Not so extreme chillbox

[OldChap]

I was given a chiller that is normally used for countertop chilled orange drink.
labels on it are as follows...

00M01 73255 R134a
THB4422Y
230v 50hz 1.6A
20812331
L'UNITE HERMETIQUE

The cooling surfaces go to <-23deg C (the limit of my thermometer)

I had already sketched up a normally watercooled chillbox (pump + 4*240 rads and fans) sitting 6feet away from my rig.

Now I want to include the chiller after the rads to perhaps lower the temps a bit more when ambient goes high or machine under load.

Now for the problem: I've never worked with refrigeration before. I reckon a qualified colleague from work will do the charging etc but first I must build/alter this machine. I'm thinking of a small plate heat exchanger to cool the water....
QUESTIONS.....
Where can I shop for such a thing?

Is this unit too small? (want to avoid condensation problems so will aim to stay above the dew point) I guess I'm aiming for 8deg C ish for a start.

Regardless of the suitability of this particular unit I want to persue this Idea....so I invite comments and sources of information to gen up on refrigeration solely for this project.

Here's hoping

[JaVa_Az]

Before you even start your going to have to address condensation. If your going to do this i would take steps to protect your motherboard from condensation. Not sure where you live but 8c in most of the world is going to be below the dew point. I live in the desert with low humidity and i will see a higher the 8c dewpoint at certain times of the day also it can very quite a bit threw out the day. Just today i have seen the dew point go from 12c to -3c. Your much better off safe then sorry. I really cant help you with the Ac unit you have there I have just been doing alot of research on condesation and dew point for a cooling mod i am doing. Just one drop of dew in the right place could take out your whole set up.

[OldChap]

I obviously don't know much about dewpoint either (not much call for that info as an electrician) will it be enough to insulate the incoming (cold) line and keep a couple of fans changing the air? or is this going to be an excercise similar to using phase?

[DetroitAC]

It seems to me your compressor is going to be too big. I don't know the website of that mfg. so I haven't looked up the specs on that compressor. If 1.6A is the running current??? It's too big and you'll need some sort of capacity control scheme. Maybe a big reservoir of water, and you can use a refrigeration low pressure control to cycle the unit. Not a very easy project if you're new to refrigeration...

[OldChap]

Yes that is the running current.....and I was worried it was too small:rolleyes:

With this info in mind then I can maybe use the existing unit with little on no modification to start with. Just build sleeves to fit over the cooling towers and to carry my coolant. (will get new batts for the camera later then maybe this will make sense)

There is some thermostatic control fitted but until it's working under load I'm not sure I can test these.

As a rule of thumb what heat load would a compressor like this one using 350w handle?

[repsol_23]

If you are planning on actually cooling your liquid to at or below ambient, then you will definitely need to insulate more than just the lines. For example, if you are running idle then your waterblock and cpu chip will start to get colder and may eventually end up below ambient. If this happens you will most likely burn something out since water will end up in places you don't want. I would suggest insulating everything on the mobo near the socket as well as the metal parts of your waterblock. You may still need to insulate your lines since they will also condense and will eventually start to drip the water within the case. Hope this helps!

[OldChap]

All your comments help.....not so long ago I had never overclocked and at 50 it's been a steep learning curve...I'm hoping that this will be just as much fun to learn...who knows by the time I'm 55 maybe I will be trying dice or liquid nitrogen:D

[repsol_23]

All your comments help.....not so long ago I had never overclocked and at 50 it's been a steep learning curve...I'm hoping that this will be just as much fun to learn...who knows by the time I'm 55 maybe I will be trying dice or liquid nitrogen:D

May not even take all that long. I have gone from just air (for 1.5 years), to liquid cooling, to chilled liquid cooling, to TEC cooling, to finally a combination of TEC and chilling the hot side of my TEC's in the matter of 10 months or so.

I have even begun my second chiller that I plan on making from an old AC unit that I scavenged from a local hotel. Hopefully that bad boy will keep my cpu below zero even under load!!!