I was working on a peltier based chiller, using 5 chips on a custom machined
heat exchanger inline on my external filter. 5 very highly efficient
computer CPU heatsinks and fans to cool the hot side of the peltier chips.
The only thing I couldn't find was a power controller that could adjust the
voltage rather then just on/off for the peltiers. I found some
documentation that said they work more efficiently using variable voltage
within a certain range. The inital cost would be about about the same as a
refridgerator but hopefully less expensive to run and more adjustable.
For now the cold fish stay in the basement.
Drummond Howard
Gaithersburg, Maryland
>From: Jase Roberts <nanfa_list-in-jaseroberts.net>
>Reply-To: nanfa-l-in-nanfa.org
>To: nanfa-l-in-nanfa.org
>Subject: NANFA-L-- Homemade chiller
>Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 12:59:11 -0400
>
>Hey All,
>
>One thing to consider with Todd's fan chiller (swamp cooler, essentially)
>is that box fans use a LOT of electricity. My standard one from Wal-Mart
>or whatever draws 120W on low, 160W on medium, and 220W on high... That
>adds up quickly (especially if you're running two) And, of course,
>remember that all of that electricity is ultimately being converted to heat
>(in one form or another). As Todd notes, it's only going to work if your
>humidity isn't too high, and you're going to need to add quite a bit of
>water to the tank as it evaporates.
>
>Here's a thought I've been mulling over for a cheap chiller... I haven't
>built this, but I can't see why it wouldn't work. I plan to do this
>whenever I decide to actually start breeding my natives.
>
>Use either a little bar fridge OR your regular kitchen fridge (depending on
>proximity of your kitchen to your aquaria and the sensitivities of your
>significant other). If you can get by with your kitchen fridge, you'll
>save all the extra cost of running a second fridge (those little ones are
>usually pretty inefficient, since they're marketed to college kids and cost
>of the initial purchase is the driving factor -- certainly not energy
>efficiency).
>
>- Drill two holes through the side/back of the fridge to accommodate 1/4"
>ID vinyl tubing (or whatever diameter you want/need/have on hand). Don't
>hit the coils or any wires (unplug your fridge first, please)
>- Get enough vinyl tubing to reach from your aquarium to the fridge and
>back.
>- Cut the vinyl in half and pass it through each of the holes in the fridge
>(so you have two free ends inside). Use silicone or hot glue to seal.
>- Get/make the appropriate fittings to connect a few feet of flexible
>copper tubing to the vinyl inside the fridge, and wind that into a coil.
>- Inside the fridge, have the copper tubing sitting in a 9x13 baking pan
>(or whatever) full of water (better heat transfer). The copper tubing
>isn't open to this pan, just passing through it.
>- Get a cheap in-line pump
>(http://www.discount-pumps.biz/inline-pond-pumps.htm) or submersible pump
>(http://www.discount-pumps.biz/aquarium-pumps.htm) and connect that to the
>vinyl as a feed from your aquarium. A consideration here is that the pump
>is going to ADD heat to the system, so in-line is probably better and as
>small as possible definitely best.
>- The free end (coming out of the fridge) then just returns to your
>aquarium.
>- Control temperature by turning the fridge up or down, OR by adjusting
>flow on the pump (if it's variable)
>
>So the whole thing (drawn linearly) looks like:
>
>aquarium -----> vinyl tube ----- inline pump---- vinyl tube ----->(next
>line)
>
> |--------------------------------------------------|
>---------FRIDGE--->[____copper tube in water pan___]---vinyl tube---(next
>line)
> |--------------------------------------------------|
>
>----------> aquarium -----> cool, happy fish
>
>Any reason this wouldn't work? The bigger the surface area of the water
>pan in the fridge (and the longer the copper tube heat sink), the colder
>the water you're going to be able to return to your aquarium.
>
>If you really want to take best advantage of it, get some rigid Styrofoam
>insulation to line the back and sides of your aquarium with (reduce
>condensation and heat loss).
>
>If you try it, let me know. I'm curious.
>
>-Jase
>Montpelier, VT
>
>
>
>
>
>Crail, Todd wrote:
>>>Has anyone tried modifying a personal (tabletop) refrigerator as an
>>>inexpensive alternative to a chiller?
>>
>>
>>As for a chiller... Here's one that I put together last night with this
>>freakin' hot spell we're under (It's too early for this crap! Sheesh!)
>>
>>http://www.farmertodd.com/nanfa/reefle/052906/cheapchiller.jpg
>>
>>One is blowing down, the other is blowing out. Lost the temp on the temp
>>gaugae last night (which meant it was in excess of 86 F). It's down to
>>76
>>right now. Also lost about 3 gallons of water lol. Gas exchange can get
>>you
>>out of a bind in a hurry :) You can do the same on smaller systems with
>>a
>>little clip on fan. The only time you get into trouble is when it's
>>dagnasty
>>humid and you can't get a single drop more into the air. However, by
>>doing
>>this in combination with AC, you'll make the AC run a lot more efficiently
>>at
>>cooling the tanks.
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/ Association (NANFA). Comments made on this list do not necessarily
/ reflect the beliefs or goals of NANFA. For more information about NANFA,
/ visit http://www.nanfa.org Please make sure all posts to nanfa-l are
/ consistent with the guidelines as per
/ http://www.nanfa.org/guidelines.shtml To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get
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