DIY chiller

[Paul B]

I really built this evaporative chiller for my blackworm tank but here in NY it is almost 100 degrees now so I transfered it to my reef for a while. It chilled my worm tank down to 65 degrees but that is only about one gallon.
I will see how much it chills my 100 gallon reef. If it works I will put this back on the worms and build a larger one for the reef.

 

[secretreefer]

cool!

 

[Irishguy]

What is actually cooling the water, or is it just the air exposure is cooling it down slightly? Looks pretty **** cool though

 

[Troylee]

Evaporative cooling nothing works better..;)

 

[thewackyreefer]

Cool idea, can't wait to hear how it works out for you!

 

[Alkamist]

wow really col idea and it looks cool too hopefully it works a huge one for a 100 gallons is gonna be a monster lol

 

[iReefer]

very clever

 

[xxbrianxx]

wow that's really cool, do you have more details on how you built it? and don't you go through a ton of top off water too?

 

[Paul B]

There is a fan at the top that blows water over the plates as the water cascades down. The water exiting is 1/2 a degree cooler than the incoming water. Don't forget, this was made for a one gallon worm tank so it may have to be larger for this 100 gallon tank.

The black thing to the left is the auto top off so I don't worry about how much it evaporates.

and it looks cool too

That is even more important than if it actually works. Anyone can buy a chiller but making it look cool is really "cool"

Here it is over the worm tank before it was actualy completed.

 

[GR808]

Very nice DIY.. What the temp drop from entry to exit?

 

[Back2reefing]

Voted for 2011 R2R DIY project of the year.

 

[Paul B]

Before I switched to LEDs I used to have to put in frozen gallons of ice, I no longer need to do that. I don't need a chiller either, this is just an experiment. The tank was 82 degrees yesterday, now it is 80 degrees, so the chiller cooled it down by 2 degrees which is better than I thought due to the small size of the device.
The water entering is 1/2 a degree hotter than the exiting water.

 

[ToXIc]

trow some roughed up plastic/nylon mesh on some of the runs and you've got a algae scrubber also..

nice design..

 

[fish&corals]

very sweet looking DIY .... i was thinking about building a chiller for my tank but my tank does not go above 79.8 and during the night it might drop to 77.6 .. i thought i would need one when i added my MH but the tank is staying pretty cool knock on wood .. but if i need to build one im going to use a dorm frig . drill a inlet and a outlet and run clear hose through it ..

 

[Paul B]

trow some roughed up plastic/nylon mesh on some of the runs and you've got a algae scrubber also..

I already have a 5' trough above the tank for algae.
Only now it is lit with LEDs. I threw out these MH lights

 

[phi delt reefer]

very sweet looking DIY .... i was thinking about building a chiller for my tank but my tank does not go above 79.8 and during the night it might drop to 77.6 .. i thought i would need one when i added my MH but the tank is staying pretty cool knock on wood .. but if i need to build one im going to use a dorm frig . drill a inlet and a outlet and run clear hose through it ..

the fridge will burn out for it will constantly be running. Fridges normally run for a bit then shut off once they have achieved the temp set within the internal thermostat. The fridge will never get to the correct temp and the compressor will burn out. Best bet is to place a couple fans over your sump and place them on a controller to turn on after temp exceeds X degrees. You will need a good ATO system for this will increase your evaporation.

 

[rygh]

It seems like it really needs a marble or two. :-)

Great idea. Lots of surface area.
How noisy is it with all those little waterfalls?

 

[Paul B]

There is no noise at all.

 

[H@rry]

What did you use for the "baffle trays"? I see a lip on one end.

 

[Paul B]

The baffle trays are acrylic like the rest of the thing. I just heated and bent the ends so it would cascade with little splashing or noise.
The fan is way too small for this and is a computer fan I had from something else. I don't need more cooling but it would work much better with a larger fan, a fan that almost pulls the water off the plates would be the most efficient and cause the most evaporation. This process works by evaporation so you want it to evaporate. That is how we cool off, by sweating and evaporation which I am doing now.
The tank is in a finished basement (like almost everyone in NY has) it is much cooler in the basemrnt than the rest of the house. My top floor is now hotter than 90 degrees, the thermostat only goes to 90 so I don't know the actual temp but yesterday it was 104 degrees here and today will be the same. The basement is still 80 degrees and the tank is also exactly 80 degrees. Normally the tank runs about 10 degrees hotter than the room but with the LEDs and this chiller, the tank is producing no heat at all. If it stays over 100 degrees here for another day or so, the basement will also get much hotter.
The humidity is also about 70%
I went to the town pool yesterday to swim my laps and when I went into the shower a guy was coming out of the steam room. I said "Are you kidding me? A Sauna. It's 104 degrees out.
He told me he went in there to cool off.
Our surrounding areas lost power yesterday and I am prepared with my generator but I will be out on my boat today (in the water up to my neck to be correct) and if the power goes out, I won't know about it.
I have solar electric on my house so right now my air conditioning is almost free but that goes off if the power goes out.
I know there are plenty of places in the US where it is much hotter.
We have not had it this hot in NY since the 30s or so and 104 is the hottest I remember here in NY, although it never got this cold in Viet Nam :spin1:
And we should think of the troops we have in Afganistan where it is always this hot.:thumbsup: