DYI frozen Food Dispenser

[1stPhantom]

Hey Guys I’m a huge DIY guy and for my next project, I was looking to do a little mini fridge like the ones that can only hold a few cans and came up with this to connect to my existing air pump do you think it might be feasible? Any advice would be appreciated I would, of course tweak the air so that enough would be able to clear the line and not interfere with the suction of the doser

 

[commod0re]

skip any unit that uses a peltier for cooling, they use more electricity than a compressor fridge of greater size, and are noticeably worse at cooling for it, most of them can’t even get down to real refrigeration temperatures

 

[christinna77]

I agree with avoiding Peltier cooling, which is what most mini fridges use. I've looked into this pretty extensively before and couldn't find anything that would work well unless it was a larger compressor based fridge.

Right now I use an ice cube maker. I saw a thread from someone else (https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-frozen-food-feeder.1138793/) and got inspired, although mine is way simpler using Hydros x10 dosers. When I go on vacation, I just plug it in. It's not the most energy efficient, but it does the job for 1-2 weeks. I placed a temp probe in there and it was able to keep the food below 40°F at all times. I've seen some people use portable electric coolers too.

I'm not sure an air pump would be strong enough to clear the line. I'd use another doser with some RODI water to flush it instead. You can also get a doser that runs both forward and backward, which is what I have, and that helps too.

Here's a picture of mine. This one was just set up for my nano temporarily as a test and couldn't run backwards and I didn't flush it, but I did feed every 3-4 hours to clear out any leftover food without any issues.

 

[commod0re]

I have one of these and it has a compressor in it, it might be the smallest I’ve seen (25 liters is about 0.8 cubic feet) and you can run it on 12V DC as well as AC https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=44268

Sometimes they sell open box/refurbs for a lot less too

 

[Reef Jedi]

If you want to skip the DIY, I’ve heard super good feedback on these. If not maybe take some ideas from it lol

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/af4-...IGeihyuhFAgumYCyrP5t5WrPtZAWsPaxoCAAUQAvD_BwE

 

[commod0re]

I’ve heard that one isn’t very consistent after the first couple of days, but, I’ve also heard that it works better with the new “high flow” cup

It’s expensive too so I get wanting to try DIY

 

[christinna77]

I agree. One person has been trying to sell his AF4 on FB in my area for some time now. Nobody wants to buy it...

I'm waiting for R1 from Manta, or potentially this one: https://reefdripper.com/.