Chilled Water

scotty365

scotty365

scotty365

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Rotherham Need: GHz
I'm looking into setting up my own water chilled unit - after tons of reading up I've discarded idea of pelts at least for now and cold chemicals.

I'm wanting do this on a tight budget, I was thinking of using a A/C unit and submerge the evaporator in a ice box or similar.

I've looked at several possible ones but it may just be easier to ask you guys what I want to be looking for specifically and what to avoid. I can get my hands on a 9000 BTU portable one but without seeing the inside I dont know what I'm up against really.

Any advise?
 
Problem I can see is how the evaporator is going to react in water, ie not direct water flow going accross, to slow you could risk flooding back to the compressor and freezing the water, to fast and you wont acheive temps.

Also the liquid line & suction would need to long enough for you to mount the compressor and condenser external.


Sound a interesting project :)
 
Last edited:
RJC said:
Also the liquid line & suction would need to long enough for you to mount the compressor and condenser external.
Click to expand...

Thats my first concern here - I need to look further in to this.

I was thinking of having the return on one side of the evap and feed on the other, hopefully I could get the flow just right. Also using alcohol and antifreeze mix to avoid corrosion and freezing the coolant.

There is a hell of a lot more to consider but getting the right A/C unit that I can modify is first priority.
 
RJC said:
Problem I can see is how the evaporator is going to react in water, ie not direct water flow going accross, to slow you could risk flooding back to the compressor and freezing the water, to fast and you wont acheive temps.

Also the liquid line & suction would need to long enough for you to mount the compressor and condenser external.


Sound a interesting project :)
Click to expand...

Noob question here, but you mentioned the water may freeze.
Whats wrong with automotive antifreeze?
 
I have done what your thinking about doing. I used a Air con compresser Coil of pipe....tell you what will take a picture.

water%20cooler.JPG




Any way it didnt work, Well it did a little took the water to about 6/15 Oc but you cant run the thing for long. The compresser gets so hot you cant touch it.

Better to just save your cash and buy a phase or build your own.
 
Thats because it isnt meant for 24/7 operation. Its meant for a unit which is still cold and temp only fluctuates 2-3 degrees.
 
PhillyDee said:
Thats because it isnt meant for 24/7 operation. Its meant for a unit which is still cold and temp only fluctuates 2-3 degrees.
Click to expand...


What i do is Freeze my ethylene glycol over night (-20 ish) then use the cooler just to keep it cold for longer. But even at these temps the motor still over heats.

It seems a good idea but trust me it just doesnt work.
 
@Danny 75

I have seen a similar set up which worked very well. Did you braze the coil yourself?
I've also heard that releasing some of the gas helps with overheating pumps, although I'm not sure of the exact reason. Refridgerant that does'nt evaporate can get back to the pump and cause probs - maybe this is a reason too - I'm not sure but the more I read the more technical knowledge I need for success, this is going to take some research, trial and error.
 
This pic I found shows how I want to achieve this. The evap submerged in coolant with inlet and outlet on opposite sides - will need a resonable pump for flow. It would be fitted so the flow has to pass thro the evap to the other side.


attachment.php
 
They do work, But i talking day to day normal use. There ok for the mad afternoon Ocing but there is noway they would work like water cooling. Not unless you spend the cash if your doing that you can buy phase for £500 ish
 
Well what gets better results is . Buy 10l of antifrezze put it in the frezzer the next day you have 2/3 hours of -8/-15 :) cost £20 and can use it over and over.
 
lol. you will soon get board of messing about. But you will have fun making the chiller, prob more than Ocing :) i just get sick of playing with the volts amd just play COD

I get from 4.5ish to 4.7 with the frozzen CPU and you cant use it.its only for BM superPi etc.
The only thing i have found is you can get a Vantage or 3d run @ 4.5.
 
Yeah... I want it for those moments when Im in the mood for messing and benching. Condensation is a big worry and it will take a lot of faffing to get it right for any long term usage. Other solutions for cooling are just too expensive - but a free A/C unit and a bit enginuity could make for a fairly quick and easy setup for moments of benching mayhem.

The other cheap idea I had was to feed straight from the cold tap into the block and out down the drain. My cold water is around 3-4 degrees C atm. Im sure it will have been done before, but just for kicks I'd give it a go
 
Total loss cooling :) Ye never seen it done but have thought about it.

The other set up i had (Last house) was i had a large sealed tank out side and pumped that water from that. Worked realy well 24/7 10oc Core in winter 30 in summer. But you need your rig set up near an outside wall. O and a BIG drill bit.
 
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