Titan Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 Hey all, well I've had this old portable air conditioner sitting in the garage waiting till i had some time to try and build a glycol chiller. I set about it today and stripped everthing down disgarding the part i dont need. Here are some photos of todays progress. Its an old Electrolux. Tomorrow i will add some water and hook up the electrics and see if it starts to cool before moving any further and cutting slots on the esky for the pipe work. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris! Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 That is cool as. Cannot wait to see more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeB7 Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 Is that the evap in the blue tub filled with glycol? Was it an old portable type? Wouldn't you have more joy with the water coolers in the background? Ready made glycol tanks in them & hook up with a recirc pump in series? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted May 29, 2020 Author Share Posted May 29, 2020 11 minutes ago, JoeB7 said: Is that the evap in the blue tub filled with glycol? Was it an old portable type? Wouldn't you have more joy with the water coolers in the background? Ready made glycol tanks in them & hook up with a recirc pump in series? Good spot. Yes its a water cooler in the background (swmbo) dont like cold water. If this build fails then i will try that unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeB7 Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 (edited) Mate I'm an old fridgy so wish I was nearer to you so I could trash your workshop (missus says I keep bringing junk home) 're-purposing' old A/C units <edit>Oh I get it now... I have a SWMBO too Edited May 29, 2020 by JoeB7 missed something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Captain!! Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 6 minutes ago, JoeB7 said: Mate I'm an old fridgy so wish I was nearer to you so I could trash your workshop (missus says I keep bringing junk home) 're-purposing' old A/C units Should have seen my place as a roof carpenter ha ha ha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted May 30, 2020 Author Share Posted May 30, 2020 Ok so i tested this morning and ran a test. Starting temperature 11c target 5c. Hit target in 25m 30s im happy with that. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted May 30, 2020 Author Share Posted May 30, 2020 This is done and tested to Cold Crash temperature, hit 2c no problem at all. Last night i switched it off and this morning temperature was still 3.3c so the esky is also doing a fine job. I have one of those power consumption meters (somewhere) if i find it i will see just how much power this is using to keep a temperature at 2c. I ended up putting the lower fan back on to disapate the heat from the compressor. The unit also had an aquairium pump which i used to circulate the water in the esky. 20200530_125043.mp4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeB7 Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 So no flood back pushing the temp so low @Titan? What refrigerant does the unit use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchBastard Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 Ey @Titan or should I say Magyver. Excuse my ignorance but what will you be primarily chilling? an SS conical type fermentor ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted May 31, 2020 Author Share Posted May 31, 2020 1 hour ago, JoeB7 said: So no flood back pushing the temp so low @Titan? What refrigerant does the unit use? For now it seems to to be working fine however if i didnt put the fan back in place i dont think it would have lasted long. No idea what the refrigerant is though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted May 31, 2020 Author Share Posted May 31, 2020 1 hour ago, MitchBastard said: Ey @Titan or should I say Magyver. Excuse my ignorance but what will you be primarily chilling? an SS conical type fermentor ? grainfather conical coming Thursday. Second hand and has the cooling pump kit. All i need now is clycol. Didnt realise how expensive it is. Think it will cost me $100 for the qty i need. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchBastard Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 @Titan ah cool. So does gycol go into the air conditioner, that chills the water in the esky and then pumps through the GF? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeB7 Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 Glycol in the esky gets chilled then into wort chiller 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted May 31, 2020 Author Share Posted May 31, 2020 Just ordered the glycol $162 for 20l, still a cheap glycol chiller. Just moved it into a permanent position in the garage. Anyone know the longevity of the glycol solution? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeB7 Posted June 1, 2020 Share Posted June 1, 2020 hermetically sealed years, open to atmosphere ?? Keep the lid on & tape it up. You probably should look into a recirc pump with some grunt as I'm guessing the pump with the unit is just a condensate pump with maybe 1mtr head What does the material safety data sheet tell you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted June 1, 2020 Author Share Posted June 1, 2020 6 hours ago, JoeB7 said: hermetically sealed years, open to atmosphere ?? Keep the lid on & tape it up. You probably should look into a recirc pump with some grunt as I'm guessing the pump with the unit is just a condensate pump with maybe 1mtr head What does the material safety data sheet tell you? Not seen it yet, comes with the order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now