Just thinking out loud about new tech and what the future might look like

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ttystikk

ttystikk

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This is the best advice here so far! You... ..start with a smaller bloom room and work up to Yangtze whole space.

Tank, I'm not picking on you- I liked this so much I just had to copy n paste this here, too-

Yangtze the whole place, indeed- with hydro... and aquaponics... hmmm... hey wait a minute..!

I think I might have finally come up with a decent use for 3" pipe and bulkheads in an UC; grow fish IN the tubs! A big eating sized fish will still fit thru a 3" hole, lol!

ROTF LMFAO!!!!

If fish eat roots, will they get stoned?

HAHAHA!!!
 
Toker Ace

Toker Ace

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Ha! I've had two chillers for months now- and you're the first to mention that I could run them on separate loops at different temperatures!
Here again yes and no. What you do is run one main loop through both chillers. then t off to each appliance with a thermo valve. Control the VFD of chiller one based on the difference in in/out water temp then use chiller only when unit one reaches a certain wattage(requires wire) or water temp(requires sensor) If your main loop is high in the ceiling then gravity should provide circulation in the loops. Or small circ pumps. Run loops at whatever temp/volume you wish. Most of the controls and sensors can be fed into a computer where you can monitor everything that's going on. As this stuff gets cheaper and more wireless it will be more fun to play with.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

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At the moment, I have a small problem; the chiller's cycle frequently, making me wonder if I'm not supplying enough water to them quickly enough- or perhaps I'm chilling the wrong water? I'm currently pulling water for the main circ pull from the reservoir. A fitting on the face of the pump feeds a 1/2" line which first splits into two, then each feeds one chiller. The cold return water goes back to the reservoir, where it mixes with the warm water returning from the rest of the system with waste heat from rooms.

Might it make more sense to have at least one chiller take its inlet from the return water before the reservoir? The second one could still balance temps in the res, because as I mentioned I need the water temperature to remain reliably consistent. Poor cooling throughput from the chillers ruins the advantage of having two in the first place!
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

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@Toker Ace I just had an idea: I have two chillers- and two main cooling lines from the circulation pump, through spaces, and back to the res. What if I simply cram the 1/2" chiller intake line up into the end of each 3/4" warm water return? My theory is that it will retain enough line pressure to feed the chiller adequate volume, it will allow excess water to bypass and the chiller will see the water at its warmest, before it his the reservoir and mixes with cold.

Now here's the fun part; since I run a flip schedule, each half of the cooling system goes to a side that is always on- with a short gap, to ensure I don't run over my amp limit- and a side that's always off. The side that's dark will send cooler water so its chiller will only run if the whole system's water temperature is rising, as the dark side itself adds very little heat.

Meanwhile, the chiller on the day side is getting the hottest water in the system, fresh from the source. Yes, it will run more, and longer, but that's not such a bad thing as long as the unit does get rest- and these would; they'd play tag with the load, alternating as the rooms flip on and off. The day side's chiller is the primary, and the other backup- and a dozen hours later, they reverse themselves automatically, based on the temperature change coming through the lines as the room's daily heat cycle progresses.

How many ways can this cat get skinned again? Lol

Am I on the right track with the above, or are there flaws in my thinking?

How expensive are VFD controllers?
 
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Toker Ace

Toker Ace

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There is a video on you tube(super geeky) on using VFDs and E-Bay or surplus electronic parts but you would want to use two.
$20&>
If you were going to do it according to Hoyle, a main high volume line I think would be in order.
Then circ loops for each item separate but for both rooms.
i.e. all light coolers on one loop both rooms, air on another loop both rooms,etc.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

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There is a video on you tube(super geeky) on using VFDs and E-Bay or surplus electronic parts but you would want to use two.
$20&>
If you were going to do it according to Hoyle, a main high volume line I think would be in order.
Then circ loops for each item separate but for both rooms.
i.e. all light coolers on one loop both rooms, air on another loop both rooms,etc.

I'll go see if I can catch a VFD... or two. :confused:

As quoted, Hoyle makes no sense to me in this case.

I have a 1/2hp waterpump pushing into a 1"main line which then tees into two 3/4" lines. Each one of these goes to a six way manifold at either end of the house. Three circuits per room; two for air/water heat exchangers and one for RDWC cooling.

These all return- through half inch valves at both manifolds, btw, to another six way Pex manifold and then through a 3/4" line back to the reservoir.

Makes much more sense this way and I get to repurpose cooling circuits on the fly, including what they chill and how they do it. I'm an amateur, but I'm proud of the flexibility I've built into the system.
 
Toker Ace

Toker Ace

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I'll go see if I can catch a VFD... or two. :confused:

As quoted, Hoyle makes no sense to me in this case.


Makes much more sense this way and I get to repurpose cooling circuits on the fly, including what they chill and how they do it. I'm an amateur, but I'm proud of the flexibility I've built into the system.
In this case. Hoyle is new construction method that would only apply to you conceptually. You have the r&d going with the "try " setup. We do this same thing in existing buildings. Build a system with more than normal flexibility, get it running perfectly through all parameters then start eliminating extra bullshit.
 
Toker Ace

Toker Ace

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It's interesting to me that I have a micro grow compared to yours, but we both think about power use. I am limited by a 15A circuit. Environment takes a lot of power. I ran outdoors last summer and shut the room down for the summer. This summer I'll have my cooling tower/swamp cooler going so maybe I can get some of these 10+week sat doms going. I'm just not ambitious enough to run more power to my space. Compressors are out of the question. I replaced the elec. stove last year with gas and freed up that double 50a breaker on my house panel. I have a whole frdge full of bud as it is. It's not like I have much reason to step up production.
 
sky high

sky high

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I have a whole fridge full of bud as it is. It's not like I have much reason to step up production.

LOFL. I can so relate to this statement.

Problem here is that it's been over 20 years since I ran a >single< 1K. Damn things are like junk to a junkie...I just can't seem to unplug and keep hammering away out of love for it/habit (trying to figure that out as well) of doing it for so damn long...

Gotta believe I'm not alone. I think the throttle must be stuck 'er somethin'... :rolleyes:
 
donmekka

donmekka

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So I had a idea the other night and not sure if it would work or not. Basically a Geo chiller take a 3000 gal holding tank (bigger the better) and run 1500ft of 3/4'' copper coil inside and bury it 12ft deep and let mother nature chill your water.Any reason this wouldn't work? The only power need to run it would be a small pond pump at most. Pick it a part guys please tell me why it wouldn't work!Thats how i get better!
 
Toker Ace

Toker Ace

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sky high Well-Known Farmer
Toker Ace said:
I have a whole fridge full of bud as it is. It's not like I have much reason to step up production.
LOFL. I can so relate to this statement.

Problem here is that it's been over 20 years since I ran a >single< 1K. Damn things are like junk to a junkie...I just can't seem to unplug and keep hammering away out of love for it/habit (trying to figure that out as well) of doing it for so damn long...

Gotta believe I'm not alone. I think the throttle must be stuck 'er somethin'... :rolleyes:
I'm making some cannabutter right now I put in about an oz of kif/shake into a # of butter and thought what the hell and put a half gallon jar of bud in there as well. I like having more than I can smoke. I have a big pot outside cooling off an one neighbor has already called. "Whatcha makin'?"
It's cold as hell outside this morning so my stuff should harden up quickly. And then I'm gonna make something wwith it then ima eat it fuck im shaking. Sorry way off topic
 
Toker Ace

Toker Ace

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So I had a idea the other night and not sure if it would work or not. Basically a Geo chiller take a 3000 gal holding tank (bigger the better) and run 1500ft of 3/4'' copper coil inside and bury it 12ft deep and let mother nature chill your water.Any reason this wouldn't work? The only power need to run it would be a small pond pump at most. Pick it a part guys please tell me why it wouldn't work!Thats how i get better!
http://www.tank-depot.com/productdetails.aspx?part=RRFS3000
$6500 not in the hole

$3600 not in the tank
???
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

6,892
313
So I had a idea the other night and not sure if it would work or not. Basically a Geo chiller take a 3000 gal holding tank (bigger the better) and run 1500ft of 3/4'' copper coil inside and bury it 12ft deep and let mother nature chill your water.Any reason this wouldn't work? The only power need to run it would be a small pond pump at most. Pick it a part guys please tell me why it wouldn't work!Thats how i get better!

Two issues here, as I see them. First, how fast can the heat transfer from the buried task into the surrounding earth? That will define the rate of heating/cooling and therefore effective capacity.

Second, why bury all that perfectly good heat?! What's wrong with warming a greenhouse, greenhouse or fish pond- all the above gives something back in return for the gift of warmth...
 
donmekka

donmekka

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Second, why bury all that perfectly good heat?! What's wrong with warming a greenhouse, greenhouse or fish pond- all the above gives something back in return for the gift of warmth...

Run a heat exchanger pre geo chiller If you really need the heat or vent the tank.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

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Run a heat exchanger pre geo chiller If you really need the heat or vent the tank.

A need to vent the tank defeats the purpose.

I understand about the need to bleed excess heat, I just try to get the most out of it first.

If you need to shed heat, what's wrong with the standard radiator with an extractor fan? Any time the air is cooler than your working fluid, you have compressorless chilling!
 
sky high

sky high

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It's not new tech....but I can see integrating something of this nature into the fold here at the >new< Ranch. House...walapini...barn....etc..... all are gonna need an efficient wood-based source of heat...



Wanna do a bit of solar for limited lighting/etc... as well..... but need to enlist my buddy in SoCal who does it for a living to see where to take it all....

lotsa ways to go...lotsa shit to learn.
 
donmekka

donmekka

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A need to vent the tank defeats the purpose.

I understand about the need to bleed excess heat, I just try to get the most out of it first.

If you need to shed heat, what's wrong with the standard radiator with an extractor fan? Any time the air is cooler than your working fluid, you have compressorless chilling!

I hear ya but right now heat is my biggest enemy come summer time and trying to find a efficient way to cool without having to run more complicated gear that requires more watts.I am kinda tapped out and don't want to draw anymore from the grid.
 
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