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Thread: The Making of my DIY Chiller.

  1. #1
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    The Making of my DIY Chiller.

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    heres some explaination to go with some photos!
    firstly, i'll post my bar fridge specs. you can use a Freezer. but i would recommand a bar fridge for any tank small den 3ft. a freezer would be a better chioce cause there will be much more space for the tubes to be in.

    heres how the inside of the fridge looks like

    basically.. the making of the DIY chiller will be. placing 1 tub of water in the bar fridge. with as much hose you can coil inside. for me. i used 10m of eheim replica hose. didnt get the eheim hose as its quite expensive to get 10m. so i got the fake version.
    Drilling is required. for hose connection from your aquarium to your filter. meanwhile. it will pass by the long hose in the cold tub of water. that will cool your tank down.
    Drilling in process!

    do watch out for coils on the fridge. i tested and run the bar fridge first so that i know where is the coil. when the fridge is running. the side and top of the fridge will get hot.. so drill 2 holes where the coils are not there.
    2 holes drilled!

    okay. now you should get ready the hose and the tub. like what i said, i used 10m of 16mm hose. filter im using is media fully packed eheim 2213(440l/hr). i noticed my filter flow rate reduced by 1/4 - 1/3.. that dosn't really matters to me.. so for a 10m hose. minimium are a 440l/hr or best get a 700l/hr and above filter for better results.

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    great.
    have you completed the DIY chiller?
    let us have more information so that we can DIY also.

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    after drilling. its time to silicon the filtting to the holes.. so that it can hold the hose properly.
    for me i DIY-ed the fitting myself. i found 1 hard tube in my storeroom. and also pushed 2 short hose inside so that it works like a stopper. den silicon.

    a close up of the fitting
    it looks the same from the other side

    okay.. finally a day has pass and my silicon should have dried. i connected the hose and placed the tub in.. with 10m of hose in the tub

    heres how the hose is connected.

    after that. went on to connect my filter to it.. thats when i noticed my filter flow rate is reduced.. everything is now connected and runing.. but i still haven on my fridge yet. waiting for tomorrow morning so that i can observe my temperature closely.. just to play safe for my CRS tank..

    Thats the end for now. i will post my how many C is my tank after fridge is running.
    oh ya anyway. do note that before turning on the fridge. turn off your filter first den you start your fridge. cause your fridge takes shorter time to chill the water in the tub with the hose in.. rather then to chiller the tub of water in the fridge and the whole lot of water in your tank. after the water in the fridge is around mid 10C its time to on your filter again....
    cheers!

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    please do not use PVC hose because you are going to rig the hose up such that the water from your tank passes through it continually. Over time, the hose will contaminate the water in your tank.

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    how much u pay for the fridge?

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    $0. my uncle gave it to me.. brand new should be around $200.. 2nd hand $80 can find liao..
    anyway.. total cost for my project is only about $30.

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    $30 can diy a chiller!
    I want to diy one also, let us know the result after you have commission. Thanks.

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    sure.. the fridge will start running tomorrow

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    Bro, some suggestions to you :

    1. You can put some ice cubes or ice water in the tub to speed up the process of cooling the fridge down.
    2. The hose coiled in the tub should be change to a metal type (copper/titanium) so that max heat transfer can be achieve from tank water that is flowing thru it, to the tub of ice/cold water.

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    i forget to add that. the reason why i put hose in the tub is because.. water is needed to fill up the tub.. like what jowy ham bro said.. pai seh i forget this important point

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    after the water going through the big coil of hose in the fridge and next to the filter canister with the media, and finally up into the tank, your flowrate would probably be at least - 50% of the rated 400L/H, which is rated with no media or hosing.

    But do try it out first and see how the temp goes. If I'm right, you probably will be over chilling your tank.

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    about the temp... my father this morning went on to start the chiller.. pour water in the tub.. and set thermostat at 2. and guess what... my temp now is 24C with my 2ft fan still on..:eek:
    now i turn off my fan.. set thermostat 1 and put lots of ice cubes iinside the water.. im quite happy with the results.. but i still need to observe for a period of time

    hi BBA, im aiming for 22C in my tank. if it goes down to 22C im gonna shorten the legth of the coil... i might wanna shorten now... seeing my flowrate.. anyway.. my flowrate only reduce by rougly 25%..

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    Hi Evolutionz, can you also help to calculate the electricity cost of running this bar fridge / DIY chiller on a monthly basis?

    Thanks.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jowy_ham View Post
    Bro, some suggestions to you :

    1. You can put some ice cubes or ice water in the tub to speed up the process of cooling the fridge down.
    2. The hose coiled in the tub should be change to a metal type (copper/titanium) so that max heat transfer can be achieve from tank water that is flowing thru it, to the tub of ice/cold water.
    Hi jowy_ham, where can we find a copper / titanium coil for this purposes?

    Do you think it will be a better idea to let the water flow into a reservoir(kept in the bar fridge), chill it within the reservoir, before flowing back to the tank? I know that for Arctica chiller, there is a reservoir within whereby the coil is inside. The tank water will circulate in this reservoir, chilled down by the coil, before returning into the tank. Can this principal works in this bar fridge DIY chiller?

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    Quote Originally Posted by carlfsk View Post
    Hi Evolutionz, can you also help to calculate the electricity cost of running this bar fridge / DIY chiller on a monthly basis?

    Thanks.
    its not easy to calculate.. have to known when it kicks in.. and also when kicks in.. how long it run till it stops.. but i guess monthly bill wont exceed $10 - $20.

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    for me I will calculate the max.
    by using motor input 95 w and running 24/7
    monthly bill = (95 x 24 x 30) WH
    convert to KWH and then multiple by power grid unit rate.

    Pls highlight if I am wrong as i want to learn also.Thanks.

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    Mine:

    Electricity bills = (power consumption of equipment / 1000) * total no. of running hours of equipment * unit rate of electricity costing

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    DIY-Chiller

    http://www.guarriello.net/chiller.htm

    In Case anyone is interested to see more pics. Not mine though, found it on the net.

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    Quote Originally Posted by carlfsk View Post
    Hi jowy_ham, where can we find a copper / titanium coil for this purposes?

    Do you think it will be a better idea to let the water flow into a reservoir(kept in the bar fridge), chill it within the reservoir, before flowing back to the tank? I know that for Arctica chiller, there is a reservoir within whereby the coil is inside. The tank water will circulate in this reservoir, chilled down by the coil, before returning into the tank. Can this principal works in this bar fridge DIY chiller?
    I think car aircon service centers may have those coils but think it is better to get a new one as old ones may have coolent residue in it and I don't think it is easy to clean out. Another alternative would be to Sim Lim Square to get those coils that computer modders use to water cool their computer. But both choices are not cheap and also I am not sure if the material that made those coils, think mostly copper or aluminum, could cause problem for the fishes in the long run.

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    Quote Originally Posted by cairocks View Post
    I think car aircon service centers may have those coils but think it is better to get a new one as old ones may have coolent residue in it and I don't think it is easy to clean out. Another alternative would be to Sim Lim Square to get those coils that computer modders use to water cool their computer. But both choices are not cheap and also I am not sure if the material that made those coils, think mostly copper or aluminum, could cause problem for the fishes in the long run.
    Any comments on my thoughts:

    Do you think it will be a better idea to let the water flow into a reservoir(kept in the bar fridge), chill it within the reservoir, before flowing back to the tank? I know that for Arctica chiller, there is a reservoir within whereby the coil is inside. The tank water will circulate in this reservoir, chilled down by the coil, before returning into the tank. Can this principal works in this bar fridge DIY chiller?

    If this will work, then we can forget about the coil thingy. Theoretically, it seems to work.

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