hippies water cooled over-haul. (iceboxes)

[DIGITALHIPPY]

here it is folks!
its very effeciant.

enjoy! ask questions! learn! upgrade!

the heart, a 2HP JBJ arctica chiller. titanium core, for coarl reefs.
220v 30 amps.

1" PVC, mostly insulated, with GH1250gph inline 1" pump. 140$, very quiet. very powerful.

haha- the 'muffler' i just installed for my 'air-a/c'...total waste now...

25 gallon "tub" (recycled 0$)
complete with cloudy water.

pumps....

1250, gph (eco, real cheap, probably not 1250gph)
1056, 633, 400

1250 goes to 2ed room with 3/4 going to 3 8" boxes.

400 goes to my 8" on the can 100, hung from the cieling.

633 goes to 6" #1 &2 on the left mover.

1056 goes to 4 6" boxes on the middle and right mover, 3/4 trunk broken into 2x 1/2.

cost about 1200 on iceboxes.
about 250 on insulation, plumbing(pvc, joints, valves, click-clamps, tape, etc)
45$ on 200' black poly 1/2" 40$ on 30' black poly 3/4".
160$ on the 5 pumps in the water, 140$ on the big pump.
1835 so far... probably some extra for gas and such.
i droped about 750 on 4 6" fans and 1 8" fan, but depending on perspective there essential anyways.


the chiller can vary, i got mine used for a hell of a deal.
a bit of a headache with all the movers. atleast to setup.
and requires de-humys to control dew on the lines. other then that.
pffft awsome.

total control. less power useage.

again, let me know what you think, and when your going to upgrade.

 

[Dr Dog]

DAMN man

nice set up

You have it goin on, very impressive

 

[CovertCrops]

Wow! im impressed! That's one hell of a chiller. Nice job!

 

[Surrender]

Your light rails seem to be at or around capacity. Might want to keep a spare parts kit around for those in case the drive-wheel fails.

Otherwise awesome! How much light are you cooling with the 2hp and do you feel it's sufficient? What % of the time does the compressor run during the operating cycle?

Consider a manifold design (as shown in the Hydro Innovations youtube videos) so you could use a single pump to drive the whole works. This would help get the weight of the water hoses off each light rail.

Apparently you can also run food-grade propelyne glycol (antifreeze) in your chiller reservoir for more efficiency. Anyplace you can insulate will help too--like your reservoir and some of the piping.

 

[fatigues]

enjoy! ask questions! learn! upgrade!


400 goes to my 8" on the can 100, hung from the cieling.

Thanks for the pics of your room and setup.

From the pic above, it looks like you've got far too much weight being carried on those open eye hooks. Those cans are heavy. One of the hooks appears to be spreading already. I'd fix that if I were you. That's a very serious accident - waiting to happen.

Even if you dodge that bullet, your plants and the rest of your hardware are very unlikely to. $2 in parts, a stepladder and five minutes of your time will make you happy and safe.

Be well and enjoy the new chiller.

 

[*mistress*]

?

this garden lady out of the loop...
is this a system to water-cool lights?

enjoy your garden!

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

Thanks for the pics of your room and setup.

From the pic above, it looks like you've got far too much weight being carried on those open eye hooks. Those cans are heavy. One of the hooks appears to be spreading already. I'd fix that if I were you. That's a very serious accident - waiting to happen.

Even if you dodge that bullet, your plants and the rest of your hardware are very unlikely to. $2 in parts, a stepladder and five minutes of your time will make you happy and safe.

Be well and enjoy the new chiller.

id like to over-do everything, they do look wimpy in the pic, but i assure it holds, as i can ALSO hang from the filter. (180)... i was going to add another chain loop though. when i stand under it, im not scared.

to thoes new to the watercooling sceen this is a AIR CONDITIONER REPLACEMENT... i replaced 2 15k btu a/c'sone in a box.

1HP can cool 3KW and provide A/C to the room.
1HP can cool up to 6KW with a small (10k btu ish)ac

SSOOOO...
my 2HP chiller can run 2 6KW rooms on flipflop.

im running it on a flip-flop with a 6kw room and a 2800w room.

the compressor runns about 50-100% depending on situation. 100% with 6800watts (peak i run it at.) when my 2 rooms overlap-one v eging still.




someone mentioned the pumps. i like this situation, because of the 2 rooms (3rd room cooled with exhaust from 2 rooms)
and the 200+feet of tube. plus i can turn some on and turn others off for maintinance, upgrades, or etc.

i was thinking of upgrading the water to anti-freez/car coolant.

i did also just add some pool tabs to the water to clean it up untill i decide.

pics of the 2800w room.
the 8" iceboxes are amazing.

the 3 6"s on on the mover has only 2 8" iceboxes, and with a temp controller the fan acts as a/c and can run room as cold as 68. at full 2800watts.

someone mentioned the rails. they are way loaded, but there awsome designed, and i spent 300+ hours fixing this setup, there as balanced as it can get. ido have extra parts, but the lr3/lr5 are champions.

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

it costs more upfront, but the chiller/water colling hoods, are energy effeciant. im looking to lower my monthly bill from around $1100.

both rooms are also running dehumies. just to re-iterate.

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

Apparently you can also run food-grade propelyne glycol (antifreeze) in your chiller reservoir for more efficiency. Anyplace you can insulate will help too--like your reservoir and some of the piping.

antifreez was on my thought list... it ADDS effeciancy???? im about to do it..but itas gona come out to about $200... a drop in the bucket, in my setup, for sure.just a matter of time.

these things are bomb, the 8"'s are sick.

im adding insulation, tried to show in the pic but its hard to tell.
the white is actualy a layer of duct tape around black insulation... then a silver layer, on the west facing-sun-exposed surface.

effeciancy is a bitch...
and LEDs, and T5's just cant compete with 1Ks'

 

[zenoonez]

Beautiful setup. I really dig the air cooling lights, whats the temp on the air coming from your hoods when the chiller is running?

 

[Some1uKnoOf]

Looking at the last picture and the first one about the outside units, there is something that could be better, IMO.

The outside units are too close together and too close to the back wall. The A/C and outside chiller box need a clear zone around them for airflow. They are much too close to the back wall, each other, and the side wall I see. This is really cramping the air flow and makes them less efficient. The overhang/roof above the A/C unit is also a big no-no. That unit will pull in from the sides and blow up. With the roof, it has airflow restriction.

The amount of air those units need is awesome and it needs to be at least 3 feet on all sides (or more) for proper operation. Check out the A/C maintenance web sites you see for obstructions and outside units. Things like bushes planted around A/C units are bad too, because they also block airflow.

I know you have got to do what's needed for your location and that drives how things are done, but you are hurting yourself (and your electricity bill) by not giving the outside heat exchanger enough clear space to breath easily.

-SomeoneYouKnow

 

[Surrender]

antifreez was on my thought list... it ADDS effeciancy????

I'm not a physicist but I understand the PG can carry energy more easily than water as it's about 3.5% denser than H2O. Might check with the Hydro Innovations guys what they think? I just don't know whether it would be effective in the heat ranges we're talking about...though the Water-Cooled PC guys use it in their systems to a similar effect.


I hear what you're saying about more pumps==better control over the independent flows. For my own future single-pump approach I'll probably install the manifold and then control the independent flows with solenoid valves at each outlet.

Anyway, love the setup!

 

[titoon29]

impressive set up !!!

thanks a lot for sharing the tips !

++

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

Looking at the last picture and the first one about the outside units, there is something that could be better, IMO.

The outside units are too close together and too close to the back wall. The A/C and outside chiller box need a clear zone around them for airflow. They are much too close to the back wall, each other, and the side wall I see. This is really cramping the air flow and makes them less efficient. The overhang/roof above the A/C unit is also a big no-no. That unit will pull in from the sides and blow up. With the roof, it has airflow restriction.

The amount of air those units need is awesome and it needs to be at least 3 feet on all sides (or more) for proper operation. Check out the A/C maintenance web sites you see for obstructions and outside units. Things like bushes planted around A/C units are bad too, because they also block airflow.

I know you have got to do what's needed for your location and that drives how things are done, but you are hurting yourself (and your electricity bill) by not giving the outside heat exchanger enough clear space to breath easily.

-SomeoneYouKnow

sorry m8, but none of that is true.

although the unit looks close to the 'household' a/c compressor, the other one is not running.

JBJ also suggests i have this chiller INSIDE a room outside WITHOUT A ROOF is on there "not to do" list..

this particular unit also doesnt put out much heat . ATALL. it could be ran in a room, as the 'heat' comming off it is only a few degrees warmer then the ambiant temp.

also- the fans blow toward the picture, and i have 2 inches more then they suggest asfar as depth goes.

i know what your saying, and im not suggesting that your wrong but in this case, its fine. the only issue is going to be summer.
-JBJ says that the unit should be in an area where it wont get past 90F. but inside a room isnt going to help that part out, atall.

i should scan the manual, YOU WOULD LAUGH at what there suggested installation is.

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

I'm not a physicist but I understand the PG can carry energy more easily than water as it's about 3.5% denser than H2O. Might check with the Hydro Innovations guys what they think? I just don't know whether it would be effective in the heat ranges we're talking about...though the Water-Cooled PC guys use it in their systems to a similar effect.


I hear what you're saying about more pumps==better control over the independent flows. For my own future single-pump approach I'll probably install the manifold and then control the independent flows with solenoid valves at each outlet.

Anyway, love the setup!

def on my to-do list, when i call they seam to be busy...

the manifold only works when u dont have movers. i require 3-5 ft of tube to be moving back and forth for the 6ft 'movement' the movers do.

it also seams over-done, and overly complex. requireing a huge, expensive pump. i got 5 pumps for less then my 1 inline.

-solenoids? thats some time brother! but def pro-status, might be worth it to just use the red valve handles. i used thoes with some unions next to my chiller. the manifold is pimp looking.


im going to get a digital ampmeter so i can compare the elec useage.

 

[Lazyman]

Hey DH, props to you and cool setup!

For increasing water transfer efficiency, hot rodders use Redline Water wetter, good stuff and works better than antifreeze.

How often does that chiller run? Do you think a 100 gallon reservoir would reduce the number of cycle times? What temps do you see in and out of the chiller and the in/out temps of the lights? A cheap laser temp reader would be handy I guess.

I was looking at water cooling my new grow, but the pump, flip flopper with either ice boxes or a big (noisy) heat exchanger, the price would be higher than the Excel air and use about the same amount of electricity:

Water-chilled heat exchangers 60K BTU:

2X HP chiller $2000ea 22a@240
2X 2000 GPM pumps $400 4a@120V
2 heat exchangers, 1 X 2-fan/3-coil 25k btu heat exchanger, 1 3-fan 3-coil, about $2500 combined)
10.5a total @ 120v at http://www.heatexchanger.ca/
Figure another $100 for plumbing and valves/tees.
I went with 2 smaller exchangers, they make a 5 and 6 fan model, but they're 10-12 feet long! Same for chillers, a 5hp model is very expensive, and I like separate parts so my eggs aren't all in one basket.

So that's $7k plus a few hundos in tax/shipping.
For simplicities sake total load about 34.5a@ 240v.

VS Split AC 5 ton (60k btu)

$5K for Excel air XL, 32.9a@240v and requires no dial-in or tuning, plus is lots quieter

So the AC uses less electricity, but there is no calculating how often either would run or overall monthly electricity consumption in advance.

I still think the Coolerado M50 5 ton/60K btu is the best option, 4a@240v. Just need to know if it can still cool when the outside humidity is 100% and it's around freezing.

 

[deepforest]

I am interested in this water cooling venture, good on you for setting it up. But I have nightmares about leaks.... good to hear that you can just recirculate the water with a chiller though. i always thought you had to run to waste. this would be a really nice setup for someone living on a well or next to a river or lake right?

 

[KickNader]

kk so i was thinking about purchasing one of these i wanted to see what i would need if i wanted to run this inside a sealed dr120 with a 400watt mh/hps and keep the temps down so that i wouldnt need ac etc..

would the 1/10 hp chiller work in a closed loop with just this? or would i need the 1/4?

 

[One Love 731]

Looks good in here DH, thanks for sharing. Karma, One Love

 

[Dr. Conjuror]

Now if one were to use anti-freeze, it would not be used at 100% concentration (e.g. no added water) would it? I is much more viscous than water and I would think the pumps would be so much less efficient if not in danger of being ruined. Sorry if I have misread the suggestion.

Dr. Conjuror