Another cooling system

[robthered]

Should be enough, methinks - the internet tells me that this thing can cool water down to 42F / 5.5C. Seems to be made of the same guts as the taller units. I'll let you know how it goes, but I think I might have scored a gem!

Looking forward to hearing about that 8-foot "Optimus Prime" terrarium!

Sounds promising definitely let us know how it fairs.

Optimus is in the works . Plexi is cut and silicone is next.

I'm taking one tank and flipping it over on top of the other one. Also removing the front glass and putting sliding doors. It'll be 48x43x16; should be big enough for a while. Here's a pic so you get the idea.

Tank one (bottom)

Tank two (top)

 

[TheFury]

Wow, 43" tall! Are you planning years ahead for when your Neps get up to 4' tall, or will you be building some sort of tiered shelving in there to hold multiple levels of plants?

This thing is going to be nuts... looking forward to seeing how it turns out

 

[richjam1986]

I might need to try something like this for my H. minor as temps go up for the summer.

 

[pmatil]

Nice setup! As for the water and antifreeze... I don't think that salt is a good idea unless the system can withstand salty water. Salt is corrosive on metal parts and so proper glycol or windshield washer liquid without soap is a good option. And for glycol, propylene glycol should be "safest" as it's not that harmful.

 

[robthered]

Nice setup! As for the water and antifreeze... I don't think that salt is a good idea unless the system can withstand salty water. Salt is corrosive on metal parts and so proper glycol or windshield washer liquid without soap is a good option. And for glycol, propylene glycol should be "safest" as it's not that harmful.

Sweet thanks for the tips . I'll try and find some propylene gycol

 

[gill_za]

robthered,

Isn't it interesting how much innovation can something like "growing CP plants" inspire?! I bow to you Kind Sir. One of the best topics I've seen on here.

 

[robthered]

robthered,

Isn't it interesting how much innovation can something like "growing CP plants" inspire?! I bow to you Kind Sir. One of the best topics I've seen on here.

Thanks for the kudos Gil_za

I'm glad i can help other people grow plants that normally wouldn't be able to be grown in their conditions.

And ya, it is really interesting how much innovation can come from a hobby like this lol.

I'm still putting my tank together. HAd a little setback; the silicon doesnt stick to the freaking plexi so I got some Amazing Goop. The stuff is supposed to bond to almost anything, so hopefully it works with plexi. I should have it done this weekend with the cooling system installed as well. I'm going to use pure distilled water for now. If i need to lower the temps below 0c then I'll start adding antifreeze to the mix, but after reading all the posts about the different antifreezes that they use (some being poisonous, some not), I want to make sure I get the right one (non-toxic) if i need it. I gotta get it all done soon, cause the temperatures here are starting to rise to almost 20c (68f).

Sorry about all the delays in getting this done and getting the info out to you all; I got a promotion at work and work is really picking up. Also I'm going down to the states soon for a business trip, so I'm also preparing for that as well. So much to do, so little time...

 

[gill_za]

robthered,

try lightly scratching plexiglass along the edge where you are gluing it with exacto knife or something else sharp repeatedly and see if it sticks better with silicone afterwards. It worked for me! I guess it provided something for the glue to "grip" on the otherwise smooth surface.

 

[robthered]

robthered,

try lightly scratching plexiglass along the edge where you are gluing it with exacto knife or something else sharp repeatedly and see if it sticks better with silicone afterwards. It worked for me! I guess it provided something for the glue to "grip" on the otherwise smooth surface.

ya I did that this time. I used some sandpaper and roughed up the edges real good . I'll let you know how it bonds.

 

[gill_za]

robthered,

Pardon me if this is totally dumb question and perhaps I'll invalidate the question right away after I get my hands on the cooler, but what if you preserve the dispensers? At-least keep the cold water one intact (and perhaps disable the hot water so it will not get activated by accident, although it has a safeguard) and just put the pump connected to the radiator with return line+copper tube (like TheFury did) into the cavity. This will simplify the process for those not willing to mess with plumbing too much, and the cooler essentially remains intact. Added benefit is the ability to dump the cooling liquid (whatever one ends up using) with ease. Unless I'm missing something.

P.S. Is the heating element always on, or only turns on when the hot water dispenser is pressed?

 

[robthered]

Hey gil_za

The cooler that i have doesnt have a heating element in it. One tap is cold water, and the other is room temp water. Disabling the heating element on a cooler that has one shouldnt be that hard though, it should be all labeled on the circuit diagram.

If I understand what you're saying, you want to leave one tap on the cooler so that you can drain the liquid when needed correct? How will you cycle the water back into the cooling resivoir? Through the top of the cooler? Maybe draw us a picture in MS paint so we can get an idea of what you mean.

PS. I like the draining idea. But I also like how my cooler looks like a Dalek from Dr.who.

 

[gill_za]

If I understand what you're saying, you want to leave one tap on the cooler so that you can drain the liquid when needed correct? How will you cycle the water back into the cooling resivoir? Through the top of the cooler? Maybe draw us a picture in MS paint so we can get an idea of what you mean.

PS. I like the draining idea. But I also like how my cooler looks like a Dalek from Dr.who.

Yeah exactly the water returns throught the top.

Im attaching a sketch. Sorry it looks pretty bad because. 8 just did it on my phone, while waiting for a guy to show up who is supposed to sell me a water cooler.

 

[TheFury]

Hey Gill - nice diagram LOL! I considered setting mine up that way, but I did kinda like Rob's design. It just feels cleaner this way.

Two things -

1) Most recent cooler units have switches in the back to enable/disable heating and cooling. So I leave my cooling switch on and my heating switch off. Simple!

2) I notice there's a drainage hole at the very top of the reservoir. When my pump is running, it seems like the pressure of the pump is too great; there's a pretty strong jet of water that shoots out of the hole. I suppose there's a connection to the tap lines through which excess water can overflow. I wonder if I tried your method there whether more water would be able to flow to the rad thus cooling more efficiently? Hmm, worth a shot....

 

[gill_za]

Hey Gill - nice diagram LOL! I considered setting mine up that way, but I did kinda like Rob's design. It just feels cleaner this way.

Two things -

1) Most recent cooler units have switches in the back to enable/disable heating and cooling. So I leave my cooling switch on and my heating switch off. Simple!

2) I notice there's a drainage hole at the very top of the reservoir. When my pump is running, it seems like the pressure of the pump is too great; there's a pretty strong jet of water that shoots out of the hole. I suppose there's a connection to the tap lines through which excess water can overflow. I wonder if I tried your method there whether more water would be able to flow to the rad thus cooling more efficiently? Hmm, worth a shot....

Regarding the flow: Does the regulator on your pump not reduce the flow sufficiently? Although I must admit that such regulator on my cheap 90gph pump does not do anything...

Edit: the cooler that I got is dead. Compressor works, but looks like most of the coolant is out

 

[Heli]

Hey, I am very interested in this idea and was wondering if it would be an efficient way to cool down my 10 gallon terrarium to about 50s (or very low 60s at least) at night. Would getting a larger radiator be more effective at cooling or does that not matter? What is the most important part in the cooling process? Pretty much the cooler the better for me. Thanks

 

[gill_za]

If I can cool my terrarium to 62 with just one fan and humidifier line I'm sure this kind of setup would be more than enough

 

[Heli]

what are your ambient room temps? During the summer my ambient room temps are in the upper 70s so it is hard to get down to 60 with just a fan and humidifier. I came across this and thought it could have some use, could it replace a water cooler or does it not get the liquid cool enough? http://www.amazon.com/CoolWorks-Ice-Probe-Power-Supply/dp/B001JSVLBO/ref=pd_sim_sbs_petsupplies_1

---------- Post added at 06:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:46 PM ----------

Also found this cooler... You think I should go for it? http://newyork.craigslist.org/wch/app/2974926444.html

 

[gill_za]

what are your ambient room temps? During the summer my ambient room temps are in the upper 70s so it is hard to get down to 60 with just a fan and humidifier. I came across this and thought it could have some use, could it replace a water cooler or does it not get the liquid cool enough? http://www.amazon.com/CoolWorks-Ice-Probe-Power-Supply/dp/B001JSVLBO/ref=pd_sim_sbs_petsupplies_1

---------- Post added at 06:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:46 PM ----------

Also found this cooler... You think I should go for it? http://newyork.craigslist.org/wch/app/2974926444.html

My room temp was in middle 70s (it is lower now since I have turned off the heater). During the day the setup warmed up to 80-83F and then would cool down to 60F. The problem with it was that the system was feeding off of a main humidifier line, so the entire grow rack was humidified during the night. It was a waste of water and energy. I have since diverted the flow and the selfwatering setup is only cooled via room air and occasional "raining". There is an additional humidifier that I got at a thrift store, that is waiting to be used. I'm going to hook it up and use it instead.

If you end up buying that water cooler from craigs list, make sure that you see it work, as in cool water, before you pay. Dump the water and make sure you can feel the coils cooling from inside the cylinder. Or put warm water in there and see if it cools it down. It could be operational but have no freon. I got overexcited and did not check. Now I have a dead watercooler sitting in a basement.

That IceProbe seems to be a peltier device. I'd suggest looking up reviews of Thermoelectric water coolers on amazon and making your judgment based on that (reviews are not good....).

 

[TheFury]

Huzzah! My room temp was 65 degrees last night (brrr...) but my cooling rig was able to cool my terrarium down to a brisk 51 degrees! Recorded max/min temperatures yesterday were 72.5F day and 51F night. That's a nice temperature drop. Just wanna see what summer temps are like... biting my nails over here

Anyway, Heli, two things:

1) That cooler you linked to has push-button dispensers, not screw-on taps. It might be much more difficult to configure the front taps as inputs/outputs. Instead, you might have to run the radiator & return lines directly from the reservoir itself, ghetto-rigged style. Not such a big deal, but doesn't look as clean

2) That Ice Probe is indeed a Peltier device. I've looked at them myself. Looking at the specs it says it can cool a small aquarium (<10 Gal) by about 6-8 degrees below ambient. That's not a whole lot; you'll want your coolant to be a few dozen degrees below ambient if possible to achieve effective cooling. Drawing heat from air into liquid via a heat exchanger is not 100% efficient by a long shot, so your liquid needs to be MUCH cooler than ambient to get your air a LITTLE cooler than ambient.

That being said, if this Ice Probe helps get the coolant in the reservoir from, say, 45 degrees down to 39 or 40... that could be a win, no? I'd consider configuring it as diagramed in the attachment. Can someone who understands thermodynamics better than I do tell me whether this idea is or ?

 

[Heli]

heh.. beauty isnt what im going for Do you think it should work ok though? It is a high quality water cooler for a good price.