budlydoright
Well-Known Member
Hello all, I'm a closet grower from the early 80's Been a while since i had a growroom going but decided to give a go a few moths ago.
My space is a 4 x 8 space divided into 2 4 x 4 sections. The ceiling height is only 50".
Wanting to cram as much light in there as possible I grabbed a 1k hps and a cooltube along with a 6" vortex fan. system worked great but was noisey and ran a minimum 85 degrees. with the summer heat comming I knew this wouldn't work so I started looking into the new generation of water cooled reflectors.
After looking at the two offerings currently on the market, I purchased a Fresca Sol reflector. I went with the fresca because it seemed like a more elegant design, simpler. Of course once it was in, I ran out and purchased a 96 gallon Tote from Lowes. This is just like the trash cans on wheels that many cities use for automated trash removal. It cost me about 90.00. I also picked up a 500gph smartpond pump for 60.00.
Once everything was installed and running, my temps dropped to 70-75. My rez water was getting up to almost 100 though. Once again with the summer heat coming I knew this wouldn't work either. I needed a chiller and fast.
I looked into all of the minifridge and other budget DIY solutions but didn't think they had enough "heuvos" to pull down and keep down 100 gallons of 100 degree water. While looking at a surplus industrial chiller it dawned on me that the inside of an AC unit had all of the same components, just arranged differently. So off to Wamart for the cheapest portable window AC unit I could get.
I purchased the Haier 5200btu unit for 89.00.
Took off the cover and low and behold, my chiller was hidding in there. I completely removed all of the casing and front panel. I removed all of the styrofoam inserts inside that keep the heat exchanger and condensor seperate and removed the plastic blower fan. I then very carefully pulled the heat exchanger out gently bending the copper tubes that carry the refrigerant. Once the exchanger is pulled far enough out, you can bend the tubes and the exchanger down so it sits a little outside of the original tray and lower than the tray.
Now I was fortunate that a shelf right next my rez happened to be at the right height and I was able to set the chiller condensor and compressor next to my 100 gal rez while the heatexchanger slipped into the rez water. My water was down to 65 within a few hours.
Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking of creating a DIY guide so I didn't take pictures of the process. Here are pictures of the finished item.
Here you see the condensor and compressor sitting in the original ac tray. we took all of the covers, styrofoam as well as the extra fan off. The switch and electronics are just sitting behind the compressor.
Here you can see the heat exchanger submerged in the 96 gallon tub. The temp probe is also in there and functions normally.
I have come to learn that I have about the capacity of a 1/3 hp chiller. I believe I can handle 3-4 lights with this setup. It has been running flawlessly for a couple of months now.
My space is a 4 x 8 space divided into 2 4 x 4 sections. The ceiling height is only 50".
Wanting to cram as much light in there as possible I grabbed a 1k hps and a cooltube along with a 6" vortex fan. system worked great but was noisey and ran a minimum 85 degrees. with the summer heat comming I knew this wouldn't work so I started looking into the new generation of water cooled reflectors.
After looking at the two offerings currently on the market, I purchased a Fresca Sol reflector. I went with the fresca because it seemed like a more elegant design, simpler. Of course once it was in, I ran out and purchased a 96 gallon Tote from Lowes. This is just like the trash cans on wheels that many cities use for automated trash removal. It cost me about 90.00. I also picked up a 500gph smartpond pump for 60.00.
Once everything was installed and running, my temps dropped to 70-75. My rez water was getting up to almost 100 though. Once again with the summer heat coming I knew this wouldn't work either. I needed a chiller and fast.
I looked into all of the minifridge and other budget DIY solutions but didn't think they had enough "heuvos" to pull down and keep down 100 gallons of 100 degree water. While looking at a surplus industrial chiller it dawned on me that the inside of an AC unit had all of the same components, just arranged differently. So off to Wamart for the cheapest portable window AC unit I could get.
I purchased the Haier 5200btu unit for 89.00.
Took off the cover and low and behold, my chiller was hidding in there. I completely removed all of the casing and front panel. I removed all of the styrofoam inserts inside that keep the heat exchanger and condensor seperate and removed the plastic blower fan. I then very carefully pulled the heat exchanger out gently bending the copper tubes that carry the refrigerant. Once the exchanger is pulled far enough out, you can bend the tubes and the exchanger down so it sits a little outside of the original tray and lower than the tray.
Now I was fortunate that a shelf right next my rez happened to be at the right height and I was able to set the chiller condensor and compressor next to my 100 gal rez while the heatexchanger slipped into the rez water. My water was down to 65 within a few hours.
Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking of creating a DIY guide so I didn't take pictures of the process. Here are pictures of the finished item.
Here you see the condensor and compressor sitting in the original ac tray. we took all of the covers, styrofoam as well as the extra fan off. The switch and electronics are just sitting behind the compressor.
Here you can see the heat exchanger submerged in the 96 gallon tub. The temp probe is also in there and functions normally.
I have come to learn that I have about the capacity of a 1/3 hp chiller. I believe I can handle 3-4 lights with this setup. It has been running flawlessly for a couple of months now.
