> / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes
> / Association (NANFA). Comments made on this list do not necessarily
> / reflect the beliefs or goals of NANFA. For more information about NANFA,
> / visit http://www.nanfa.org Please make sure all posts to nanfa-l are
> / consistent with the guidelines as per
> / http://www.nanfa.org/guidelines.shtml To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get
> / help, visit the NANFA email list home page and archive at
> / http://www.nanfa.org/email.shtml
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------
/ This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes
/ Association (NANFA). Comments made on this list do not necessarily
/ reflect the beliefs or goals of NANFA. For more information about NANFA,
/ visit http://www.nanfa.org Please make sure all posts to nanfa-l are
/ consistent with the guidelines as per
/ http://www.nanfa.org/guidelines.shtml To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get
/ help, visit the NANFA email list home page and archive at
/ http://www.nanfa.org/email.shtml