Chiller Build (recently found some time)

[Stewie007]

Alrighty, Getting some more work done this weekend. Picking up where I left off.




After the internal radiator was installed, it was time to get the 3 internal fans ready. Using liquid nails, I glued them together, and pressed them using a long slide clamp and two clamped boards kept them from bowing.




It was easy getting that far, then I had to come up with a way to suspend the fans over the radiator. It was clear that gluing any pieces to the side of the plexiglass would be too difficult, so I came up with a "truss" system.

First I drilled some holes.



Then I got out my trusty lincoln welding rods. They're the welding electrodes you find at lowes and they are nice and stiff. I sanded the flux off like so...

[Stewie007]

The flux was a bit hard to get off. I originally used a heavier grit to get it off, and then a smooth grit to pointlessly smooth it out. I did this four times, and carefully measured and drilled the 8 holes (four on each side of the plexi enclosure).

Now was time for testing.




Perfect! So I sized them up and cut each to the same length. Then I inserted them beneath the fans, and set the fans in the appripriate position. I spaced the rods so that they wouldn't interfere with the fan blades.




I cut a nifty little hole with one of those worthless stepped drill bits... They only seem to drill well through plastic...



Then using the liquid nails, I began to glue on the top pieces.



Now its starting to take shape!

[Stewie007]

Whilst this was going on, I continued on with the plumbing. Miraculously I was able to drill the hole for the 5/8" tubing. I managed to get a 3/8 hole and I gradually stepped it up by moving a drill in a conical path to wallow out the hole. It worked.

Those hitachi bits I bought? Worthless. They cut about a millimeter deep, if that. Then they basically polish the metal. Completely worthless. I told Hitachi that much in a nice little (polite) email.

Below you can see the gluing in progress. I cut the tubing and brazed it accordingly. It was a bit of a bother in some respects, but I got it done. Turned out really nice.



Inside, you can't see from the image, but I cut a taper into the tube, as well as 4 relief holes in the sides. You might see the indent from the holes if you look closely. The idea is that some of the water will come out of those 4 holes thus releasing some of the pressure to perhaps deaden the flow, if even a little. The tapered end will serve to direct the water down toward the bottom of the res.



Now, I've been noticing some cracking at the bottom of the res at the braze joint. Its kind of annoying. So I decided that I'd remedy it with some JB Weld Epoxy. After re brazing part of it I mixed up the epoxy and started application. This stuff is good down to -60F or so. It is also good to 600F. No problems here whatsoever. It dries in a very solid, but polymeric form so its not brittle. I coated the res with it around the braze joints on the bottom as a precaution.

[Stewie007]

Moving on, with the plumbing on the cold side somewhat done, it is time to continue with the enclosure. Below shows what it looks like with the radiator atop, pre-gluing. Of course you probably notice the res has no epoxy here :p I actually did it after this step.



For gluing on the top radiator, I did not use a strong adhesive, as it is on the top and un-necessary. Instead, I anticipated the possibility that I may have to in the future replace bad fans. So I used an Adhesive caulk that hardens well, but is easy to cut and remove. That way I can take the radiator off if need be. Kwikseal does a good job.

[Stewie007]

Now it is time to cover up the ugliness of the enclosure with some insulation. This will prevent fogging on the outside toward the bottom and perpahs prevent too much moisture build up. But I'm going to settle with it making things look decent. I started with the top.



Then I moved on to the side. I had to cut some odd shapes to fit the area around the radiator where there was a gap that could cause air to escape. Nope! Want that through the radiators!




I finished up on the back and the front. Although I appear to have lost some of the pictures. Here are a few. The internal radiator is sitting a bit off level because its not hooked up to the res yet.




Stay Tuned!

[Expat GriZ]

Wow...Stewie ...you've really been going at it since I last had a gander at this thread. Looks like its really starting to come together nicely. Can't wait to see some more progress. Fire this beast up already!! Great job!!

[Stewie007]

Thanks.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to put the finishing touches on the cold side, and then finish up with the condenser side. If all goes well, I may even be able to add some water and stabilizer to the condenser loop to test it. I also got some copper epoxy that seems to serve as a substitute for solder. I'm going to use that to seal the flare joints that I won't be removing. That way no drip drop; sometimes those 5/8 hard copper flare joints are a pain in the ass.

So, this will leave some additional work.

Here's what's left after I get the last of the chiller connections done.

1. Get a 12V PSU and test the fans.
2. Get a replacement TXV and electrical controls
3. Acquire refrigeration license
4. Buy refrigerant
5. Test and Tune!!!! :-D
6. Design and build sound proof chest with good ventilation
7. Acquire computer components and blocks
8. Design and build internal structure for coolant inside the computer.

The sound proof chest will be 5 feet long by 2 feet wide. Its going to be incorporated with the furniture in the room so that anyone who walked in wouldn't even know how geeky it was inside (at first glance). The sound proofing I'll rely on starts with a spray foam layer followed by a harder surface. A Thin and soft insulation material followed by the black foam insulation sheets. I'll ventilate it in key spots to keep air moving. The radiator enclosure will pull air through a hole in the bottom that is only accessible internally to the enclosure. The cool air that comes out will help keep it temperate, while an exhaust fan will keep air moving out.

The trick will be keeping it light weight.

The computer components are a different story. I've got to get some 1/4" ID tubing for that. Basically, I'm going to drill some holes in a 1" x 1" round of copper. Using a reducer coupling, I'll make myself a nifty little distributor. Four 1/4" ID tubes will provide the 1/2" ID volume that I need, and they will split the pressure evenly.

Below is a basic rendering of what that will look like (no insulation). 4 components, and 4 lines. Yo!

[thunderstruck!]

That is a sick project. I can't wait to see what it looks like when finished.

What is going into your build?

[Expat GriZ]

"Acquire computer components and blocks"

Ok Stew......with the plethora of "NEW" boards, cpu's, gpu's that have or are soon to be released.....& hopefully you are looking at a nice little tax return.......which way are you leaning for gear?? With all this cooling power you could cool everything and have a rig to match the cooling. It would be one......mean.......machine!!

[Stewie007]

Hehe, yeah that is a bit vague.... "Acquire components........"

Its hard to say exactly what will go into it, since things are changing all of the time hehe.

With a wedding coming up in late June, I won't be procuring the parts until afterward.

As you can see there are 3 graphics cards in the render. As for the CPU, I'll wait and see how the AMD X6 chips perform (I'm an AMD junky) and likely get one of those. It'll be a 64 bit OS so I'm definitely going to cram in 8 GB or RAM. The graphics cards will be ATI XXXX.... I'm still not clear on how the 6 monitors will work together (i.e. if it will work in 3 way crossfire). I want to run 6 monitors. Three 19x non-widescreens put together on one of those triple monitor stands, with my 2 widescreens separate on either side, and a 32" LED TV that sits above on the central hutch peice will make 6... The picture below gives you an idea of the desk. That 32" TV is in my living room right now, so I'll leave it there and acquire the new one probably well after this is done.

The only problem I can see is finding 3 decent 19" monitors with a small bezel. They have to be 19", as the space in the middle is limited, and that would just fit. There is a reason I want them to be that way. Some of my older games don't like widescreen, and I like to re-play from time to time. I can disable the triple and run games like the original Homeworld in such a monitor.

All of this is expensive, though, so I've got to space it out. Can't dip into the savings or investments for this; hehe that would be pretty irresponsible.

But in the mean time, the refrigeration system will be complete a bit before that. I'm getting some Johnson Controls components for temperature, and pressure controls.

I'm going to test it for a wide range of temperature applications. The pressure controls are for the pump down cycle. It will turn the compressor on and off. The thermostat will control the solenoid valve on the high side, which will close when the temperature setting is attained. When it opens, the rush of pressure will trip the low side pressure switch and in turn the switch will activate the compressor.

I'll test it for hardcore -25C, moderate 0C, and a normal ops setting of around 15C. The latter would likely mean that the system would run for a minute and shut off. The point in testing will determine if it is viable to run such a setting, as the differential temperature may be reached quickly, and it activates again every 5 minutes. But we'll see.

[Stewie007]

I've got some links here for controls.

For temperature control, I've elected to use the Johnson Controls A419 system. It will be a 120V control, so no need for an auxiliary 24V PSU. It has a 30 F or C temperature differential, so I can set a tight range or a wide range up to 30 units.

The pressure control is also Johnson Controls. Its The P70EA-10C. The differential is fixed at 5 PSI. I can set it to draw a 12" vacuum at minimum, but no doubt I won't need to set it that low. Once the pressure at the switch rises over 5 PSI, the switch will close, and the compressor will turn on.

I've yet to design the switch board, which will go behind a flip up door. Its on the left side cabinet above the double folding door on the bottom. Basically, we'll have a set of switches. One will control the pumps. Another for the 12V PSU that powers the fans, and a third that activates the temperature sensor that controls the solenoid. I'm also going to rig a rocker switch in there for the computer just to make it complete. :-D

Its gonna be SWEET!

[Stewie007]

I've done a little work this past weekend, nothing big; but I'm nearing the end of the chiller build process. Most of it is done. The only thing that really held me back was the fact that the epoxy on the condenser reservoir needed a long time to cure.

First I went to acquire some metal tubing clips, as the cheap plastic ones just weren't doing it. Now it holds them friggen steady.




I also decided to use this copper epoxy stuff I grabbed from Lowes. Of course, its just epoxy, but the resin is yellow. I put it on the flare connections to ensure a good seal, especially the funky flare elbow. On the joints that I won't be disconnecting, it'll prevent any leaks from the flares.

[Stewie007]

I then concentrated on piecing together the "out" line that will go to the computer. The second picture shows the back end valve. I'll have to place a block underneath the straight to use another clip to secure the line.




After this, I pulled out a nifty little plastic band that I acquired to secure the condenser to the cooler. Using two screws (one pictured) I secured them with a nut and this now holds the condenser tightly in place.




I tightened the fittings on the radiators and then installed the tubing. Routed the tubing from the lower radiator to the top of the vertical radiator. It was the only way to prevent kinking.

[Stewie007]

Of course, one of the tin can fittings broke. I didn't realize these Danger Den fittings were paper thin, otherwise I would have bought something else. I'm worried about the other fittings, but there don't seem to be any problems, so I'm not touching them.



One shot here from the side. Kinda shows the smorgasbord of copper etc etc. Hehe, When I design something..............I design it!



The last shot here is another full on shot. You won't really notice much of a change when I add the final parts. There really isn't a heck of a lot left to do with the piping. Soon enough I'll be able to at least test the water loop for leaks and fill up the condenser side and give the pump a whirl. I can't do much with the cooler side until I acquire the Dynalene and the low temp O-ring. Of course, I'm going to back that up with some sealant. Oh, and I've gotta insulate the cooler tubes after I verify no leaks.

[wdrzal]

Stewie............your chiller is starting to look like a Rube Goldberg machine.

http://www.rubegoldberg.com/

[Stewie007]

I don't know whether or not to be insulted.... ehehe. You're right though.... It is rather........... complex... When I get an idea.......

[Stewie007]

Just a few updates. I was able the finish the condenser loop today. I got my new fittings, which worked much better than the last ones. A Little teflon tape and whammo!

I used an ethylene glycol based engine coolant and mixed it with water. Its green, and quite cool. The pump is actually pretty quiet when its secured to the base.

The neatest part of the whole ordeal was I found an AT power supply in an old computer. This is perfect, since I don't have to modify anything for it to work. So I tested the fans and they all worked just fine. I posted a picture of that below.

Well, that much closer now to being finished.

[Stewie007]

Well, the work barely trickles a long. But as I was looking at the contraption (which seems as if it will never be finished) I thought of Walt's Rube comments, hehehe.

I decided to refine a bit and came up with a much cleaner build. I'll finish refining later, but it won't look that much different than it is now.

I ditched the stupid metal reservoirs that I built. They weren't gonna work and they threatened to leak like a sieve. I also relocated the radiator housing, and am relocating the condenser loop pump. I cut away the valves and will pipe up the rest in a cleaner fashion. All in all, it gets rid of all of that grotesque piping that was in place before.

[Stewie007]

Found a handy little pot I can use for a reservoir. I'll get two of them for a total of 3 Gallons of coolant storage.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/VOLLRATH-Bain-Marie-Pot-4NDY6

[Gray Mole]

It's a shame you don't live nearby.

I actually have 2 of those from water chillers I chopped up.

Some use plastic tubs, but others use these exact ones for the cooled water as HX's.

FWIW they must work ok, if they use them in these coolers I guess.

But if you feel like a trip to Canada, they're sitting here waiting for you

Oh, nice work BTW. Looks fairly compact considering how much you're stuffing in there.

Looking forward to seeing it work.

Oh, where does the marble actually start in this one though?




Gray

[Stewie007]

The marble? I'm currently working that into the design..... The marble will be at the desk, it will roll through a coil hose to a compartment down below. It will flip a switch, that turns on a fan, that blows the sail, that touches the moustrap that swings the knife that cuts the thread that holds the slingshot that flings a rock against a switch that turns on a burner that boils water that creates the steam that.............................. hehehehehehehe

Seriously, though, it looks like I can cut 4 more inches off to keep my current overall footprint while going with 2 12qt Pots for a grand total of 6 gallons of coolant

I thought of using a plastic tub, but overall I'm more confident in steel. Plus, I can get these pots pretty cheap for the sizes that I want, and at a total of 7-8 pounds for both with lids, that isn't bad. Another thing that the new design does is take care of some of the unit's weight problem.

I think I'll be able to get started on some more real work as soon as things pick up and my wife gets a higher paying more steady 40 hour job. (Right now its a 26-36 hour job).

I can't wait to finish piping, but the electricals are going to be fun . Then I get a license, buy some refrigerant and a submersible heating element and I'm ready to kick arse!

[Stewie007]

Man, I forgot that the stupid Pex fittings are not sized quite the same, so when I bought them and brought them home I found that they weren't the right size.

Just some more pipe fitting, as that's all I really had time for. I changed the pump discharge line to use two 45 degree fittings to keep the pressures more even; no big change there but it looks a little better too.

I piped the cooler outlet to the cold radiator. You might wonder why there are 3 valves, but that's only because its easier to just add the valve for coolant containment within the radiator when it is necessary to separate the system for moving or repairs.

The major change is the flow direction. Previously this homemade radiator was the last part of the loop. However, after I made some changes it became one of the first. I decided that its impact would be no different, as the temperatures will stabilize no matter what part of the loop that it is in; it also won't be too efficient. It is only intended to regulate the temperature of the condenser cooling air.

Aside from that I changed the radiator assembly inlet to connect to the condenser outlet instead of the pump outlet. I'll then get a swivel fitting with a 1/2" barb to connect the pump discharge to the condenser inlet. So in effect, that top pipe will be going away. I've decided that it fouls up the now clean look of the water piping with its jagged and bent alignment

[Stewie007]

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/voll.../92230922.html

I'll use one of these for the condenser. Its small, and will just serve as a holding reservoir for the condenser pump providing enough water for the inlet while giving me the ability to easily fill the system. Going without the reservoir will probably not be a good idea.

[Gray Mole]

http://www.surgicalshop.com/convales..._seamless.html

What about one of these bad boys?

Stainless, surgical quality steel

The cool aerodynamic shape could add that certain 'something' to your build and it looks pretty compact, yet loads of room (or is that 'room for loads'?)

[Stewie007]

I think I will decline....