View Full Version : How do you make a chiller?
redphoenix
03-05-2004, 06:58 AM
Well I have no clue what to do, but how would I go about making a waterchiller? what would i need and where would I get it and how much would it cost me to do it. Could this be done cheap or not really? I read the sticky above but did not understand it too well.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Matt
jamaljaco
03-05-2004, 10:51 AM
you mean the chiller /ac sticky ? did you read the whole thread?if you did and still don't understand pm me and i'll help ya.
. Its pretty easy and can be done for around 150 dollars if you already have water cooling a bit more if you need to purchase water blocks.
afireinside
03-05-2004, 12:14 PM
Brand new 5.2k BTU window AC and res cost me around 100 dollars. 6 bucks for 6 gallons of -20F windshield wiper fluid. Runs -19C...
Loud and I picked to big a res but I had a crappy AC design :(
jamaljaco
03-05-2004, 12:19 PM
afire, I was thinkin you could displace some of that coolant in your res with a few bottles of burbon or something , also if you can hear yourself fart over the unit it aint to loud.
redphoenix
03-05-2004, 09:47 PM
Well im looking for a cheap quiet setup. A list of the materials would be great... and locations.. probably a flee market would be good?
redphoenix
03-05-2004, 09:54 PM
Air Conditioner would work. Um.. could I make it quieter though??
http://www.marmazad.com/UserPictures/27009229_5.jpg
jamaljaco
03-05-2004, 11:06 PM
Work yes, quieter not really, but some. When you get the uneeded fan removed its a bit quieter. Later if you tune the charge for your load you can put a quieter fan on the condenser. Mine really isn't thout loud.
I made a chiller from a drinking fountian and a 10 gallon rubbermaid "Brute" container that works pertty good.
redphoenix
03-06-2004, 05:23 AM
Nice @ OCme
Okay, so say I have the air conditioner, now what would I do?
jamaljaco
03-06-2004, 12:53 PM
Originally posted by OCme
I made a chiller from a drinking fountian and a 10 gallon rubbermaid "Brute" container that works pertty good. Welcom to the madness !:banana:
what temps you getting , tell us how well it works, and how come you got no insulation on that thing , hehe
jamaljaco
03-06-2004, 02:35 PM
Originally posted by redphoenix
Nice @ OCme
Okay, so say I have the air conditioner, now what would I do? Read this entire thread, I read it built my chiller and improvised the rest.http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22968
redphoenix
03-06-2004, 03:24 PM
Alright. I take apart the A/C, stick the evaporater in a res with an alcohol mixture so the water wont freeze. Anything else Im missing?
kommando
03-06-2004, 05:17 PM
Then pump the water through your watercooling loop. And finally take photos :)
WELLLLL... it's like this. The old wallhanging drinking fountain I got from an office that is being renovated and if you'll notice it does have insulation in the form of packing peanuts to keep the chilling coil cool between cycles which are about 1 hr. and 20 min. apart. I happened to have the container, Rubbermaid "Brute," on hand and it was the right size to work. I chill 7gallons of distilled water down to 15 degrees below ambient @ 57 degrees and keeping the house at 72. I use a Johnson temperature controller A19 to keep tabs on things. I have a P4 2.4C chip running @ 3.6GHz compleatly stable. My ATI 9800XT is overclocked to 470.25MHz core cclock and 409.50MHz memory clock. This goes to show that you really don't have to have extreme cooling to get xtreme results. jamaljaco, I have to say that I read all about your rig and have saved some of the pictures of it. Dude you Rock! I am totally impressed with what you, Bowman1964, FUGGER, and chilly1 do, I believe I'm hooked. When I get a little bolder I would like to get into vapor phase change. Here is another shot of the inside of my rig for you guys.
Sorry, after a but few Johnny Walker Blacks it's kind of hard to hold the camera steady.
kommando
03-06-2004, 05:44 PM
Looks mad cept the shots a bit fuxord.
hear is another one...I got out my tri-pod!;)
redphoenix
03-06-2004, 10:47 PM
Nice man!
How much power does this thing take up?? Will my parents notice a big differnece in electricy bills??
jamaljaco
03-06-2004, 11:09 PM
Originally posted by redphoenix
Alright. I take apart the A/C, stick the evaporater in a res with an alcohol mixture so the water wont freeze. Anything else Im missing? uh yea, all the details,:D Got pics? you'll need a good pump, I use the danner supreme magdrive 5, I wished I had a mag 7.any fluid at -25c doesn't like to pump, I dont use any water anymore just methanol and a touch of prestone for the anti-corrosive agents. make sure you disable the thermostat so it runs full time. what you using for blocks?
jamaljaco
03-06-2004, 11:21 PM
Originally posted by OCme
WELLLLL... it's like this. The old wallhanging drinking fountain I got from an office that is being renovated and if you'll notice it does have insulation in the form of packing peanuts to keep the chilling coil cool between cycles which are about 1 hr. and 20 min. apart.. disable the thermostat , make it run full time. Insulate anything that is cooler than ambient.
. jamaljaco, I have to say that I read all about your rig and have saved some of the pictures of it. Dude you Rock! I am totally impressed with what you, Bowman1964, FUGGER, and chilly1 do, I believe I'm hooked. When I get a little bolder I would like to get into vapor phase change I stood on the shoulders of giants...:D and your into phase change, this is the first step.
jamaljaco
03-06-2004, 11:25 PM
Originally posted by OCme
hear is another one...I got out my tri-pod!;) LOL, I love the space man, you prolly get a few more mhz's with him in there huh.
kommando
03-07-2004, 12:09 AM
What exactly does a thermostat do?
What exactly does a thermostat do?
The thermostat serves as an regulator or an ON/OFF switch and is accurate to just (+/-) 2 degrees. I use this to keep the drinking fountain from chilling too far past ambient temperature since nothing is insulated as jamaljaco pointed out.
LOL, I love the space man, you prolly get a few more mhz's with him in there huh.
At least a few!:p:
Reflex1
03-07-2004, 12:00 PM
gj man. very ghetto ;) yet tidy, room for another 20 space men :D
i love how u positioned ur pump :p: in that rack. wud do the same, only i got 3 drives :(
skate2snow
03-07-2004, 12:50 PM
hey, redphonix: how a AC unit like that cost? If my DI chiller dont work im thinking of getting one if its not over 100$
redphoenix
03-07-2004, 01:18 PM
You can get one for less than $100 on ebay. Just search for Kenmore Air Condition Also walmart has one for less than 100.
skate2snow
03-07-2004, 01:33 PM
ok, thx:up:
"How much power does this thing take up?? Will my parents notice a big differnece in electricy bills??"
I think that it would cost about $20.00 to $25.00 dollars per month to run small AC unit 24/7 depending on electricity costs where you live. If you are going to be using T.E.C. along with it maybe a little more.
Slickthellama
03-08-2004, 06:17 PM
in all honesty i think peltier cooling is more practical, better temps AFAIK.
LutaWicasa
03-08-2004, 06:28 PM
Originally posted by Slickthellama
in all honesty i think peltier cooling is more practical, better temps AFAIK.
????:confused: ????
Originally posted by Slickthellama
in all honesty i think peltier cooling is more practical, better temps AFAIK.
huh?:stick:
If you know where there's a transfer station in your area they'll have an place where people bring all freon products for proper disposal. you may be able to score one for free. most of the time theyre thrown out but still work fine or the temp control is bad, but if you jumper them out theyll work. this one is a 6000btu ac & it hits -43c.:cool:
jamaljaco
03-08-2004, 08:23 PM
Vlad , did you tune your charge?
zakelwe
03-09-2004, 05:01 AM
Originally posted by Slickthellama
in all honesty i think peltier cooling is more practical, better temps AFAIK.
I'm going to be using chilled water and Peltier so I will try and post results soon.
Regards
Andy
vlad, could I have a look in your reservoir to see how you have it set up. I'm getting ready to build one of these chillers, and I'm not sure if I should go with the 12 drink cooler or the 5 or 10 gallon rubbermaid cooler you seem to have. Maybe someone could tell me if it is best to have the evaporator setting vertical or horizontal, or does it not make a differance which way it goes?
jamaljaco
03-09-2004, 02:42 PM
Originally posted by OCme
vlad, could I have a look in your reservoir to see how you have it set up. I'm getting ready to build one of these chillers, and I'm not sure if I should go with the 12 drink cooler or the 5 or 10 gallon rubbermaid cooler you seem to have. Maybe someone could tell me if it is best to have the evaporator setting vertical or horizontal, or does it not make a differance which way it goes? It does make a difference, gravity aides in the evaporators function , you want it as close to the original orientation as posible. Also you want a container that will submerge the evap using as little fluid as posible. this will give a faster pull down .
Slickthellama
03-09-2004, 03:19 PM
Originally posted by LutaWicasa
????:confused: ????
Show me a chilled water setup that has these temps.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=364477
LutaWicasa
03-09-2004, 04:22 PM
Originally posted by Slickthellama
Show me a chilled water setup that has these temps.
I'm hoping to do just that.......ultimately ;)
redphoenix
03-09-2004, 04:24 PM
How did u get -18 with just pelts?
Slickthellama
03-09-2004, 04:34 PM
226Watt peltier, Maze4-1, BIX.
Thx jamaljaco then the 12 drink rectangular type beverage holder would work best. I went to NAPA and got the dielectric grease like you recommended. It was $6.49 for a 28.6 gram tube if anyone's interested. Have you bled off any of your Freon using a piercing valve to tune your system yet?
What type of cooling are you using Slickthellama?
redphoenix
03-09-2004, 04:36 PM
..... Blazer HC 4 fans on it single pass, maze4-1 226watt pelt for cpu and maze4-1 80 watt for gpu , mag3 and im getting 5c idle... @ stock.
How are you cooling your pelts Slickthellama? Actively or passively?
Slickthellama
03-09-2004, 04:46 PM
Very actively, 2 screamers. And I have great contact, thermal paste is perfectly applied and insulation is top notch.
jamaljaco
03-09-2004, 04:50 PM
Originally posted by Slickthellama
Show me a chilled water setup that has these temps.
Thats rather silly Slick, in order to make a comparison I would have to slap my chiller on your system and take it for a test drive. From the looks of it your running an intel system that runs lower voltages and less heat output. I would love to show you some temps but my board will not read sub zero.I have to run my barton 2500+ @ the max volts I have to give it (2.150v) just to keep it warm enough to boot into bios. Heat load is where we rock. I can run GPU NB and VPU all maxed out and only lose 5c coolant temp. Also I believe you said pelts are more practical . How many PSUs, pelts, water blocks for your cooling loop,wiring,relays ect. do you need to compare to my rig? then figure in the cost...
jamaljaco
03-09-2004, 04:55 PM
Originally posted by OCme
Thx jamaljaco then the 12 drink rectangular type beverage holder would work best. I went to NAPA and got the dielectric grease like you recommended. It was $6.49 for a 28.6 gram tube if anyone's interested. Have you bled off any of your Freon using a piercing valve to tune your system yet? Nope I havn't tuned mine yet, Gary says it will get way colder..
I can't wait to see your temps after you do, please keep us informed.
"Very actively, 2 screamers. And I have great contact, thermal paste is perfectly applied and insulation is top notch.'
Sounds SWEET! got any pics Slickthellama?
jamaljaco
03-09-2004, 05:04 PM
Originally posted by OCme
I can't wait to see your temps after you do, please keep us informed. I sure will, Might just have to do that to show the pelt guys a thing or two, I'll post on the chiller ac sticky when I do .
Perhaps we could persuade Gary to provide us with a step-by-step guide on how to fine tune a AC chiller complete with 8x10 color glossy photos with pictures and arrows and a description...
Slickthellama
03-09-2004, 05:27 PM
Originally posted by OCme
"Very actively, 2 screamers. And I have great contact, thermal paste is perfectly applied and insulation is top notch.'
Sounds SWEET! got any pics Slickthellama?
yep, these arent current, but Ill update them tommorrow when I go back to dad's house. In the meantime here's a teaser.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26276
jamaljaco
03-09-2004, 05:29 PM
Originally posted by OCme
Perhaps we could persuade Gary to provide us with a step-by-step guide on how to fine tune a AC chiller complete with 8x10 color glossy photos with pictures and arrows and a description... He pretty much told me how to do it in the chiller ac sticky. Not likely you'll get a step by step. He is retired, never sleeps, and spends way to much time on these forums.
I was listening to Arlo Guthrie's Alices Restraunt and it just seemd to fit, I think I was on a roll. He,He:p:
jamaljaco
03-09-2004, 05:59 PM
Originally posted by OCme
I was listening to Arlo Guthrie's Alices Restraunt and it just seemd to fit, I think I was on a roll. He,He:p: I like the motorcycle song on the flipside of that album, album,, LMAO remember those? man I'm old.
LutaWicasa
03-09-2004, 06:07 PM
Originally posted by jamaljaco
I like the motorcycle song on the flipside of that album, album,, LMAO remember those? man I'm old.
I remember 78's ;)
jamaljaco
03-09-2004, 06:11 PM
Originally posted by LutaWicasa
I remember 78's ;) Yea still a few around when I was a kid, but your old as dirt;)
LutaWicasa
03-09-2004, 06:18 PM
Originally posted by jamaljaco
Yea still a few around when I was a kid, but your old as dirt;)
Nope, nope.......older.
I remember when dirt was made :D
Gary Lloyd
03-09-2004, 07:07 PM
Perhaps we could persuade Gary to provide us with a step-by-step guide on how to fine tune a AC chiller complete with 8x10 color glossy photos with pictures and arrows and a description...
Maybe I should write a book. :D
He is retired, never sleeps, and spends way to much time on these forums.
Doesn't look like the retirement is going to work out. I'm hoping to make it to spring and then back to the tools. :(
[i]Doesn't look like the retirement is going to work out. I'm hoping to make it to spring and then back to the tools. :( [/B]
I think it's a labor of love for you Gary... You must have Freon flowing thru your veins:p: Props to you dude!
Originally posted by jamaljaco
Vlad , did you tune your charge?
Nope. I just ran it the way i pulled it from the trash. I work there repairing heavy equipment so i get my pick of anything i want. i always keep my eyes open and put anything worth keeping to the side for future use. My first one was a 1/12th hp mini-fridge that did -27c.
Originally posted by OCme
vlad, could I have a look in your reservoir to see how you have it set up. I'm getting ready to build one of these chillers, and I'm not sure if I should go with the 12 drink cooler or the 5 or 10 gallon rubbermaid cooler you seem to have. Maybe someone could tell me if it is best to have the evaporator setting vertical or horizontal, or does it not make a differance which way it goes?
I didnt take a pic of the inside of this one but this is what it looks like except for the evap is diffrent.
Here's one i work on when ever i get some spare time(which lately seems like never.) It uses two 8000btu AC's(Free). i fabbed a metal container that holds about 20gals(Free+45min my time), it will be placed in a rubbermaid container(10 buc's@homedepot) & insulated with about 4 to 6 inches of spray insulation.(12 to 20 buc's also@homedepot). I dont know what it'll do(im sure Mr Lloyd will have an idea:D) but what the hell it's amost free & a guys gotta something to do on those boring winter days. i've been looking into industral pumps because i dont know how much longer these pond pumps im using are going to hold up.
jamaljaco
03-10-2004, 02:41 PM
Sweet work Vlad thanks.
Very nice work vlad. Thanks for posting the pics.:toast: