12,000BTU/h Aircon to waterchiller! :)

[Darkstar782]

Right, I have a 12,000 BTU Aircon.

Here is its information sticker:

Picture

I've decided to convert it to a coolant chiller. I figure I'm going to need something other than water, as my intention is to go as sub-zero as possible. (yes, I have thought about condensation...)

Lets have a high quality Paint diagram to illustrate my thoughts:



So, I take the cooling radiator type bit (Evaporator?) out of the aircon unit and drop it into an insulated tank full of coolant, this cools the coolant in the immersion tank, the pump pushes it around the waterblock, the CPU is cold

Or, does the pump push coolant around a radiator also immersed in the tank?

I know I'm going to need to be using almost pure antifreeze here... is this going to damage the pump? (probably an Laing D4 or D5)

Do I need some sort of fan in immersed in the tank to make the coolant flow around the evaporator, or is convection enough?

[n00b 0f l337]

Antifreeze can slush with big units like this, pure alcohol works quite well too, or mixedwith water. Personally I'd say get a triple 120mm radiator and dump it in the immersion tank, and have a small pump in the tank circulating the liquid.

[[XC] MarioMaster]

12,000 btu aircon unit is going to suck serious juice for the simple task of cooling your computer....

[systemviper]

Antifreeze can slush with big units like this, pure alcohol works quite well too, or mixedwith water. Personally I'd say get a triple 120mm radiator and dump it in the immersion tank, and have a small pump in the tank circulating the liquid.

thats a good way to xfer the cold without contaminating your computer cooling loop.

[n00b 0f l337]

Bingooo!

[Athanatos]

use HFE like the some tower chillers, expensive but works awesome

[n00b 0f l337]

or use a fan in tank instead of pump to move fluid around

Possible but many fans won't like that idea to much Maybe a fan motor mounted above the resevoir with a small 3-4" metal or plastic blade spinning inside deep in the resevoir.

[Darkstar782]

12,000 btu aircon unit is going to suck serious juice for the simple task of cooling your computer....

Death to the environment

I dont care much, I leave the thing on 24-7 anyway. I figure I will still get some cooling out of it just by having a giant bucket of coldness in the room

Alcohol seems like a good idea... Not quite sure where to get mass quantities of Ethanol tho... and filling it with Vodka might be expensive :P

[Athanatos]

get an industrial type of mixer and mount it over the tank

[fart_plume]

Easiest way to create a circulation of fliuld is to put a commercial bait tank aireator in the tank so the air is released below the evaporatorthis will cause the fliud to flow quite easily.
I've set up a few commerial bait tanks like a 400 gallon one that used a 220 24,000/hr ac would drop the temp from 105f to 40f in just over an hour. with that kind of mass it'll take a while for a computer to raise the temp back up. My favorite tank was an old deep freezer that held 100gallons the chiller would freeze the water after 8 hrs.(antifreeze and fish don't mix well,lol)

[Xeon th MG Pony]

Lets say it again Kids: Bigger does not mean colder! Yay!

In other words you are wasting power, will most likely kill it in short order and a whole hell of alot of noise you don't need! Keep the 12K for your room and pick up a nice cheap 5K as it will be better suited for the jobe, Unles your computer really does pump out 4.8Kw worth of heat!

[Modzilla]

around -30C is possible with 5,300 btu:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=173895

[Fujimitsu]

Lets say it again Kids: Bigger does not mean colder! Yay!

In other words you are wasting power, will most likely kill it in short order and a whole hell of alot of noise you don't need! Keep the 12K for your room and pick up a nice cheap 5K as it will be better suited for the jobe, Unles your computer really does pump out 4.8Kw worth of heat!

No real need for the radiator in chilled liquid thing either, just pump the same coolant through the whole thing. If it's a new AC then it won't be dirty, and thus won't contaminate your loop.

You can buy enough denatured alcohol for a full setup like this for under $10 at the hardware store, SLX denatured alcohol - in the paint section.

Other than that it's easy, just insulate lots and make sure to pick a pump that wont leak (no o-rings).

[[XC] 2long4u]

Easiest would be to use a hx.

[gtj]

No real need for the radiator in chilled liquid thing either, just pump the same coolant through the whole thing. If it's a new AC then it won't be dirty, and thus won't contaminate your loop.

You can buy enough denatured alcohol for a full setup like this for under $10 at the hardware store, SLX denatured alcohol - in the paint section.

Other than that it's easy, just insulate lots and make sure to pick a pump that wont leak (no o-rings).

Except for the aluminum fins on the evap. I put 3 120x2 rads (which I already had) in parallel into my tank to act as the HX and used a cheap submersible pond pump to circulate the HX coolant. Also less chance of foreign material getting into the loop.

[Fujimitsu]

Except for the aluminum fins on the evap. I put 3 120x2 rads (which I already had) in parallel into my tank to act as the HX and used a cheap submersible pond pump to circulate the HX coolant. Also less chance of foreign material getting into the loop.

If you use an anti-corrosive, it shouldn't be a problem. If you've got the radiators already, then go for it.... but it's stupid to spend more than the cost of the a/c on just radiators. As long as you've got good anti-corrosive and you change the coolant, you're fine. If you're super paranoid you can use a filter as well... can be had at pet shops for like $5.

[teyber]

Death to the environment

I dont care much, I leave the thing on 24-7 anyway. I figure I will still get some cooling out of it just by having a giant bucket of coldness in the room

Alcohol seems like a good idea... Not quite sure where to get mass quantities of Ethanol tho... and filling it with Vodka might be expensive :P

death to the environment eh?

good luck in life

[Xeon th MG Pony]

Oh and another thing discharge temps start going through the roof with R-22 after you get to -35C