chiller setup (pics)

M

Marvin

n00b
Joined
Jun 29, 2003
Messages
34
Hi friends, i have just finished a chiller :banana: , but i have some questions, if you can help me:
1 - the compressor is extremely hot, like the high stage hose. Is this normal ?
2 - after some hours i can hear a strange sound that came from the compressor, like a dumpening water..
It is a 1/4 Hp R12 charged with R22.
pics
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I can reach -30 C without any heat load...
regards
 
Looks very nice man. Great work. Just insulate that puppy and you'll be golden. Looks like your gas charge is pretty good too.
 
I've heard R-22 can have oil return problems. My R-22 compressor also got very hot. Most guys that use R-22 inject a small amount of R-290 (propane) into the system. By small amount I mean like one charging hose full. The propane helps oil circulation and gives you faster pull down times.
 
Sorry the lack of response, but i am getting troubles insulating the block :
this is my chiller block :
All copper with 939, 478 mountings :
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And here is the full project insulated...
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Marvin said:
Sorry the lack of response, but i am getting troubles insulating the block :
this is my chiller block :

P1010112.JPG
Click to expand...

Love the temp in the frost. :cool:
 
damn those pictures are confusing i have not idea whats going on there, look like a bunch of stuff laying around at a junkyard,

i would like to learn more about it...........
 
It looks good, although I can give some little tips that may help you in the long run.

- Your filter/drier would be better off with a slight downward angle, with the capline running out the bottom. Let gravity do the work for you. It should work like you have it, I just always like to have the filter a bit more vertically angled.

- You could add a desuperheater on the discharge line to help cool the gas before it enters the condensor. It may not help, but I have built some systems where it really helps. You can build one real quick with 1/4" copper tube.

Good Luck with the insulation. I find that creating a suitable hold-down and insulation is the hardest part of the system build.
 
He doesn't need a desuperheater. His condensor is huge and its removing the heat fine. A condensor is a desuperheater (in single stages). If anything, make sure you have plenty of air flow across the condensor coil, that will remove all the heat. Unless your running a cascade in series, you don't need a desuperheater.

He's right about the flow of the liquid line into the metering line. Flip it at least at a angle facing down.

This unit looks pretty good though. I like it.
 
He doesn't need a desuperheater. His condensor is huge and its removing the heat fine. A condensor is a desuperheater (in single stages). If anything, make sure you have plenty of air flow across the condensor coil, that will remove all the heat. Unless your running a cascade in series, you don't need a desuperheater.
Click to expand...

True, but if it would help slightly...it's worth it. I have used them and not used them in many single stage builds, and sometimes it helped...sometimes it didn't. When going for the lowest temp possible, why not try everything? It takes a few minutes to build, a few minutes to braze in, and then your are done...
 
No, it will make no difference if his condensor is big enough and has enough air flow over it.

Think of it this way, its like adding a 2nd radiator in a water loop or something. Putting a small 80mm radiator in front of a giant 3 x 120mm radiator will not cool the water any more than the 3 x 120mm by itself. The small 80mm, YES will take heat away, but the big 3 x 120 could do it by itself anyways.

The reason its worked before for you because your condensor wasn't big enough or not enough air flow, or your compressor was producing alot of heat from the motor (like a rotary or something).

These units people use to cool computers with are ripped out from units that are designed to cool entire rooms. Thousands of btu's (lots of watts) of heat removal for a air conditioner to remove from the air, where as we only have to remove ~200w of heat from a CPU. It's like just cooling a big light bulb instead of an entire room in your house.

And from the looks of it, it appears he has (4) 115v 120mm metal fans cooling his condensor. Next time, he prob could have bought a big 115v fan motor and fan blade for the same price as (4) nice 115v fans like that from radioshack.

This is why you don't see people and companies on other forums doing this or even vapochill doing this. Look how small the condensing units in these pre-made systems are.
 
LOL, alright dude you win...no point.

I use only rotaries in my systems, I have my results...you have yours. I was trying to give friendly advice...
 
not trying to win. As long as your condensing unit is big enough, it will remove the heat.
One of the things i would have prob done different, is you can use a sweat fitting on that high side shrader location. They make them in T-style so that are already swedged so all you have to do is just put it between to lines. (just be sure to remove the shrader plug itself when you braze, cuz its rubber and will melt from the torch)

The flare's are kinda extra work and could leak. GJ on wrapping the cap tube around the suction to sub cool and boil off excess.
T_Shrader.jpg
 
Marvin, I too was considering building a water chiller. I have access to such parts. The only thing that is holding me back is the deadly thought of condensation. Looks like you did a great job insulating the pipe and block, but would you happen to have any photos of what you did to protect the mobo. Whats to keep the ice around the slug from melting and dripping on the mobo?

Since condensation has near no minerals, how well does it really conduct electricity anyway?

Thanks for the inspiration!

PS. Where did you endup getting that chiller block from, hopeade, where did you find the parts? Thats one shiny block! :)
 
thanks. My condensation prevention on the mobo is pretty the same as the guides shown. Put dieletric grease on the back, clampled with a neoprene sheet.
Then another layer of conformal coating around the socket and dieletric grease again inside it.
pics i will pos soon...
the block a friend of my made for me ;)
 
that looks sweet, cant wait to see it all up and running with your system, nice work!
 
My full tower is ready. Now i need do some mods do go to DD
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I found a switch rated of 15 A to power my compressor :
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After dissablembled the front panel with the old switch:
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Replacing :D
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Done :
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The diagram is something like that :
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I hope your calculations are accurate otherwise the compressor would eventually overheat and broke down.

there are several ways to cool a compressor, especially one that your are using (non-cycling constant duty) 24/7, forced convection is the simpliest, and crappiest, high temperature compressor uses the system´s freon to cool it, which is not the case with low level or ultra low level compressor, because at that temperature the freon changes its density and therefor their thermal properties. these kind of compressors have a jacket in which water is pumped, thats as efficient as its gets in phase-change refrigeration, you might also want to cool your condenser with water, which is also the way to go, but the you would have to cool the water and for that you will need a cooling tower and the whole enchilada, but that is another story...
 
Sexy case. My next one will have a secondary cooling bay behind the mobo too.
 
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