Re: NANFA-L-- Homemade chiller

J. C. (hillbillynursery-in-yahoo.com)
Tue, 30 May 2006 21:59:29 -0700 (PDT)

You should not use copper. I thought about doing
something very simular but using the vinyl tubing the
whole way. I know the vinyl tubing is not real good at
heat/cold transfer but it should still work. I would
insulate the tube the whole way to and from the tank
and put 3/4 foam board around the tank like you
suggested. I would even try to figure a way to put a
piece over the front for when I was away from the
house. But to keep the tempature stable I think you
would need the pump being run off of a timer or
thermostat.

Later, John

--- Jase Roberts <nanfa_list-in-jaseroberts.net> wrote:

> Hey All,
>
> One thing to consider with Todd's fan chiller (swamp
> cooler, essentially) is that box fans use a LOT of
> electricity. My standard one from Wal-Mart or
> whatever draws 120W on low, 160W on medium, and 220W
> on high... That adds up quickly (especially if
> you're running two) And, of course, remember that
> all of that electricity is ultimately being
> converted to heat (in one form or another). As Todd
> notes, it's only going to work if your humidity
> isn't too high, and you're going to need to add
> quite a bit of water to the tank as it evaporates.
>
> Here's a thought I've been mulling over for a cheap
> chiller... I haven't built this, but I can't see
> why it wouldn't work. I plan to do this whenever I
> decide to actually start breeding my natives.
>
> Use either a little bar fridge OR your regular
> kitchen fridge (depending on proximity of your
> kitchen to your aquaria and the sensitivities of
> your significant other). If you can get by with
> your kitchen fridge, you'll save all the extra cost
> of running a second fridge (those little ones are
> usually pretty inefficient, since they're marketed
> to college kids and cost of the initial purchase is
> the driving factor -- certainly not energy
> efficiency).
>
> - Drill two holes through the side/back of the
> fridge to accommodate 1/4" ID vinyl tubing (or
> whatever diameter you want/need/have on hand).
> Don't hit the coils or any wires (unplug your fridge
> first, please)
> - Get enough vinyl tubing to reach from your
> aquarium to the fridge and back.
> - Cut the vinyl in half and pass it through each of
> the holes in the fridge (so you have two free ends
> inside). Use silicone or hot glue to seal.
> - Get/make the appropriate fittings to connect a few
> feet of flexible copper tubing to the vinyl inside
> the fridge, and wind that into a coil.
> - Inside the fridge, have the copper tubing sitting
> in a 9x13 baking pan (or whatever) full of water
> (better heat transfer). The copper tubing isn't
> open to this pan, just passing through it.
> - Get a cheap in-line pump
>
(http://www.discount-pumps.biz/inline-pond-pumps.htm)
> or submersible pump
> (http://www.discount-pumps.biz/aquarium-pumps.htm)
> and connect that to the vinyl as a feed from your
> aquarium. A consideration here is that the pump is
> going to ADD heat to the system, so in-line is
> probably better and as small as possible definitely
> best.
> - The free end (coming out of the fridge) then just
> returns to your aquarium.
> - Control temperature by turning the fridge up or
> down, OR by adjusting flow on the pump (if it's
> variable)
>
> So the whole thing (drawn linearly) looks like:
>
> aquarium -----> vinyl tube ----- inline pump----
> vinyl tube ----->(next line)
>
>
> |--------------------------------------------------|
> ---------FRIDGE--->[____copper tube in water
> pan___]---vinyl tube---(next line)
>
> |--------------------------------------------------|
>
> ----------> aquarium -----> cool, happy fish
>
> Any reason this wouldn't work? The bigger the
> surface area of the water pan in the fridge (and the
> longer the copper tube heat sink), the colder the
> water you're going to be able to return to your
> aquarium.
>
> If you really want to take best advantage of it, get
> some rigid Styrofoam insulation to line the back and
> sides of your aquarium with (reduce condensation and
> heat loss).
>
> If you try it, let me know. I'm curious.
>
> -Jase
> Montpelier, VT
>
>
>
>
>
> Crail, Todd wrote:
> >>Has anyone tried modifying a personal (tabletop)
> refrigerator as an
> >>inexpensive alternative to a chiller?
> >
> >
> > As for a chiller... Here's one that I put together
> last night with this
> > freakin' hot spell we're under (It's too early for
> this crap! Sheesh!)
> >
> >
>
http://www.farmertodd.com/nanfa/reefle/052906/cheapchiller.jpg
> >
> > One is blowing down, the other is blowing out.
> Lost the temp on the temp
> > gaugae last night (which meant it was in excess of
> 86 F). It's down to 76
> > right now. Also lost about 3 gallons of water
> lol. Gas exchange can get you
> > out of a bind in a hurry :) You can do the same
> on smaller systems with a
> > little clip on fan. The only time you get into
> trouble is when it's dagnasty
> > humid and you can't get a single drop more into
> the air. However, by doing
> > this in combination with AC, you'll make the AC
> run a lot more efficiently at
> > cooling the tanks.
>
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John Cox of Cumberland Killifish
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/ Association (NANFA). Comments made on this list do not necessarily
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/ 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
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