The $15 Poor Mans Nano Chiller By C-BuZz

[farkwar]

Good job.

 

 

 

"your build definitely beats a $300 chiller "

 

Well in all fairness, it is as much like a $99 IceProbe, as a chiller.

Definitely, inspires lots of ideas.

[adinsxq]

your build definitely beats a $300 chiller

[C-BuZz]

Maybe this is the wrong place, but does anyone know how to add a thermocouple with a SIMPLE on/off control to this set up? I also have a TEC and have thought of using it for many things, including a tank chiller. Since Montana doesn't have snow for a few months of the year, no one really thinks about A/C here, and the house has gotten up towards 90F before. So a chiller may be necessary but I have until late June.

 

Anyway, an easy circuit that took the voltage produced from a thermocouple, and a circuit to give a certain range of temps that controlled the switch to the TEC. If any of you brilliant people have better luck with electricity, let me know your thoughts. I think it could benefit everyone and C-BuZz!

 

$4 thermal controller:

http://www.heatsink.info/content.php?content=control.shtml

 

Should do the trick nicely with a bit of fiddling

 

Great job on the peltier! I recommend for better heat transfer looking on ebay and finding some Ti tubing and use some swagelok fittings to connect it to your pump...this way you'll get even more efficient heat exchange.

 

Thanks for the tip. I've already considered that, however Titanium tubing would totally blow the budget

 

A bead of silicone around the joint between the heatsinks and especially around the wires would work probably if you are overly worried.

 

The peltier is totally sealed already, so there is pretty much 0 chance of a fire in a tub of water If it does happen to short circuit the psu will trip & shut down anyway.

 

Could you just hook the plug up to a reefkeeper to control the temp?

 

Yes you could.

 

C-BuZz

[andrewatch]

People dont do quotes with 10 pics in them... they are already 5" above your post

[ls7corvete]

Good job, most people never get their peltier setups working well.

 

Get rid of that box with tubbing in it and build a reef safe water block!!

http://www.overclockers.com/tim-whitakers-...ic-water-block/

http://cgi.ebay.com/Titanium-Sheet-052-6Al...=item4838b67417

 

I would try 5v too, it will be alot more efficient and may cool better or just as well.

[C-BuZz]

Good job, most people never get their peltier setups working well.

 

Get rid of that box with tubbing in it and build a reef safe water block!!

http://www.overclockers.com/tim-whitakers-...ic-water-block/

http://cgi.ebay.com/Titanium-Sheet-052-6Al...=item4838b67417

 

I would try 5v too, it will be alot more efficient and may cool better or just as well.

 

5v doesn't cut it, takes way to long to cool down. I considered the plastic waterblock idea, but I couldn't figure out an efficient enough method to get it into the tank, without having a massive heatsink hanging off the side of the tank. Which would also be very hot & probably do more damage than good.

 

With the chiller configuration like this I can keep it well away from the tank.

 

C-BuZz

[farkwar]

That water cooler is on the heat side of the peltier, right?

Bet you can put one on the cold side, in addition.

[mbarton2010]

so where can i get heat sinks like that besides my xbox 360 lol

[C-BuZz]

That water cooler is on the heat side of the peltier, right?

Bet you can put one on the cold side, in addition.

 

Eh?

 

so where can i get heat sinks like that besides my xbox 360 lol

 

Ebay you'll find millions.

 

Was a little boored so I decided to put a little more work into the chiller. I wasent happy with how loud the fan was, so I went back to my junk pile & found a couple of nice quiet 80mm fans. Which I will piggy back together & run them on the 5v rails so the chiller is near silent.

 

Then I decided to fully insulate the tub properly, starting with the top of the tub. Couple of layers of sticky neoprene should do nicely.

 

Then the bottom of the tub, layer of neoprene & seal it with some very high quality Gaffa tape

 

Looks pretty good (i reckon anyway )

 

Finally insulate the return line so it does not collect heat back to the tank

 

Also added a molex connector so I can just plug & play

 

Hopefully this should improve the performance a little.

 

C-BuZz

[farkwar]

Eh?

 

The water cooling block for the CPU peltier cooling is on the heat side. The fan and heat sink side. In the provided link.

 

But the same idea could work on the cooling side as well.

[Walking_Target]

Um... I hate to be a dick, but I don't think using anything with copper tubing is a good idea on a reef tank.

 

rather, that's a massive block of copper sitting below the water on one side... and since copper tubing is a bad idea in the plumbing, that massive block of copper makes me nervous.

[ls7corvete]

The water cooling block for the CPU peltier cooling is on the heat side. The fan and heat sink side. In the provided link.

 

But the same idea could work on the cooling side as well.

 

Exactly, not sure what OP means by hanging off tank. If the waterblock was on the coldside it would be just as mobile/remote as before except much more efficient. Plus its not all plastic.

[C-BuZz]

The water cooling block for the CPU peltier cooling is on the heat side. The fan and heat sink side. In the provided link.

 

But the same idea could work on the cooling side as well.

 

Eh? You are not making any sense.

 

Um... I hate to be a dick, but I don't think using anything with copper tubing is a good idea on a reef tank.

 

Did you read through the thread? This has already been covered.

 

C-BuZz

[Walking_Target]

I did read through it, but it's still the kinda thing that would make me nervous just because vinyl tubing will eventually migrate copper ions through it.

 

As others had posted, surgical grade stainless or titanium tubing would be a better bet.

 

Edit: without looking at thermal efficiency, another way to avoid that would be to use an oil based cooling fluid, such as mineral oil, something that can't leech through the vinyl like water laced with copper can.

[farkwar]

You are gonna have to provide links for the water movement through PVC tubing thing.

[DaJMasta]

For those of us without access to a computer junk pile, this is probably looking at more like a $50 project if you find deals on the heatsinks.

 

 

Regardless, there's a couple things that may be worth doing:

For the power supply, try to find a wall adapter that will provide enough amperage to power it, and enough voltage to power it fully. There is no 15V on a standard ATX PSU, so finding a 13.3V or higher external power supply and adapting the jack accordingly could get you some more performance and a smaller and more durable solution for power. If nothing else, I've got a 5A molex adapter power brick that was pretty cheap from an online computer shop.

 

Consider changing the heatsink on the inside to one entirely aluminum or entirely nickel plated - those copper heatpipes will corrode.

 

I think the idea about changing the cooling fluid is also a good one. While it's considerably less inert, using salt water should improve the thermal transfer. Additives like antifreeze (highly toxic so I wouldn't use it) and others sold for PC water cooling could also be an option.

 

Shrinking the size of the box (while it's already pretty small) could also improve thermal transfer and reduce loss to the outside. Insulating the box certainly helped in terms of efficiency though.

 

Finally, if you use a metal tubing for the aquarium water would certainly improve transfer as well. It would probably be pricey, as you'd need to find something inert to use, but even a small loop of stainless steel or titanium would probably do better than a long length of vinyl tubing - it would even allow you to shrink the box size some more.

 

I wouldn't use PC water cooling parts for most of this, because at the very best they will be nickel plated, but they are usually copper or brass... but something like a CPU waterblock with a peltier and a large air cooler with a fan would essentially be the most compact version of this. Just finding a waterblock with an inert coating safe for an aquarium is probably a task..... and it would add considerably to the price of the setup.

[gregzbobo]

Too bad glass is a fairly crappy heat conductor, or you could just use thermal epoxy and glue the cold-side of the pelt to the back wall, and thermal epoxy a heatsink/fan to the heat side.

[Walking_Target]

You are gonna have to provide links for the water movement through PVC tubing thing.

 

Dude, ion migration. Vinyl tubing is porous on the microscopic level. If you don't believe me, just look into why it's not used for CO2 in planted tanks.

 

Once the copper reaches a certain level in the cooling bath, it will begin migrating through the tubing. That's a fact, heat transfer through the tubing will only help that along.

 

Besides that, vinyl makes a very lousy thermal conductor, as it's technically an insulator.

 

For a cheap and easy way around that, look at stainless steel tubing in a hobby shop. You fill it with water, freeze it, then wrap it into a medium sized coil and let thaw. If you're really feeling techy, you can DIY barb fittings into either end, or you can just slip fit your tube over it and use hose clamps. '

 

Easy, safe and reliable.

[coolwaters]

replace tubing with the tubing they us for ice machines. the hard plastic ones thats white.

 

better yet would it be possible to get a thin sheet of titanium and just use that?

i know its pretty expensive but we just need like a 4 x 4 square. hmmm

heat isnt a problem for some of use at this time of the year.

[cptbjorn]

Tubing is permeable to pressurized gases but copper ions in the concentrations that you will see coming off a copper heatsink in neutral pH water migrating in significant quantity through pvc tubing against a pressure gradient is quite a stretch.

 

The tubing doesn't have to conduct all that well, it just has to conduct better than the container is to the air and to keep with the cheap theme I'd say that insulating the reservoir will do the same thing as getting stainless tubing (has to be 316 btw) only cheaper.

[Hawaii_Bio_Cube]

You taking orders yet lol.

[olemanwinter]

Yeah it gets really hot in Summertime, our house seems to absorb/retain heat somehow & no A/C

Sweet lord, sell your aquarium stuff and buy an air conditioner. lol

[Jakesaw]

You've got too much time on your hands... LOL

 

But pretty cool.

[C-BuZz]

You taking orders yet lol.

 

LoL, no You can make your own.

 

You've got too much time on your hands... LOL

 

But pretty cool.

 

Yeah I have actually, I'm on holidays at the moment.

 

C-BuZz

[cptbjorn]

...

 

Have you tested for copper? It won't make your water hazy BTW, it will make it green.