sub $45 Homemade chiller

[terramir]

Holy Crp, I am working on a pelt solution that does about the same thing (but colder, (I dun mind insulating), but yeah mod-ding an AC to cool my computer and my room would be cool ,
but yeah you should find a different styrofoam box to put that thing in then you could probably make it run only every 20 minutes or so. and well If you somehow could use a pic processor (there cheap, and with like 2 temp probes) to steer this thing a bit more refined you should be able to get away if you like a little colder water, if you use fuel/heater hose instead of vinyl hose ones, (there dual layer like a buck twenty a foot and will give you a little room in the condensation department.
good luck
terramir

[terramir]

hey where is the temp sensor the ac uses? cause this evaporator can get far colder than 60C just warning you, 60C is the room temp but the evaporator can go below freezing if it dun know better, if you mount this in the window and the temp sensor is outside your box it might just freeze the water and keep running LOL. those sensors are usually checking the air temp and if it's let's say 72C in your apartment and the sensor is outside the cooler it would keep going and going LOL.
hmmm dual cascase ac and the pelts, I'd need 30% ethylene glycol 50% plus isopropyl and 30% water hmm let's see - 30C anyone :P probably could get it colder than dry ice, if I had a clue what cooling mix to use.
Also a hint if you wired the temp sensor in there you could put it right above the water level air is an insulator and get the water colder that way However you'll have to play around how far above the water you will go and look at the temps, put a thermometer in the water and play around.
good luck
terramir

[dr_dx]

hey where is the temp sensor the ac uses? cause this evaporator can get far colder than 60C just warning you, 60C is the room temp but the evaporator can go below freezing if it dun know better, if you mount this in the window and the temp sensor is outside your box it might just freeze the water and keep running LOL. those sensors are usually checking the air temp and if it's let's say 72C in your apartment and the sensor is outside the cooler it would keep going and going LOL.
hmmm dual cascase ac and the pelts, I'd need 30% ethylene glycol 50% plus isopropyl and 30% water hmm let's see - 30C anyone :P probably could get it colder than dry ice, if I had a clue what cooling mix to use.
Also a hint if you wired the temp sensor in there you could put it right above the water level air is an insulator and get the water colder that way However you'll have to play around how far above the water you will go and look at the temps, put a thermometer in the water and play around.
good luck
terramir

Terramir...

The temp probe is the black wire coming in from the corner in the pics. It is the original ac temp probe. When you pull apart the ac unit you will see it attached to the evap fins. I drilled the hole at a downward angle so the probe extends down into the water.

I realize the evap can go much colder, but you are missing the point - I don't want to go colder.

I don't want to have to insulate anything - motherboard, lines, etc. Since I never go below the dew point, I don't have to - there is NO condensation. By not insulating the supply line, I might lose 1c, no big deal. With no bulky foam insulation, I can run the lines out of sight behind the desk from the cooler over to the back of my Antec 1200 which has water-cooling passthrus built into it.

If the water temp is 60F (16c) and I have an indoor relative humidity level of 50% (much less with colder outside temps), my dew point is 42F (<6c). Trust me, I am not getting anywhere close to 42F (6c).

Since my temp probe is on the return side, it is keeping the return water temp at the set temp. By not insulating the return line, it will make the water colder. If I add more blocks (GPU, etc.) = more heat load, it will make the water colder.

I don't want to have to use anti-freeze, alcohol, special TIM, or anything else other than distilled water and a corrosion inhibitor.

When I mount this in the window, it will be in the same physical configuration, except 3/4ths of the ac unit will be sticking outside (like normal) and the cooler will be sitting on the desk in front of it. At that point, I'll change the lines out to 1/8" wall (mostly so I can make tighter bends without kinking) and then I should be done.

dr_dx