I Wanna Smash Something Decent Out...

[Gazza2001au]

Carn i found the water fountain drinking thingo online for under $100 i was going to snap it up but than i found a video on youtube by the diy aquarium king he drilled two holes in the side wall of a bar fridge slapped 2 rolls of hose in it and a chiller is born haha i love the idea so much I'm going to run with that design, i am low on cash so i need to spare where needed so a bar fridge is only $50 also going to make my own 15-20L buckets seeing i need 2 grow buckets thats $160, i should be able to save a penny or two

 

i might even consider doing 3 pot system but it will be cramped i would much rather do a 3 pot run when growing from clones once i get some

 

i need to be patient but fuck i've got the itch like a std to get another grow goin

[Carnage]

yea not a bad choice.

id grab grommets from the hydro store for the hose holes in the side of the fridge.

if you need 2 hoses , thats 4 grommets, 2 for inside the fridge inner housing and 2 for the aluminum outer housing hose thru the guts of em.

 

fairly sure a fridge is only aluminum outer housing, polystyrene insulated middle and plastic inner housing.

rather simple to drill thru and safe too , little messy.

 

nice retrofit

[hydrochronic]

Even better if you can get a big ass radiator and chuck it in the fridge, would cool better than hosing. Seen some guys do this for PC watercooling. Might be harder to regulate temps than a proper chiller though, unless you also have a heater too.

Edited June 28, 2017 by hydrochronic

[Gazza2001au]

Even better if you can get a big ass radiator and chuck it in the fridge, would cool better than hosing. Seen some guys do this for PC watercooling. Might be harder to regulate temps than a proper chiller though, unless you also have a heater too.

 

Actually placing a small motorcycle radiator in the freezer section might work as a air conditioner with a copper coil wound around the front of a fan than connected to the radiator, what u think?

[rigman]

Pretty sure you need air flowing through a radiator to dissipate heat, I don't think the radiator just sitting static would do very much IMO.

[hydrochronic]

Either way might work. It would say very damn cold in a freezer even if no air flow over it, would cool any liquid which passes through it. Fans work at ambient temperatures, allowing the air to flow over it and remove the heat.

[rigman]

Radiators by themselves don't cool without air going over them, which is why your car/bike gets hotter at the lights than when moving. Not trying to be a dick, just trying to save some headaches/heartaches as I have had to solve a lot of cooling issues with bikes in the past and a stationary radiator is just a finned reservoir. If you were into experimenting, you could try mounting a fan in the freezer so air is flowing through the rad.

Edited June 30, 2017 by rigman

[hydrochronic]

Radiators by themselves don't cool without air going over them, which is why your car/bike gets hotter at the lights than when moving. Not trying to be a dick, just trying to save some headaches/heartaches as I have had to solve a lot of cooling issues with bikes in the past and a stationary radiator is just a finned reservoir. If you were into experimenting, you could try mounting a fan in the freezer so air is flowing through the rad.

 

They work ok passively if they are well below ambient, like in a freezer as the liquid would simply be chilled as it passes through. On a bike you need a fan because the air is ambient temperature and it needs to move through the fins to draw out heat and cool the liquid.

 

That said I am not sure a radiator would be the best environment for a nutrient soltion unless you got a brand new one. Even then may corrode over time as there is no antifreeze/biocide/corrosion inhibitors in a nutrient solution as there is in a coolant.

Edited June 30, 2017 by hydrochronic

[Gazza2001au]

ringman there will be a pump attached to it, it will be a closed cooling system kind of like these people on youtube using a block of ice in a bucket instead i will use a radiator in the freezer justnot sure if the water in the hose and copper pipe would freeze or even if a water pump can operate at around 0c

 

[stinkybrownmist]

another thing you could try and source would be a keg cooler. You know the things, big esky with copper pipes/tubing running around the inside. Provided you can top it with ice from time to time it won't break down (no moving parts) and won't get so cold that liquid will freeze in the pipes.

 

Also, if you are worried about liquid freezing in your pipes you could always add a wee bit of coolant (the stuff you pour in your car engine) to the water to lower the freezing point. Glycerine would probably also work - NFI on how much you'd need to use but worth a thought.