looking into building a chiller?

[knightwolf6543]

well i was going to buy a vapochill off ebay or something but sence opterons are known to have cold bugs i decided to go with a chiller to feed my overclocking hunger :santa: , i was orginial going to go with a water dispenser from walmart but i want to make this so i can take it to lan partys without killing my back trying to lift it, but i saw the heat exchanger on one of those things and they are really tall, so i was going to look into puting a smaller one on it and fitting everything to fit in something the size of say a vapochill case. but..... i know you have to discharge the system (i dont know how to do) then charge the system (i dont know how to do) i have been looking around the forums as well as the XS forums and found that alot of people suggest a/c window units but as before i would still want everything to fit into a small case. i do have a budget of about $350.

thanks for the help
rich

[XeonStrikeForce]

350? thated get you the basic tools, start ebaying and look high and low for scrapable refrigeration parts.

you can make a vac pump, it will be by far inferior to a proper one but will work (Thats what I'm using, just leave a fan on the compressor thats vacing the system and go out for a couple hours)

Just for lans a CoAxial Hx will suffice but to make that you'll need a brazing tourch and 5 to 15% SilFos brazing rods (Self fluxing so you wont need to worry about flux too much) some way to purg it while brazing.

but by far most important is study, you need to under stand how it works in order to custom make a system!

Start here! > http://www.refrigerationbasics.com/1024x768/rb1.htm

[greenmaji]

look at the size of the air con in this thread closely..
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=470022

[knightwolf6543]

what kind of vacuum pump am i looking for? something like This (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Air-Conditioner-Vacum-Pump_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ46094QQihZ013QQite mZ230013426886QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW) ?
i am also talking to a guy about a hot/cold water dispenser.
this is it Here (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=120016430604&ih=002&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT).
i started reading that guide and realized i learned a lot of that in chemistry lol, i will continue reading and studying. as for some tools, my dad has a manifold in his garage as well as several blow torches

[XeonStrikeForce]

The vac pump is terra crap, stay far far far away from it, a spong will out perform it for what you need. Just use a compressor thats been pulled from a fridge, I have an old deep freeze compressor that I use, they are designed to go down to high vacs.

as for water cooler don't waste your money, find an A/C unit. if you spend a month of serious studying and learning you'll know enough to make your own coil and how to vac and charge the unit. FYI the studying is like 24/7 to cram enough in a month, longer and better your understanding the safer and better it will turn out.

[jinu117]

One of these days, I am going to put vacuum gauge on compressor and see how deep it can vacuum... :p
To be honest though, I am very doubful a comrpessor can really give the vacuum that is desirable. And few hours of vacuum? Even with proper vacuum pump, it takes me easily 8-12 hours to do proper triple evac where I know there is no moisture left. (shut the valve and if it stays under 500 micron... yes you are good)
But than there ARE people using compressor as vacuum pump.... and claims that it works just fine... :)

[>HyperlogiK<]

wouldn't a thermoelectric wc system maybe be more suited to a portable machine.

[greenmaji]

wouldn't a thermoelectric wc system maybe be more suited to a portable machine.

Dual loop TEC cooled res. WCing loop??? portable? Designing one to hold load even possible???

[knightwolf6543]

their are a few reasons why i dont go TEC or even phase, my cousin had a friend who used tec and something went wrong and it destroyed his system, and opterons are known for having cold bugs so i dont want to go to low with the cooling, plus at the college lan party my cousin went to, only two people had water cooling so it would be interesting too seewhat people think of a chilled system :P

[>HyperlogiK<]

Dual loop TEC cooled res. WCing loop??? portable? Designing one to hold load even possible???

A simple WC setup with a middle wattage peltier, while it won't hit sub zero temps is potentially a lot more portable than any affordable phase change.

I just realised from your sig that you are using the stock opty heatsink, and your board is the Asrock Dual SATA2. My suggestion would be scratch any super high end cooling setup, get a better board and either top end air or middle/high end water cooling. I don't think a whole lot of low end phase change and waterchilling setups generally, but there is no point whatsoever on a budget board (and I have played about with both that same board and a DFI expert with stock cooling, high end air and a vapochill). I am not knocking the Dual SATA2 generally, it rocks, but whatever the temptation, you should have an all high end system before you consider exotic cooling solutions.

[knightwolf6543]

i have a high end board i am just waiting on the new geforce cards to come out, (i am still on AGP) the plan is to run a chill on the CPU and water cooling on the VGA and NB(i know a lot of people don't see the point but i feel like wasting my money)
my duel sata2 will be put in my parents computer for Christmas. as far as the chiller goes i want to start with something easy to toy with (that's why i wanted to get the the dispenser) then as i learn more build my own, it could be another year before i see my self building one of these things, but modding i can do, my spending limit is no longer a limit (college is payed for for the next two semesters) i am a hands on learner so if i don't start with something as i am reading up on it to say relate to it that knowledge goes in one ear and out the other.

[XeonStrikeForce]

I'm the same lol, I have to apply the learnt theory immediately or I simply forget it.

Once you understand the basics and the theory it is disappointingly easy. as far as modding goes all you need is a slightly over sized condenser for what you intended load is to improve the COP (EER) and a TXV sized.

IE: a
5,000BTU/hr Window A/C, get it evaced out at a shop (Small charge, or perhaps free if they can keep the refrigerant)

then remove the evap, now make a simple shell tube exchanger (Not the best but by far cheapest).

I made mine by wrapping 11 feet of copper over a mapp bottle and slid that in to some 4 inch ID PVC.

Connect one tube to the A/Cs suction, add a 3/8 to 1/2 inch step up converter and then braze in 2" of 1/2inch OD tubing (Now this is where you need the practise: Flare the 2" piece of tubing to attach a 1/4 ton TXV; Or spend some extra cash and buy a braze on one) Now remove the cap tubing from the A/C in it's place braze in some 1/4" tubing, run that to the TXV and Flare/sweat on.

Remove cold side fan and shaft with hack saw, insulate the PVC tube and bend it so that it is where the evap used to be, put case back together add handle :D

[XeonStrikeForce]

Jinu: My system shows no moisture according to the chem indicator on the sight glass, I vaced it with a reciprocating piston compressor rated low temp duty, and ran it for a total of two hours with a single break of firing in some propane to help drive the moisture out (The R-290 was dried in another system)

The whole system has been running dead on smooth now with R-134a with zero issue and pulls down nice n snappy.

They work, but like I said, not the ideal, but for thoughs like me who don't have the money to get an all out vacuum pump (And in Canada they won't sell you one in BC less your fully certified) it is impossible so it is the only recourse that is available and reliable enough!

[knightwolf6543]

alright cool, their are a few shops very close by that deal with a/c i can give them a call :D now i have a few more ideas as well this could work out. now to ebay to find a a/c as well as google to find more info!

Edit: as well as you know any other places were i can get some supplies? insulation as such?

Edit2: how about this (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4456963)?

[Pf.Farnsworth]

their are a few reasons why i dont go TEC or even phase, my cousin had a friend who used tec and something went wrong and it destroyed his system, and opterons are known for having cold bugs so i dont want to go to low with the cooling, plus at the college lan party my cousin went to, only two people had water cooling so it would be interesting too seewhat people think of a chilled system :P

If you think phase change baised refrigeration is safer you have another thing comming. Any component of the rather complex system going out would do to your system what an overheated tec would. But what a tec wont do is send shrap metal all over your room when your condensing temperatures will rise and the pressures will get the best of the system at the weakest place. Everything aside a chiller is a highly pressurised system with a possibility of explosive decompression end of story.

[Vaio]

Whatever you build, it'll be awesome. Just make sure to add handles and wheels so you can bring it to LAN parties still ;)