Water cooled garden setup help sizing and details

connoisseurde420 · Apr 25, 2013

I will take some pics so yall can see

woodsmaneh · Apr 25, 2013

here is the set-up for this year and I am going to change the pump from a 300 gph to 500 gph to increase cooling, and I might add another fan maybe, I just can`t leave things alone LOL... ;)

I moved the system and have it running so will post some pix later

SodaLicious · Apr 25, 2013

woodsmaneh said:
here is the set-up for this year and I am going to change the pump from a 300 gph to 500 gph to increase cooling, and I might add another fan maybe, I just can`t leave things alone LOL... ;)

I moved the system and have it running so will post some pix later

View attachment 308439 View attachment 308440 View attachment 308441

That belt needs to be tightened on your fan. if you ran a straight edge from one pulley to the next and depressed your belt, it should only be 1/2 inch away from your straight edge.

So that rad cools your room with 8 1000w lights??

ttystikk · Apr 25, 2013

The radiators only pick up the heat. The water transfers it and the chiller does the cooling.

woodsmaneh · Apr 25, 2013

SodaLicious said:
That belt needs to be tightened on your fan. if you ran a straight edge from one pulley to the next and depressed your belt, it should only be 1/2 inch away from your straight edge.

So that rad cools your room with 8 1000w lights??

Yes it does and lets not forget the ten 20 gal barrels filled with 65 degree water, they act as cooling and all my lights are in cool tubes with 8 and 6" fans.

Yup the belt needs to be tightened when it's set up but over the winter when I don't use it, I slack the belt off so as to not stress anything.

The rad has 2 functions, as ttystikk pointed out the rad is a big heat sink and it also provides cool air as the water going in is 65 degrees. The room is also below ground level. I don't run the fan on the rad during lights off as the room stays at 70 when lights are out.

The rad is part of the total cooling solution for my room, I replaced a 2 ton split with the rad and it works fine, I'm also not paying for the split anymore which puts $$ back in my pockets. There is a cost to run the rad but that is the motor and a very small part of the chiller cost which is mice nuts compared to running the split.

ttystikk · Apr 25, 2013

I'm completely sold on using chillers! I'm researching heat pumps; there's a new natural gas powered type that looks like it might work really well for our needs, but it looks to be a bit spendy and unproven just yet.

One Flip · Apr 25, 2013

ttystikk said:
I'm completely sold on using chillers! I'm researching heat pumps; there's a new natural gas powered type that looks like it might work really well for our needs, but it looks to be a bit spendy and unproven just yet.

Please lemme know what you find out tty.

connoisseurde420 · Apr 25, 2013

here's my chiller and 20 gal res...

woodsmaneh · Apr 26, 2013

I have my chillers outside as they generate lots of heat, I also have my ballast and air pumps outside also.

ttystikk · Apr 26, 2013

woodsmaneh said:
I have my chillers outside as they generate lots of heat, I also have my ballast and air pumps outside also.

My chiller is a window mount unit, and it spends all summer with its ass hanging out the window and all winter inside keeping my house warm!

connoisseurde420 · Apr 26, 2013

mine is inside garage.. I know what you're thinking omg its hot in that biotch. well that 10'' ducting is leftover from the fan I mounted to the roof to exhaust the heat which is working well by the way probably a 1000 or so cfm for 2 car garage oversized. the flowers are in a sealed room and plan on adding more lights in tents as I don't want to modifiy this house much... its really too nice to have a grow hacked in to it lol. I read a lot before making this plan and it does create too much heat when its working with the load of the light on without that fan. thanks guys people like tyy helped push me this direction but I'm more than glad I did. with open bulbs I should be able to easily keep temps under 75 wich is my goal. I will be able to independently cool my separate areas and hopefully using less power. plan on upgrading in the future to a nice chillking or something bit ecoplus is putting in work right now haha. thanks for all the replies .

ttystikk · Apr 26, 2013

I used a big 1" line from my pump outlet to a T fitting that brought it down to two 3/4" lines. Each of these runs to an inlet manifold- which you can put anywhere you can reach with all the circuit lines. I used 6 way copper Pex manifolds, for like $30 each at home dePot. 3/4" inlets at both ends, so cap one end and use the other. 1/2" fittings leave the manifold and go through a plastic 1/2" valve and then on to the serviced device; cooler, dehuey, or RDWC coil. The return trip goes to another Pex manifold- but not before another set of 1/2" valves, to isolate each circuit at both ends and allow for your access while the system remains online... (!!) The 3/4" line carrying water from the return manifold back to the reservoir should NOT be combined with other returns, so as to maintain a state of lower pressure than the inlet lines and thereby self balance water flows.The line to the chiller is a separate 1/2" line that feeds from a fitting screwed into the face of the pump- mine has two such fittings- and then travels to the chiller, through its chiller tank and then back to the same reservoir as the return water. The pump itself sits beneath the res- a 55 gallon drum- and is fed through a nylon reinforced hose, necessary to resist the pump's low inlet pressure that tries to suck it flat! Yes, it is wise to install another valve, mine is a 1" ball valve type, at the base of the reservoir. This gives you the perfect place to store all the fluid in your chiller system should you ever need to replace a major component, because you will. Might as well make it painless...I did mention earlier my 2 Ton chiller is a window mount style, and therefore portable. Two guys can put it in the back of any station wagon and take it to the hvac shop. Handy- and saves the cost of a service call, let alone smirking explanations!

This concludes today's class in Applied Water Cooling in Indoor Agriculture, lol. Copied from another thread because this is relevant here, too. Note: the muffin fan, Icebox cooler and 8" duct in the fourth pic are hanging vertically. I took the pic sideways, not thinking about it.

connoisseurde420 · May 5, 2013

that is the unit I want. nice bro gonna take notes on it stuff. what size flotec u got there

ttystikk · May 5, 2013

connoisseurde420 said:
that is the unit I want. nice bro gonna take notes on it stuff. what size flotec u got there

1/2 hp, you get them from hydro innovations. It runs the whole show. The single ChillKing unit has handled, as in cooled and dehumidified 8kW of sealed and vented lights per shift in two shifts on a flip schedule, plus 2 rdwc systems on each side, plus one more rdwc in my veg tent. That's not too shabby for just two tons!

I am planning to upgrade my op to bare bulb, so I'm getting another 2 ton ChillKing window mount unit. It will connect to the other 1/2" fitting on the pump face and otherwise just backstop the first unit, doubling my cooling capacity.

If my numbers are right, I should be able to cool 10-12 bare bulbs at a time, so I have plenty of headroom yet. This also translates into having some spare capacity to cool my house this summer!

iscrog4food · May 7, 2013

can someone do a detailed write up on how exactly to set one of these things up? Also couldn't this same concept work without any power during the winter in a cold climate with no chiller?

ttystikk · May 7, 2013

iscrog4food said:
can someone do a detailed write up on how exactly to set one of these things up? Also couldn't this same concept work without any power during the winter in a cold climate with no chiller?

I'm not sure how much more detail I can give you than what's already above. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have.

To do this in cold weather, start by using a mix of half and half water and propylene glycol- 'rv' antifreeze, this is non toxic. Do NOT use ethylene glycol, or 'normal' antifreeze, anywhere near a food crop. Ever. Set up the outside heat exchanger do you can suck cold air through it- don't blow through this side, you'll hurt your efficiency. Set up a thermostat so the cold water doesn't get too cold, or you will have condensation problems.

Blow air through the inside heat exchangers- don't suck through these, as potential condensation will destroy your fan, and again such placement is inefficient indoors.

Careful management of the fluid temps in your cooling system will allow you to control your temps, humidity (and therefor dewpoint) and even cool your hydroponic systems like rdwc if necessary.

iscrog4food · May 8, 2013

ttystikk said:
Careful management of the fluid temps in your cooling system will allow you to control your temps, humidity (and therefor dewpoint) and even cool your hydroponic systems like rdwc if necessary.

Ok so basically it is just a large rez with a chiller, connected to a heat sink (The radiator) with a fan behind the radiator to increase the amount of air contacting the radiator? what do you do about the condensation because in your pic it looks like those tubes are pretty wet. I like this Idea though seems solid.

ttystikk · May 8, 2013

My lines drip a bit in the rooms, but it's harmless. RH is stable, temps on lock, co2 whenever I want.

It's a big chiller- 2 tons- and yes, it makes cold water which then returns to the res, where it circulates throughout the rest of the system. The advantages are many; you can place the chiller away from the garden, outside the window in summer and heating your home in winter(!), chilling multiple rooms and systems at the same time. I even set up my system to be able to shut off individual circuits at will and remove or reconfigure them, without ever taking the rest of the system offline or impeding it in any way. If you can install a water hose, you can build your chiller system. If your chiller needs service, you can stick it in your car to carry it to the shop. I needn't tell you how nice that feels!

UCMETOO · Jul 30, 2013

ttystikk said:
My lines drip a bit in the rooms, but it's harmless. RH is stable, temps on lock, co2 whenever I want.

It's a big chiller- 2 tons- and yes, it makes cold water which then returns to the res, where it circulates throughout the rest of the system. The advantages are many; you can place the chiller away from the garden, outside the window in summer and heating your home in winter(!), chilling multiple rooms and systems at the same time. I even set up my system to be able to shut off individual circuits at will and remove or reconfigure them, without ever taking the rest of the system offline or impeding it in any way. If you can install a water hose, you can build your chiller system. If your chiller needs service, you can stick it in your car to carry it to the shop. I needn't tell you how nice that feels!

Wise, this one is!

glad to know as i go to 16K over the winter, that the strategy is already being proven!!!!

UCMETOO · Jul 30, 2013

woodsmaneh said:
I have my chillers outside as they generate lots of heat, I also have my ballast and air pumps outside also.

Love what your doing,.....so much i'm following suit! Very curious what temp your running your Chilled Res temp at,........more specifically i wonder how cold your Res is set at to maintain the heat exchange for your room?

Water cooled garden setup help sizing and details

Water cooled garden setup help sizing and details

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