DIY Chiller, can it be done?

T

tmy880

Guest
I have a 110 tanks with 24 gallon sump.
I was wondering if anyone has made a compact diy chiller for an aquarium?
Any pics would be helpful also.
 
feelingfishy

feelingfishy

Member
Well, one of my dads friends made an chiller out of an old refrigerator just sitting around, But i dont know how effective it is
 
grumpygils

grumpygils

Active Member
Originally Posted by tmy880
I have a 110 tanks with 24 gallon sump.
I was wondering if anyone has made a compact diy chiller for an aquarium?
Any pics would be helpful also.

I believe there is an issue with using a standrard refrigerator compressor. It may have copper piping or other harmful metals that can leach.
Mc
 
michael1972

michael1972

Member
Drill two holes do not hit the pipe in the frig
put all the hose that you can in to the frig like a frig dies to give you cold water so you have a in put and out put the same piece of hose goes in and comes out you can use a pump to pump the water in to the hose in to the frig and it will flow threw the hose that is in the frig and will come out you set the temp of the frig and it is set a old collage frig can be used and you can put your cold stuff in to the frig also
i have seen this done and it works but remember don’t hit the cooling pipe when drilling the holes in the frig.
 
jonthefishguy

jonthefishguy

Active Member
The "refrigerator" is an ineffective method due to the lack of controlling the speeding water runs through the tube. Simply adding a pump is not going to make it work. Chillers are made with a titanium coil inside the casing which does not rust when in contact with saltwater. This idea has been long attempted and never really a complete success. There are a few successful stories. Don't get me wrong. But those are far and few between and have so many reasons why it worked and many many more why it didnt. It is just better to buy a chiller and save the hassle of the "DIY" version and realize that you just should have bought a real one to begin with.
 
grumpygils

grumpygils

Active Member
I didn't think you meant to use the frigerator portion. If I ever did it, I would just use the compressor. You would then have to get a titanium or equivalent corrosion free coil and box. Plumb and go. Easier said than done. I would suggest surfing Craig's list for some one breaking down a tank and try to buy the chiller. There was a thread where I just bought a heater from in PA that had a chiller for $100.
Mc
 
jkcrumb

jkcrumb

Member
Originally Posted by grumpygils
I didn't think you meant to use the frigerator portion. If I ever did it, I would just use the compressor. You would then have to get a titanium or equivalent corrosion free coil and box. Plumb and go. Easier said than done. I would suggest surfing Craig's list for some one breaking down a tank and try to buy the chiller. There was a thread where I just bought a heater from in PA that had a chiller for $100.
Mc
yep............I agree...........I just picked up a refirbished JLB 1/4 hp for less than half the cost of a new one.........(looks brand new)..... i just waited for one to come up on that big

[hr]
site............it works great...........let me know if you want the guys name and email address.........he does this for a living so his work is right on.
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
The refrigerator trick or method of using the "old frig" as a chiller is very ineffective, and doesn't have the pull down capacity needed, and it has been studied and tested time and time again and in the long run it's cheaper to just buy a chiller or go something along the line of Geothermal cooling.......
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Holy crap! Acrylic I haven't seen you round here in forever!

yeah... the fridge chiller idea... again.

I'm not gonna get off on my usual tangent about it. If you want to read up on why it won't work (and with actual numbers, not just some guy saying it won't work or "I did it, it worked great") then click my username and go to my website, then go to the "articles" section.
If you want to do a DIY chiller... think room air conditioner. Think dehumidifier. Think .. only a few people have the tools and equipment to construct something reliable, cheaper than a ready built one costs (make sure you're one of the few).
 
flricordia

flricordia

Active Member
I have a Custom Sealife 1/3hp titanium drop-in I am selling if the DIY thing doesn't work out. It is rated up to 300gls.
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
Hey SCSInet!!!!!! Yeah taking a break from the hobby.......I'm burnt out a bit, but thinking of a new build...."cube" this time round.......I'm here from time to time though.
 
worshrag

worshrag

Member
the old style dehumidifiers used a coil to extract moisture from the air you may be able to wrap some tubing around the coil to cool the water, but just a theory
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
Originally Posted by worshrag
the old style dehumidifiers used a coil to extract moisture from the air you may be able to wrap some tubing around the coil to cool the water, but just a theory
Again inefficient and dehumidifiers are a big draw on electricity as well.
 
jonthefishguy

jonthefishguy

Active Member
This thread should be dead. Its a loss cause. The reality is that those who make their own usually spend more time and effort wich also is equivelant to the $$ that was spent to make the DIY chiller and still is never as efficient as a real chiller.
 
stdreb27

stdreb27

Active Member
If someone can actually construct a DIY chiller, I'd be amazed. Think about all that would have to go into it. Compressor, condenser, cooling tubes, plumbing, thermostat, a greenboard, programming. If you can do all that, and aren't making 6 figures as an engineer Than we need to talk, because if you have an engineering degree, the company I work for is trying to hire some.

Hey, how much do you want for that drop in chiller? pm me
 
sandi2007x

sandi2007x

Member
This is called R&D. This is how inventions are made, the better mousetrap. leave these people alone, there asking for help , not criticism.
 
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