Custom Made PC water chiller

[JaskarnSidhu]

This is a project I started over a year ago but I havent yet finished. Its about 80% done with some minor finishing touches left. I posted this over on the EVGA forums originally so I thought I would just copy and paste from there to here.

Here is the link to the original forum post http://forums.evga.com/tm.aspx?m=1579581

The unit is a 1 ton, 11600 BTU, 1850 W of cooling. The plan is to remove both the condenser and the evap and replace them with 2 water cooled condensers. One of the water cooled condensers will act as a condenser and remove the heat from the refrigeration lines. The second water cooled condenser will act as the evaporator and chill the water that loops around the lines.

The original fans for both the condenser and evaporator are the same, 115 v AC 53w fans. I will be replacing those with aquarium water pumps. Those will be 115v AC 45 w pumps, 500-600 GPH pumps, one for each loop.

I'm pretty sure with those AC pumps I won't need any other pumps in the loop. The condensers are rated at 130F so I think those should be enough to cool the condenser.


I'm open to suggestions and input as to what you think would work better or if I'd be better off doing/using other parts. There will be pictures to come later today and throughout the build process.



This is just taking everything apart and the guts of the A/C.

These for the most part are just relays for the condenser and evaporator fans. They control the voltage going to each and based on the temp in the room, tell the evap fan to come on or stay off.



This is a pic of the current condenser fan and the compressor start capacitor. The capacitor is on the bottom right, it has that tope coloured cap on it.


Here is the original spec's for this A/C unit. I was wrong about the amount of watts for cooling. Its actually 1300 and not 1800. I dont know where I got 1800 from.


A better picture of the whole unit.


Compressor and Condenser.

[JaskarnSidhu]

This is puncturing the line to be able to recover the refrigerant in the system. There are no access valves so a line punch was needed.


Here is the actual recovery process via a recovery machine. The old refrigerant is being taking from the AC and put into a recovery cylinder.


This is what the unit looks like after everything is stripped down and its awaiting the flame. Next step will be to sweat off the copper joints.


The actual sweating part. Removing the condenser and the evaporator. In this picture I've already removed the evaporator and am finishing off the condenser.


Taping off the lines so moisture doesnt get in.

[JaskarnSidhu]

What the lines look like once they have all been taped off. That is my buddy in the back that has been helping me.


Pressure testing. Its holding pressure at 320 PSI.


Water cooled condensor brazed in place.


Cap-tube type metering device goes into the condenser. This may need to change if the unit doesn't function as intended.


Closer shot of the cap-tube metering device.

[Father Fuzzy]

this is interesting

what temp do you think it can maintain on a system?

[alex5389]

The chillers I have at work for some pneumatic punch and cut tools keep them and 7C this is on industrial machinery mind.. This thing certainly looks up to that job. I wonder how it would far against g's tec's?

[bungwirez]

Welcome Jaskarn

colder that a puckbunny's bits on a Saturday nite.

[DazMode]

My eyes open wide and wider every day recently.... I love crazy stuff like this!

Thank you for joining forum

[JaskarnSidhu]

this is interesting

what temp do you think it can maintain on a system?

The evaporator, once it meets its target temp, will be at 38F (3.33C), give or take a couple degrees F. Thats what the refrigerent temperature will be inside the coil. there is about a 7-10F temp different on the outside of the coil so the surface temperature that will make contact with the coolant will be between 45F-48F.

Under full load during folding (1 CPU OC'd to 4.6GHz, 3 stock 590's, fullboard mobo block) I am hoping to keep it in the teens. I currently have a store bought 1/2 ton water chiller I am using and under full load it doesnt bring temps down past the 90's. With almost double the cooling, I am hoping this 1 ton chiller will get me into the the 60's if not 50's.

[JaskarnSidhu]

The chillers I have at work for some pneumatic punch and cut tools keep them and 7C this is on industrial machinery mind.. This thing certainly looks up to that job. I wonder how it would far against g's tec's?

It all depends on how many TEC's are being used. The more TEC's you have and the closer they are to thier Vmax's the more heat they can absorb (or the more they cool). The amount of energy consumed using my 1 ton water chiller will be a quarter of that for TEC's to achieve the same amount of cooling.

Having said that, I am working on another TEC project, using 8 of the highest, power consumer available TEC's. The plan is to have 3 water blocks. 2 water blocks on the outside, then 4 TEC's underneath them, and then the last water block sandwiched in the middle. The idea is to make a TEC sandwich so to speak, having the cold side of all 8 TEC's cool the middle block. The outside blocks will be attached to the hot side of the TEC's. I will be cooling the hot side of the TEC's using my 1 ton chiller and the cold side will be circulating through my system. For this I will more than likely be using a 25% Ethylene Glycol 75% distilled water mix to avoid coolant freezing. I suspect temps under full load will be below zero, low single digits at the highest.....but this project is still a long time away.

[JaskarnSidhu]

I have come into one problem. I need to find (or make or have made) a flow switch that will turn off the compressor if my water pump ever fails. That way if there is no flow, there is no cooling and the water in the evaperator coil wont freeze and burst. I have an idea of whats involved and how to make it, but its a bit a above me. I need a flow switch, a rely of some sorts, and probably a step down 24v AC transformer for the control voltage. Because of this road block/hurdle this project hasnt been touched in over a year.

I also need to pick up a temperature controller which I need to tie into the flow switch (have them in series more than likely). That way if there is flow AND the temperature sensor isnt satisfied, the compressor will run. If any of those to criteria isnt met, the compressor wont run.

[alex5389]

It all depends on how many TEC's are being used. The more TEC's you have and the closer they are to thier Vmax's the more heat they can absorb (or the more they cool). The amount of energy consumed using my 1 ton water chiller will be a quarter of that for TEC's to achieve the same amount of cooling.

Having said that, I am working on another TEC project, using 8 of the highest, power consumer available TEC's. The plan is to have 3 water blocks. 2 water blocks on the outside, then 4 TEC's underneath them, and then the last water block sandwiched in the middle. The idea is to make a TEC sandwich so to speak, having the cold side of all 8 TEC's cool the middle block. The outside blocks will be attached to the hot side of the TEC's. I will be cooling the hot side of the TEC's using my 1 ton chiller and the cold side will be circulating through my system. For this I will more than likely be using a 25% Ethylene Glycol 75% distilled water mix to avoid coolant freezing. I suspect temps under full load will be below zero, low single digits at the highest.....but this project is still a long time away.

Decided to play with a train set, nickname will be Polar Express to the Sub Arctique. Dual DDC 3.25's as the locomotive and a maxiumum of 1100 watts of cooling ! [ATTACH=CONFIG]1849[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1850[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1851[/ATTACH]

TEC sandwich meet TEC train!

[JaskarnSidhu]

Nice. What do you have cooling the hot side of the TEC's? is it a heat sink, or another waterblock? Where did you buy that, or did you have it made for you/make it yourself?

[alex5389]

Nice. What do you have cooling the hot side of the TEC's? is it a heat sink, or another waterblock? Where did you buy that, or did you have it made for you/make it yourself?

That would be a question for Gdesmo, his rig found here G's TEC rig

[JaskarnSidhu]

That would be a question for Gdesmo, his rig found here G's TEC rig

Thanks for the info. It does look like the hot side of the TEC's is being water cooled and a separate loop is used to cool the cpu from the cold side.