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Freezing nutrient solution

bobert

Active member
Lol a machete!?

Well both are pretty good ideas.

I forgot I have a vacuum sealer, so I could bag anything I put in the water for extra insurance.

I don't have ice packs on hand, only water bottles. I'll do some research to see which gets colder/stays colder, ice vs ice packs. :)
 

bobert

Active member
Well for now I'll just use water bottles. I'll probably pick up a couple ice packs next run to the store. For 1$ why not.

If what I researched is true, I see a nice side by side experiment in my future. The temp reduction with ice bottles vs ice packs in res water.

I copied and pasted what I found below on reddit, it had a cited source so it seems credible.

"the material in an ice pack requires more heat energy to raise it's temperature. So for equivalent masses of each, the propylene glycol will keep colder, longer."
 

Home-Grown

Active member
Thermoelectric
I have used the JBA pump TEC device purchased from china, and used the Ebay device.
25 Ltr up to 30c ambient: https://jbapump.com/Product/EnShowProduct110.html

This device from Ebay will do the same workload as the JBA pump version: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Thermoelec...er-Cooling-System-Cooler-Device-/153076295906

The JBA device is more efficient electrically, and generates a lot less heat.
These devices cool one side of plate and generate heat out the other side.
"In wall refrigeration" doesn’t suffer the same limitations.
I would not suggest you purchase either!
Most People would buy a commercial aquarium compressor.

Summing Up: If you can construct electronic equipment and have power supplies, pumps and thermostats lying around it could save some money. As you exceed 30C these devices are pushing out heat around the nutrient being cooled. In some case sealing the tank can actually make it worse. Burn Out at <40C.
If you use copper water jackets on TEC device and standard car radiator and fan external?

The only thing to add, it can be an expensive education, but also rewarding for the tinker. I construct everything from scratch with parts to suit each job, just start with a hand full of TEC1-12706.






[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
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Home-Grown

Active member
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Thermoelectric Flow rate on Cooling Side:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Aqua One 103 works better then that included with units.
[/FONT]
 

bobert

Active member
That's some really good info Home-Grown! For some reason that first link won't load, I get what you're saying though. I've never seen one of those TEC or Peltier devices until now so it's definitely got me intrigued.

On YouTube, someone mounted one with a series of heat sinks and fans into a cooler. If I can find a mini radiator to fit inside that cooler, I could plumb in this baby 40 g/ph water pump leftover from last run. :)

Tinkering is my thing. I've rebuilt video game systems that had heat sinks and fans. Had to use thermal paste and all that. It all sounds similar!

Thanks!

To finish my ice cube experiment.

Gh micro/bloom is clear also! It melted and mixed fine from what I see.

I read they added molasses on the Humboldt labels, I think that might be why it separated and had floating stuff in it.
 

Home-Grown

Active member
Tinkering is my thing. I've rebuilt video game systems that had heat sinks and fans. Had to use thermal paste and all that. It all sounds similar!

.


Just keep in mind, this is not easy or surgested.
I have been designing my own equipment for decades.


If you can get suitable results with tests, consider sourcing Thermaly Conductive Graphite Sheet to replace thermal paste.


Comes in thickness of around .02 - .04mm with thermal conductivity better then the copper or Aluminium.
Very thin sheet can be hard to work with, and over kill.

This material is used in devices like phones to heat conduction and shielding.


All the best

 

Home-Grown

Active member
Are you talking about the Peltier devices Home-Grown?


Yes, Peltier – ThermoElectric Cooler (TEC).
2x TEC1-12706 in parallel at 12v will draw about 108W.
With very good water cooling or heatpipe of surface area covering both plates fully (=>40x80mm).



It is possible to maintain 25Ltr at 25C in 27C ambient environment.
I have archived better results with improved design, but just to keep folks realistic. After 30C you’re pushing more hot air around the res then removing it.

Fans on Aluminium Heat Sinks are not really going to cut it, the single devices on Heatpipe are very inefficient and generate a lot more heat, pumping this heat into confined environment could make it worse.

Again, everyone is going to have different variables.
Using air extraction, “pipes with radiator” or “separating the hot and cold side of Peltier with in wall design”.

I mention this for the people, who like experimenting.
Readers: If any of this is new, I would not suggest you Google and buy any pre-built device.
Sometimes it’s just about the challenge.
 

bobert

Active member
I appreciate you sharing that home-grown. I'll definitely post back if I build something worthy of sharing too. :)

Now that the scrog screen is completely filled in. There's tons of shade under the canopy. Res temps are getting down to 68f by morning. Up to 71 during the day. If it goes to 68f at least once every 24hrs, I can't see them getting root rot IMO.

But, I haven't been able to look at the roots for 3wks since it's scrog. So who knows.

Thanks again everyone! :tiphat:
 

Home-Grown

Active member
I appreciate you sharing that home-grown. I'll definitely post back if I build something worthy of sharing too. :)

Now that the scrog screen is completely filled in. There's tons of shade under the canopy. Res temps are getting down to 68f by morning. Up to 71 during the day. If it goes to 68f at least once every 24hrs, I can't see them getting root rot IMO.

But, I haven't been able to look at the roots for 3wks since it's scrog. So who knows.

Thanks again everyone! :tiphat:


I have lost plants in days when res is hitting 30c for more then a 4-5hrs.
They just don't bounce back after cooking/discolour.
25-27 is good for growth, but look for lower "lights out temps" if you can.

Thats my 2Bob :)
 

bobert

Active member
Edit; sorry home-grown, didn't mean to ignore you. The temps are getting down to around 67f or 20c, now that the screen is pretty much overgrown. All the shade really helps. :)


If you spent less than $300 on your setup I wouldn't expect much from it.

Hey I already told you how to make a steup that would work for all 4 buckets with a $200 used chiller and a $25 pump. Those prices are top dollar. If you can't afford that get a job. I feel like the info i gave you is worth $300. You obviously don't want to learn anything. Here's some advice. Drill a few holes in your systems and fill your buckets in with promix and run 4 plants with that. You'll be more successful that Your jib isn't cut for hydro. Good luck with your bullshit grow. Douche

Hey make sure and post those bad Girls up if they live to the end.


Well Chemdawggy. I hope you learned something from all this. I apologize to you and icmag for that argument . People just don't like advice forced on them, at least I don't.


But as you asked . The girls are definitely not dying anytime soon.



The stretch was 18 inches in 11 days. Now just fattening up. The middle of the wood frame is bowed in a good 2 inches from all the pressure against the screen. I stopped training it a while ago because I'm afraid the wood might break. :laughing:

I appreciate everyone's help, couldn't do it without you all!! :tiphat:
 
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Home-Grown

Active member
I appreciate you sharing that home-grown. I'll definitely post back if I build something worthy of sharing too.


ATM I am using 2x TEC 12708 sandwiched between 2x 40mm X 80mm Aluminium Water blocks. Just about to change the Al to Copper water blocks for better efficiency.


-----------------------------------------------------
Make sure the Aluminium Water Block is brazed together or made with “Double U” drill holes.

Be aware that the 80x40 copper blocks on Ebay and Amazon are Fake.
They should be drilled in what’s known as “Double U” with 4 channel flow paths.
All Copper 80x40 products I could find on web are only drilled each side, worse it is the outside where there is no value.
=========================================


Connected to 2x 120mm radiators in parallel on the Hot side.
12v 20Amp supply. Fans, Hoses, clamps and a small plastic drum with tap thread to screw in the 12v pump.


I wire in a cheap thermostat.


This would cost well over $200

The reason I made/use these devices is the ability to almost entirely separate the point of cooling in res, from generated heat external. Use materials like Mica for insulating metal and kiln wool around the exsposed cooling side block.


All cooling systems have limitations, like in wall or in room air-conditioning; the problem is separation and removal of heat.

Commercial Aquarium Chillers are good for some.
For me, the TEC devices are actually far better.
Every part is understood, and replaceable.

The trick to being nice on forums is to share your experience rather than telling people what to do and making judgements.

All the best.
 
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bobert

Active member
The trick to being nice on forums is to share your experience rather than telling people what to do and making judgements.

All the best.

Exactly!! Just here to exchange information/ideas with no hard feelings :)


Sorry for the late reply. Things have been busy around here.



Anyway, thanks homegrown! A lot of useful info!

Since it's winter now, and below 0f outside I haven't had any problems with heat. But I'm definitely still interested!

I really like the TEC idea but I'm very limited on the amps I could use. Never noticed how much power those pull. I have around 3 amps to spare on the circuit. Which is probably not enough for the TEC, temp controller, fan, and pump. I'm trying not to exceed 75% of the total amps my fuse is rated at.

I'll do some digging and see if I can find something with low power consumption, or lower my current power consumption.


Thanks again :tiphat:
 
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