Yet Another Diy Chiller Project...

[ervine]

Hi guys,

I was at carrefour today taking a look at stuff when I stumbled upon an offer, a small thermoelectric cooler (peltier cooler) that is supposed to keep your drinks cold (appox can fit like 6 cans inside only)

In addition, the cooler had a double glazed plastic opening at the door to allow you to look inside..

What's MOST interesting is that it costs $89.90 (while still on promotion)...

Okay so here's my idea...

So basically we need the following components:

1. Cooler

2. Tub of water

3. copper coil (not sure about this)

4. Temp controller (shrug)

Look at the diagram to see what I mean... basically I am thinking of drilling two holes into the plastic see thru glazing, then piping the water from the tank, to the cooler, where it will run through the tub of chilled water... then go back into the tank...

That's the most basic... throw in a temperature controller which just shuts off the power to the cooler when it gets too cold or too hot.. (electrical gurus, please advise!)... Not too sure about the copper coil either, is copper the right material to use? If so where do I get such a coil??

In essence, this idea works on the idea of using a small fridge to cool the tank, only this cooler is like 1/3 the size of the fridge.... although most likely not as powerful...

I'm no expert or whatever but I'm just throwing this idea out and asking for opinions to see if it would actually work on small tanks (forget about larger tanks)

If it DOES, then it's probably a very much viable solution for people with smaller tanks and even smaller budgets....

What do you guys think??

Ervine

[FuEl]

Copper will form green copper oxide if given time. Don't think it is a good idea as copper is toxic for reef tanks.

Why not use AC fans instead? Can easily cool down to 27 degrees.

[Clownfish]

Dun think it will work... cos it's meant to 'cool' not to 'chill'....

[Sinn]

ive had one of those...

free gift when i got my air con i think...

its really useless, as it wasnt even cold...

probably what i got was a lousy brand.. spoils easily also

[ervine]

Hmm.. alright, then I think I better not try and waste money then... hehe..

Thanks for the advice!

[Matt06]

I suggest you you might like to use your normal plastic piping as a coil that you can place inside the cooler itself. But the length must be long enough that by the time water pass through it, it will be cooled.

[estan]

Actually, there're aquarium thermoelectric coolers which are designed based on Peltier Effect. Check out this IceProbe product at this site: http://www.coolworksinc.com/iceprobe.htm

However, Peltier effect cools water best when the volume of water is within an insulated container (i.e. surrounded by insulating material all round of at least 1in thick).

I'm actually thinking how these ThermoElectric Coolers (TECs) can help in making a DIY Chiller that's cheaper and easier maintenance alternative to those... very ex$$$ chillers... Will share any findings IF found...

[alvy]

it's been proven unsuitable for large volume marine aquarium use. In order to cool a 3 ft tank, you'll probably need to invest in a huge peltier or multiple small ones which in my opinion is very expensive! The overall wattage consumption is not much lower than that of a compressor type chiller. I've played with peltier before and found a grave inherent problem!! You need a very efficient fan design to cool of the warm side of the peltier. Failing to do so will cause the cold side to heat up and the hot side to be SUPER hot!! and the heat from the hot side will slide back to the cold side!! It is a vicious cycle! I nearly fried my Athlon using a slightly underpowered peltier..check out the guys using Eidos thermoelectric chiller.

depending on the HP, you can diy a 1/2hp chiller within the $700 range with Ti coil!

[estan]

Thanks for the info! @Least I know someone in this part of the world had tried and tested and found it not working efficiently as a chiller (in terms of $$$ spent vs effectiveness)...

Hmmm...$700 for a 1/2hp chiller is cool......will check out more of this then...