I am on the hunt to find a way to cool 3 control buckets/systems in one shot vs 3 seperate chillers. I read here http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?48474-hydro-temps-through-the-summer-water-chiller that using a freezer would do the job. Has anyone here tried this? My plan is to take a freezer (upright) that I do not use anymore and position it near the control buckets of my rooms. I plan on using three separate pumps (one in each system) and having the loop run through the freezer than back to the system eliminating the need for 3 separate chillers. The only things I am having a hard time with before I tackle this is putting holes in the freezer. The freezer is the kind that cools the surrounding box itself not the shelves. So drilling through the side might hit something. Also, obviously I can't have the water freeze in the line while it is in the freezer. To solve this I might have the freezer on a timer and turn on and off a few times a day. But I wont be able to know until I test this out myself. I think I will be using a copper line while it is in the freezer for best transfer of heat/cool. Thoughts/suggestions?
I've wondered why you larger hydro guys don't use a freezer to chill? The freezer shouldn't have coils running through the sidewalls. It'd be a pretty odd duck if it did. So, you should be able to plumb directly through the wall. For cooling I'd set three buckets (one for each reservoir) in the freezer unit and coil copper or flex pipe into each for cooling coils. Fill the buckets with anti freeze and you should have a decent ghetto chiller.
How bout using the entire fridge? cut a big hole in the freezer bottom making it an entire system, more room to run your coils for the 3 systems, seems itd get jammed with 1 or even 2 coils.........or even just using the fridge part, i know mine runs at 36f alone....Or how about a long chest freezer? Big enought to put your entire ressys in it and just then gotta run the lines in there.......my buddy got an old ice cream freezer chest thats about 8ft long that he has sitting in his garage, its his hillbilly meat freezer for his cows he raises/butchers...ive always looked at it with "weed eyes"......thinking of the possibilities........ I mean if Res can do it....sheesh:bduh::bduh::roffl:
You can get wert chiller coils at a home brew store and plum them in to you reservoirs. Maybe use a small fridge instead of a freezer. Better control of non freezing temps. Just a thought.
Cool! Thanks guys keep the ideas coming. The thing is I can't swing getting anything else right now. Ive got the freezer already and was going to sell it. But thought that it would be worth more using it like this. I am going to try it with just the one pump/pr system loop with a metal/copper line when it enters the freezer.
The buckets and anti freeze simply makes for good cooling conduction. Coils running through a liquid will cool more efficiently than coils through cold air. That way your also not running the risk of freezing up the system if you need to run colder temps. CC-:321fu::redbong:
RR good idea. I cold put 5 gal buckets or totes on each shelf for each system. Don't know if that will hold all that weight but I can rig something so it will hold. You talking car antifreeze or something else? Is that how we say hello to CC now?:flipando: Hows your building project going CC?
What about that DIY IGLOO thing that USELESS did years ago, could that be run inline with the coils or anything like that if you cant make the room for it????? You could run the main lines into the fridge and then jump them from IGLOO to IGLOO, I dunno, you can buy copper and coil it around a bucket or something, make it fit somehow, i dunno, im major high right now and my daydream seems plausible in my foggy mind AND: Yes, that is how im greeted these days....no respect i tell yah:BangHead: My flower room is done, now just have to get 15 rhinos outa the other room so I can make a nice 8x6 VEG area, one day when im not feeling like a giant terd..Ill take some new pics of the finished product.....ill do it today now that i think of it......but firstly, im going to my outdoors patch and see how my hobags are doin
CC's a big boy, a little good natured rip ain't gonna hurt him none. I was thinking something that gets used in geo therm heat/cooling systems. It's safer in case of leaks or spills. http://www.regulus.eu/en/ecological-antifreeze-fluid-for-primary-circuits-of-ground-source-heat-pumps
I did a diy for a chiller a few months ago, it was with a dehumidifier but im sure you could take the fridge and use the same concept. It worked awsome.
Moving the freezer into place today and start the drilling. Hope the hell the coolant lines are not in the side wall.
Thinking a little more, what about the wart chiller or whatever it is for beer making. The coil is SS I think. This should work as well in the freezer.
For that, the fridge is one of the best choice as my perspective. I also can not understand that why you do not use freezer? You should give a try it, it can be very useful for you.
Dude check out my chiller thread. I made one that's works great from a 10$ dehumidifier. I'll post a link to that thread and my source thread for where I got the idea. It works perfectly. And doubles as a res warmer in the winter
Fridge or freezer doesn't appeal to me. To big and expensive to run because of thermal transfer inefficiency. Dehumidifier off CL and a wort chiller is way easier to deal with IMO
for the triple post - here's the chiller thread. Def. worth reading the RIU thread on the subject. http://forum.growkind.com/showthread.php?t=44783
Thanks for the link. I like the dehumidifier chiller but I got 3/12 bucket systems I ended up not making the hole. and decided to wait till next summer. Still think it is a good idea to cool 3 control buckets with 12 buckets on each. I got hoods and vented them out with more air circulation I think that took care of the lights heating up the water. Well......so far. Waiting for next yr. I'll use this thread next yr.
I'm chilling two systems. One is 22 gallons the other is 28. 8 buckets total and that works great at 1/2 power.