Page 3 - Starting my chiller project today

Alright, was able to make some successful progress today with my project. Some of it was done a while ago though. Anyways, here goes.



As you probably have guessed these are my cooler and condenser shells. The evaporator and condenser coils will go inside them. Essentially they are "reservoirs."

They are both roughly the same length, but the condenser has a longer major diameter, where as the cooler does not.

These are not yet cemented together incase you're wondering. Just the caps on either end. The condenser silicone job is also VERY nasty hehe. Gonna use insulation tape to cover that up. I want it to look like I'd give it to a customer. Who knows, I might be building one of these for someone some day.




That's what I'm thinking of using for a bleed valve. Although I am probably going to ditch this one, and add it in a different part of the system, the concept is the same. Oh and I will be cleaning those brazes

I'll drill a hole into the cap, and insert a screw with an o-ring. The o-ring will seal when the screw is tightened. Loosen it for bleeding. It also acts as a good relief valve. In these high flow systems, pressure can build. Having it open ensures that it cannot later form a leak.

Because of the system volume however, I've bought extra materials to devise a larger overflow bleed system. We'll see how that turns out.

*This post ends here, posting next one as we speak*

This picture is kinda blurry, and I'm too lazy to go take another better one so I made it smaller. This is what I have devised for what I am calling "The Heat Cancelator!!" hehehe. Kinda stupid, but I thought it was funny.

What I'm going to do is have my big hot side radiator on one end with a shroud, and on the other end a radiator on the cold side. The cold side will have a speed controlled fan to mix a higher or lower volume of air with the warmer air depending on the temperature in the room. I am concidering making an extended duct like piece to go behind my desk and blow air in through the back through a blow hole. If not it'll just be room temp control.

Thinking more on what Gebo said a while back, I might use a TXV on this system with a double cappillary distribution to two different cooler shells. One smaller than the other of course. The second loop could be used for the condenser water. I'd appreciate it Mr Gebo if you'd commend on that

*This is the end of the refrigeration section, next is the wood section*

Alright, this is my trusty circular saw. Or rather my dad's. Its been kickin for almost as long as I have, and I'm 23 years old. It has to be at least 17. This is from back when ALL tools were Made in America. Built to last. Now they're made in china and total crap. You can't get a tool these days to last more than a year or two.



This is MY 8.5" Sliding Miter Saw. I bought it last year. This is yet another example of fine workmanship and design. Its made right here in the USA by Dewalt. There were others there, but this one stood out. The Made in China 8.5" sliders had plastic arms, and bases. Talk about cheap. They cost 199 where-as mine cost me a total of 429 bucks. I don't get lured in by those cheap prices. It'll just last a year, break and then I'll have to buy another one. This Dewalt will last a long time! I haven't used it on this project yet but I will. Just thought I'd show another example of an excellent tool.



I'd like to mention first a bad example of a tool. While the saw does its job, its poorly designed. Its likely made in China. The stand is made out of light and flimsy metal. It also is slimmer than the older heavier designs. That weight is crucial in preventing serious injury. This thing tends to want to tip. I've gotta hold it down when I cut.

Moving on. These four pieces are the main body of the chest. Two of them of course will be cut in half for the sides, but that's another day. It took a while to do this task; probably the longest. I used the circular saw to make the first cuts. Then cut each 17 inch wide piece down to 16 inches on the table saw.

It was alot more difficult than it should have been, and dangerous. The blade guard in the back pinches the wood and prevents a frictionless slide. The saw then wants to tip, and I gotta hold it down with my foot. Its pretty hard to do while keeping that wood straight along the guide.

But as you can see from the other two views, I was able to cut them each alike. In reality they are all virtually, no, not virtually... they are all identical in width to 16". Now I was happy when I saw that. And I was able to utilize ALL of that wood. At least the single partial sheet of plywood with little waste.



Finally, we come to the test subject. I wanted to see if the foam would spread on a board evenly. I sprayed some onto the board and spread it with a putty knife and let it cure for 30 minutes. I then came back and spread another layer with my fingers to fill in the gaps and holes. It seems that I was successful. I have yet to check it again after a few hours.

The intent is to create one final barrier. This stuff should absorb any renegade vibrations and prevent any sound from escaping. This will go under a layer of plastic and neoprene. I want to make this system VERY quiet. The pumps might be loud, and any sound from the system I want to get rid of. That way its a nearly silent system. Just the way I like it.

There, finished for now. Hope you enjoy reading.

Also, Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting

*That's required* hehe

Good work!

I'll post some more in a bit. Got some more done today.

Cant wait! ::jumps up and down in excitement::

Well folks, today I made the final cuts and put together the body of the chest.



Those are the pieces of the chest after being cut. Two of them are just over 36 inches, 36.125" to be exact. The other two are 21.25" long. These fit together to form the box.



Before we go further I'd like to point out a handy tool every carpenter should have. Its a 90 degree clamp. With this I was able to hold two pieces at an exact 90 degree angle. Without it things would have been a little harder.



Once I made all the cuts, which took a few hours, I began assembling the chest starting with the sides of course. The above pictues denote the progress. It didn't take very long to fully assemble. But there was a bit of a stumbling block.



No project is without mistakes, unfortunately; unless you're Norm Abram. (For those of you who don't know who that is, he is the host of a show called "The New Yankee Workshop" and a damn fine carpenter.) Anyways, I didn't realize until I put the bottom up to the four assembled sides that I forgot that I had to cut the short sides shorter by 3/4 inches. Therefore the bottom was 3/4" too short leaving the gap in the back. Its no big deal though really, it can be fixed by adding a 3/4" piece of plywood or any other piece of wood to fill in the gap. All in all its a minor error.

Finally, we come to the start of the insulation.



I started spreading the foam. It took two and a half cans for these two surfaces. Basically, I just sprayed it into clumps and spread it with my fingers. Using a putty knife didn't work, and doing this with my hands seemed to make it gel making it easier to spread. It was messy, but the first layer seems to be curing well.

And Next weekend?

I finish up the insulation, and then hunt for some plastic and neoprene for the remaining insulation. After that we make a top, and do some detailing.

This is great stuff, cant wait until your next update!

Thinking more on what Gebo said a while back, I might use a TXV on this system with a double cappillary distribution to two different cooler shells. One smaller than the other of course. The second loop could be used for the condenser water. I'd appreciate it Mr Gebo if you'd commend on that

Well, to use your evaporation cycle to try to cool your condensation cycle would be wasting energy...Remember a phase change system doesn't create cold, it removes heat..That heat you are placing into your condensing loop..So basicly you would be canceling out some of your referigerant cycle by doing that..
What I was sugesting was a single evaporator with parrellel sets of tubing(similar to an a/c evap coil) which would allow a larger evaporation area inside of your heat exchanger to increase the temp differential