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Thread: DIY RDWC Cooler Ideas / Experiments

  1. #1

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    Default DIY RDWC Cooler Ideas / Experiments

    I've tried various hydro methods over the last few years. I mainly grow soil but I like to experiment when I can. I started out with a four pot wilma which worked okay and then I got some ideas from Heath's posts and turned it into a real monster of a recirc system. That went reasonably well even though I got some root rot but it was a pain to manage and clean so I moved on to another DWC idea similar to water farms but on a larger scale. It was home built and didn't work out too well. I suffered quite badly with root rot and then sort of wandered / fell back into my soil growing comfort zone again. My issue with rot has always been mainly down to not being able to control the res temps but now I'm planning on trying again with a few ideas and experiments to back me up.

    I've purchased a single stand alone Aqua Farm which I'm modifying as per Heath Robinson's specs and I'm adding a 4 gallon recirculating res to it. At this time of year, it's not so bad for temps but as we head into summer, I'll start suffering so this got me mulling some ideas over for a cheap, easy to maintain and run cooler / chiller. I really can't afford to buy one let alone run one so I'm limited.

    This is why I've decided to write this post and thrash out some ideas and suggestions.


    I'm currently pondering using PC cooling radiators and pumping the solution through them which then gives me a variety of options to cool the radiators.

    I could use a tub of ice and salt to immerse the radiators into so as to cool the nute solution as it ciruclates with a thermo controlled cut off to stop the cooling recirc pump when the res is at a set temp.
    I could use fans on the radiators and again, using a thermo controller, turn off the fans when the desired temp is reached or I could just route the rads so they're exposed to outside air and cool passively.

    I've read of people modifying these cheap water chillers before now but I really don't fancy pushing a cheap device that wasn't designed to cool a constant flow of X gallons per hour. That doesn't seem safe to me.

    So what are other people's thoughts on this? What are other people using?

    I know if I submerse the radiators in a salt and ice solution that eventually they'll suffer from corrosion but I figure I'll get two or more grows before they'll need replacing and at the price they're asking for them these days, they're as cheap as chips.


    Thoughts, ideas or suggestions?



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  3. #2

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    So I've had a bit of a think and I've had an idea which would suit my room well.

    Outside my room, sat in another room which is usually pretty cool all year round I have a 50 liter water barrel.
    It's quite tall and slim and I use it to hold the water I use in my room. The water in it at this time of year at least tends to sit between 12 and 14 degrees C.

    What I thought I would do is this:

    Take a coil of hose pipe and coil it inside the water barrel. Maybe 20 - 30 ft give or take. Enough to cool as it flows but not enough to displace so much water I'm left with about 10 liters in the barrel lol.
    In the side of the barrel I will fit inlet and outlet couplers and attach one end of the hose coil to one, and one end of the hose coil to another to make a closed loop chiller coil inside the barrel.
    From the barrel, I'll run inlet and outlet lines to the res and attach a pump to the inlet side. When the pump is one, the water will flow through the inlet lines, through the chiller coil and back out the outlet and into the res again. All nice and cool.

    What I thought about doing to control the temps was to use an arduino nano to monitor 1 or 2 DS18B20 temperature probes immersed in the res.
    The arduino would monitor the temperature and when nearing or at max temperature, it would switch on the pump via a solid state relay and start circulating the nutrient solution out of the res, through the cooling coil and back into the res again nice and chilled.
    Then when the res temp was back to min temp the pump would shut off.

    Stainless for a coil would be better at dissipating the heat but I can't afford one right now but I do have near on 50ft of brand new hose

    One thing I can see being an issue is having water sat in 20ft of hose when the pump shuts off.
    The way I'm hoping to get round this is by having the nute solution pumped from the res up to the higest point at the top of the cooling coil and then have the solution flow through the coil and exit out the bottom of the coil at floor level and back to the res at floor level. Under current style.

    I'm hoping that doing it this way will ensure that the majority of nute solution is naturally forced down and out of the coil when the pump is off when the desired temp is reached. If that makes sense?

    I've ordered a couple of Solid State Relays, I've already got the hose, I've ordered a 1000 LPH pump and I've got a spare Nano.
    All I really need now are some form of tank connector suitable for the job which I'll hunt for when I get five minutes.

    I'll mock up a sketch or something when I get five minutes which should help people visualise what I mean.

    I'm already getting neat little ideas for improvements for the basic idea by adding on a data logging module to keep a track of what's going on week by week, month by month.
    I could put an extra probe into the chiller barrel and monitor the temps for the water in there too. Hmmm.... Could be a fun little thing to work on.

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    Why not just buy a chiller?
    Im not bein an arse here, but with the chiller you can set the temp to what it should be at, instead of hopinj that your barrel or whatever will cool it enuff.
    Its a fair hit financially, but worth it in the lonj term

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  7. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by heizenberg View Post
    Why not just buy a chiller?
    Im not bein an arse here, but with the chiller you can set the temp to what it should be at, instead of hopinj that your barrel or whatever will cool it enuff.
    Its a fair hit financially, but worth it in the lonj term
    No mate, not at all. It's a fair comment / question.

    Right now I just can't afford one. I've had so many things to get and replace this time I just couldn't afford to do it all. I've already overspent my budget by £100 which I'm hoping the Mrs doesn't notice LOL

    I don't intend to run it for life or anything like that. I just want something that will help should I need it between now and affording a dedicated one. Temps usually aren't too bad this time of year but I don't know when I'll be able to afford a chiller and now we're downhill to summer I'd rather have something to try than nothing. It wont cost me much to knock up as I have most of the parts barring the pump and relay which have been ordered and were pretty cheap and also the tank fittings which I'm yet to source.

    If it works, bonus, if not, well, nothing lost

    As practical as I hope it will be, I really just like the tinkering, experimenting and learning more than anything and sharing it with others of course.
    My little home cobble up wont be as good as any dedicated chiller I know but I hope it will serve me in the mean time should I have need for it.

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    I just wanted to revisit this post to say I've not abandoned the idea but I've not had need for such a system as of yet so I've not had the need to set it up.
    Temps at the minute for me are staying around 17 - 19c so I'll revisit this again in a few months once we're into spring when things start to warm up out there

    I've got virtually everything I need to build the system now though so wont take me long to rig up if I do need it. Then I'll document it and post back here.

  10. #6

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    Do a coco run when it warms up?
    Too weird to live, too rare to die

  11. #7

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    or use ice bottles in the res to cool it a little

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    what about camping gel packs? these should absorb more heat than the ordinary bottles

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