Good deal. I am *almost* over the AC hump. I have to deal with the water condensation coming from the back of the AC unit. Would that drain into the duct box? Can't let that happen. Is there a way to tilt the unit so that the water never makes it to the back of the unit and instead drains towards the front/middle? This way I could collect it before the ac unit meets the duct box. I have to study the drain table to see this could work?
The manufacture deals with most of the water by dripping it into the condenser, which is real hot, quickly evaporates the water, and it's carried away with the force of the fan.... What does not evaporate drips off the bottom of the condenser into the bottom tray of the A/C, and some manufactures put a hole in each corner of the A/C's bottom to drain off what is not evaporated... So you have to catch this... (hmmmmmmmmmm.... as I though my diy file system ) First you need to see if there is or is not holes in the bottom back corners of the A/C.. Some put a home in each corner, some in one corner, some not at all.... In any case, if there is any, seal them up, then in the center of the pan, take a 1/4" punch and punch a hole.. As the hole is punched through the metal going to do two things... Make a slight low spot that the water will run too and make a nipple on the other side, which you'll use for a hose.. And I've simply Super Glued them on and it works fine to catch the water, and use a 3/8" hose, something larger... We're only talking drips here , then simply run the hose where you want it..... But really unless you're in a real humid environment, the A/C itself is going to burn off 80% of the water... The other 20% that does land in the bottom, gets slowly evaporated off... If you are in a humid climate, and or feel the garden is going to rock the RH, than the drain hose will work fine...
I could set a tray under it for a bit and see how much (if any) comes out. Kinda keep a close eye on it. This is a particular situation for an AC unit. Is there any type you would recommend? I was looking at this: Kenmore -15,100 BTU Room Air Conditioner Looking through the reviews I found these: Maybe this type of design is good for keeping water drainage to an absolute minimum? Last question for a while!
Ya, that's something which I would be only guessing on.... There is no way for me to know just how much heat that attic gets in the hottest part of the summer, than also lights, pumps, blowers, ballasts, etc. etc. etc, as that ALL plays into how large of an A/C you would need...
They all do that.... That's what I was saying above.... 80% of the water is going to be burned off... The other 20% you may get a few drips, but the attic heat would take care of that right away too... So I would not worry about water so much...
OK, just wanted to update this DIY's results.......... It's been over a week and here is the MAX of the Chiller "out" temp and Nutrient "out" temp... The outside temp all this week was in the high 90s and low 100s, the basement temp is in the mid 80s... Again even spending the extra money on the pre-wrapped coils, MAG inline pump, and CAP TMP controler totaling $300.. IMHO, worth the time, money, and effort to do this DIY.... Even on the 100* days, it still only runs for maybe 15 minutes tops and every 2-3hrs... So what that means, this DIY will chill 40gal of water dropping it 1 every 5 minutes.... Now, after the chiller has been running 15 minutes, the chiller's output is in the low 40s!! Thus this chiller in a 85F room can pull that 40gal reservoir down in the low 40s if I left it run..... IMO, based on what I'm seeing from this DIY, it would have NO PROBLEM chilling 200gal down to the mid to upper 60s. I could NOT be any happier with the performance of this DIY!! First pic is the MAX output temp after about 10 days.. Second pic is the MIN, which is where the DIY is shut down by the CAP TMP controller...
While looking for how exactly a chiller is designed I came across this performance chart for an EcoPlus 1/2hp Chiller.. According to this chart from EcoPlus, it takes a 1/2hp Chiller 6hrs to pull down a 100 gal from 80 to 65... This DIY can pull 45gal down 3 in 15 minutes with ambient temp in the mid 84-88... That means this DIY can pull down 100gal faster than a 1/2hp chiller can... So I get 3 in 15 minutes, that's 12 an hour, and 24 in 2hrs, being it's 45gal, times by 2 and it would take 4hrs... Where it takes the EcoPlus takes 6hrs to get the same 24.... The cheapest 1/2hp chiller I can find is $750.00 This DIY cost me $350.00 and seems to do a better job............
I can't believe the difference between the two! Badass conversation JJ! +Rep if I had any! Seriously beauty DIY thread!
Thanks man... I'm rather shocked at the performance and when I was thinking this DIY up, I was thinking it would be around a 1/4hp... But shit, get a 1/2hp Chiller for really $280, because I spent $70 more than I really needed to spend... Like I could have got away with a cheaper pump, and I did not need to buy the pre-wound stainless coils... Dam, maybe I should prefect this and go to market with it.... Really all I need to do is make the front res look prettier and encase everything... Then I could have really a selection of two different configurations, pull down 1 type of fluid, or more than 1 type.. Makes a MF go
Ya, I think that is what gives the DIY it's uniqueness over a standard chiller... Because over lockers can get a 1 to 2 gal reservoir down to as low as -28 to -34* It's going to be sweet... Maybe in Sept I'll start it....
just wanted to say that this is a genius diy project. you diy like i do except better. i kept trying to figure out a way to run the nutes through the wort and never thought of sticking the wort in the nutes. its so simple and genius it kinda makes me jealous that someone has a better diy type brain than me. i am just happy that a buddy of mine saw this post and pointed me this way. my only questions... is that $24 eco pump the one that is working for you right now. and why do i need two of them? i might have a few of those types laying around. so if thats the case... i am going to be able to build this out and only have to buy the wort. but i have a rezzy twice the size of yours. grainger has some welded coil tubing 304ss 3/8 50' for a bill. i think i will go that route so i can spread the coil a bit, and more evenly cool my 40" tall rez. you have a better understanding of how the temps will run. until i do it and mess with them for myself...i wont 'get it'. anywho... if you would, verify the pump for me and i will get this thing built out after the silva fight tonight. <--friendly reminder if you like ufc. edit: just realized that i need the extra pump to circulate my nutes. so let mew bounce this off of you.. if i stretch the coil... will i still need the pump or better yet...with the pump do i need the added expense of the 50' coil? or do you reckon i should use both since i have such a large rez.
Thanks man, I been wanting to do this a while now... Ya, I ran into a problem when I allowed the chiller's res to drop into the mid to low 30s... Which the submersible pumps are not meant to operate in them temps, thus killing the pump... Now that I have the CAP TMP controlling the on/off of the chiller according to nutrient res temp, the lowest the chiller's res gets is around 40-42F, and right now it's been running off a Ecoplus Submersible Pump - 66 GPH... A $8 pump..... I bought a MAG Drive 350gph Inline pump so I can have that feed a manifold which will supply my mutable wort coils.. That way I can pump the chilled water through mutable nutrient reservoirs..... IMHO, you do not need all that, 50' of 3/8" 304 Stainless tubing is $55 + ship... That is WAY more than you need to chill even 100 gal res..... This DIY does a 3 in 15 min on the 100F days (85-87 in the room it's in)... With a cheap ass pump and only 25' of coil... So I would just get a 50' at the MOST, then stretch that out in the res.... Yep, El'Cheapo.... Really, if you're output temp of that wort coil is close to the input temp, you're moving the fluid too fast... So it down and you will get better cooling or more time for the water in the coils to absorb the nutrient's heat...
thanx for the info. ill order the wort monday and have this thing built and ready to attach. you have done a great thing for the community with this. thanx again. will post pics of mine once i get it done.
Hey needa..... Check this out.... TC-9102D-HV Dual Stage High Voltage Digital Temperature Controller If I would've not had the CAP TMP controller as a spare, that's what I would have got to control everything... You can control a heater and chiller from that temperature controller... Dual 20 amp relays... And it's the same cost (if not a little cheaper) than a CAP TMP 1.... That's what I will be using on my next DIY 1hp chiller....
got the parts ordered. i found the nybrewsupply place has a store on ebay and saved another two bucks in ship. and figured that all of my pumps were too powerful. but an 80 gal pump wouldnt be enough because of the height of my rez. i got ones closer to what you have on your buy list and i am hoping that the height will slow it down. one cool thing i found is that they make 'smart' pumps that shut off when things get dry. seems like a needed thing around here. or at least around my house. my diy controller bucket has the bottom float about a 1/4" too low and sometimes my pump doesnt turn off. especially when i step on my lines. i just wish i would have woken up before 2pm so my parts would have had a chance of getting out today. the hot water has already root rotted a five star dutch passion blueberry. and it was the pheno that was way beyonf that of the other four fems. the auction is good for another twenty five days. $35 plus $9 more to ship. 304ss 25' 3/8" took them an hour to box it up and ship. <--not bad.
Ya that are pretty quick because I got my wort chiller in 2 days.. The small pumps only have like a 4' lift, so at 2' it's less than half the rated output.. Like a 140gal is going to be more like 60gph after 2' lift.... Once you start getting into the 500s, then I think the lift goes to 8' But I do not see a problem using a larger pump... I'd use what you have as a spare and go from there.....