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Any Ideas on how to chill my water temp, without a chiller??

MeanBean

MeanBean

Member
No way am I running one of those res coolers all day. I have a small basment grow and I am curently looking for a slick way to drop the water/root temps a bit in the veg area.

It sits right above the flower and gets the heat from the flowering light below.

Maybe a small pump and a copper coil on the floor???

Anyone ever dabbled at this?
 
M

Me2

Member
The first thing i`d try is to line the underside of veg chamber floor (inside the flowering chamber) with an insulated radiant barrier such as foil faced rigid insulation board. If you can stop the heat from the flowering light from reaching the floor of the veg chamber you won`t need a cooling solution :)
 
MeanBean

MeanBean

Member
Me2: thanks man, thats a good Idea. I have already been thinking how I can apply this. First I am going to upgrade the airflow a bit, seem not as effective as I like with the fans positioned the way I got them, bong hit test...


Haps, that looks like a major PITA!! But it looks like it works to. Right now though my only concern is my cab makes heat 24hrs, also, no chiller. so I think the heat would slowly just win and penetrate. Maybe after I get a cooling coil or something I would do that to save every degree I get that water down.

Thanks!
 
Buzzsmirk!

Buzzsmirk!

Active member
HI all, just my .02 worth but chillers r the BOMB!!

if ur smart about it and use an insulated res (i use a big 120qt cooler) ur chiller wont run much at all.
chilled water kept at a steady temp like 68 deg. F is perfect for oxygen content as 68 degree water is capable of holding much more dissolved oxygen than say 78 degree water.
another bonus is the low temps keep bad shit like fusarium and root rot/root worms (gnat larvae) from takin hold as much.

if u go the radiator option u will need a pump and a fan bothe drawing current ($) and u will not get consistent perfomance/temp control cuz of ur ambient temps.................
that being understood the chiller option would require the pump too and the chiller would take the role of the "fan/radiator" BUT u would have the expected/ideal performance with a nominal amount of power usage if u r smart and insulate ur stuff (res, buckets,tubs etc..)

its a no brainer IMHO!!!

hope i have been able to adjust ur perspective

peace
BUZZ!
 
Buzzsmirk!

Buzzsmirk!

Active member
they r worth the $$$$ if u can swing the investment!!

they r worth the $$$$ if u can swing the investment!!

I know they aint cheap (chillers) :laughing:

but if u spend the "jack" u will get it "back" tenfold in performance and the subsequent yeild once u r "dialed in":dance013:

BUZZ!
 
Buzzsmirk!

Buzzsmirk!

Active member
BTW to answer your question directly..................... i have seen decent cooling of water tubs , buckets etc by simply blowing air thru air stones into em, place ur air pump in a cool location like in front of the a/c supply also helps w/cooling.

and u already read my pitch for the "real thing" so ............

goodluck, hope this helps

BUZZ!
 
Sam the Caveman

Sam the Caveman

Good'n Greasy
Veteran
You can try the old frozen water bottle trick. It is a pain in the rear because you have to change them out 2 times a day or so, but it works and its cheap.

If your rez is big enough, you can use a 2 liter bottle or a gallon jug.
 
Mr.Meds

Mr.Meds

Member
Don't put copper into your reservoir!!! Stainless steel if any metals at all. I have Insulated, used gallon jugs of frozen water, and kept temps in the low 70's(which they prefer despite the DO %). You could try to make your own chiller out of one of those water coolers/dispensers. There is a thread somewhere here on the mag about it. https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=33123
 
MeanBean

MeanBean

Member
I like the pc radiator deal. Maybe Ill just drill a 300 ft hole in my basement floor and run some lines down there. i am sure that do the trick but I only have a 4" drill bit.

Right now I am all over this multiple pc fans Idea I got. Ill see where I am after that. As far as the radiator. i wouldn't run it 24hrs. just for like 15 mins every 2 hrs er so, hoping the fluid in the raiator would suck the floor temp up "about 65"F.

Chillers are to loud and electric expensive for my op.. its a personal goal to keep it efficient, inspired by using led's!!
 
Texicannibus

Texicannibus

noob
Veteran
Yea my assumption was that you was already using a circulatory pump. Radiators as mentioned can at best only lower temps to ambient levels. To reach those levels you will typically want a fan attached to the radiator.


Good luck man
 
C

cyberwax

I have many, if you res is small use a peltier ( http://www.dansdata.com/pelt.htm ) and diy yourself a cheap ass chiller. ( peltiers are very cheap on ebay, you can actually get a cooler for less than a dollar, however they use a fair ammount of power. http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m570.l1313&_nkw=peltier&_sacat=See-All-Categories )

Peltiers explained : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peltier_effect#Peltier_effect
In short, you apply a current and you'll get one side that is very hot and another that is very cold, the cooler you can keep the hot side the colder the cold side gets, and vise versa etc osv.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x-wxLEfLEQ

Holy fucking link machine.

If you have an extra freezer, coil up plastic tubing in it, fill with antifree liquid and run the res through it.
 
GuerrillaRed

GuerrillaRed

Member
Use a cooler
igloo-ten-gallon-athletic-water-cooler.jpg


and store your nutes/re-topping mix in the fridge. Always nice and cold :D

My water temps are 40-50 degrees always.
 
legalizekindtok

legalizekindtok

Member
two pc fans or aka axial fans... place res under ac unit have fans in res cover one pushing in and one pulling out.. 2k in lights, and 8x8 room my temps stay in mid to low 70's..
 
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