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View Full Version : Questions about importing CW5000 Chiller into Australia



Jeff Tsang
08-29-2013, 10:17 AM
Hi All,

I"m very much on the cusp of purchasing my first laser with a 80W RECI, and was going to get the CW5000 chiller. I've realised that it contains r134a refrigerant and now that I've been looking at customs and importation costs, R134a is a HFC which apparently requires a license to import into OZ. a temp license will set you back $400 which quite frankly will render the chiller unaffordable for me, unless you get the supplier to de-gas the machine and provide written evidence before importation.
There seems to be quite a few aussies on this forums, so someone must have brought this chiller in at some point.
Questions I have are:
1. has anyone had experience importing these into Aust and what did they need to do to get it in, pay $$$ or something else?
2. has anyone re-gassed one of these chillers and can I do it myself or do I need to pay more $$$ for someone else to do it?

I was splashing out for the chiller as it seems that it's the way to go plus it dosn't take much space, however if it's costing me more than the ~$400 it already is then I'm seriously considering just going the el-cheapo route with just a water pump buckets and if needed a car radiator to expel the heat.

any quick advice would be appreciated

Cheers,
-Jeff

Joe Hillmann
08-29-2013, 10:32 AM
Do you know any AC guys? They would already have the license so you could have it shipped to them then give them a few bucks and a case of beer.

Joe Hillmann
08-29-2013, 10:35 AM
Also you could look for a second hand chiller. They are used in plastic injection molding. They auctioned some off from a factory near my house a few years ago. They sold for less than scrap value because of the coolent in them.

Jeff Tsang
08-29-2013, 10:52 AM
Joe, thanks for the advice, unfortunately I dont know any aircon guys.

I found a place in aust that does replacement non-cfc/hfc refrigerants in a can so I'd probably go that way and DIY if I can get the supplier to de-gas it for me.
seems a little stupid to me that if I get someone in china to de-gas it - it'll probably just go into the atmosphere and do environmental damage that they're trying to avoid/ask us to pay for when it comes into aust. I'll be double checking with my freight forwarder in the morning that I've read the import requirements correctly.

Anyone own a CW5000 who can check to see if it has a valve to degas it somewhere?

Dave Sheldrake
08-29-2013, 1:24 PM
Jeff,

No they haven't, that's one of the problems with the CW5000 series, if they leak in the joint between the steel coil and aluminium tube they cannot be refilled :(

In all honesty a good water tank (rainwater butt) with 205 litres will be fine with an 80 watt tube on an 8 hour day. Above 80W a chiller is a necessity but at or below 80W they tend to be optional.(this of course depends on ambient temperature)

cheers

Dave

Jeff Tsang
08-29-2013, 8:39 PM
Thanks dave for letting me know about the lack of valve. Looks like I'll be doing it DIY. No other options on the table from the freight forwarder other than pay 400 to get a temp import licence which almost doubles the price of the bloody thing!

Dave Sheldrake
08-29-2013, 9:25 PM
We have restrictions on 134 here as well but it doesn't apply to filled items, only on the gasses themselves. I'm not a big fan of the CW5000 as leaks cannot be fixed (well, refilled afterwards anyways)

cheers

Dave

Tim Drinkwater
08-29-2013, 9:49 PM
Looks like the CW-5000 has 2361 BTU. As a different source you could look into aquarium chillers, somewhere in the 1/4hp to 1/3hp should be pretty close. Would need to add a pump too.

Jeff Tsang
08-30-2013, 12:05 AM
Cheers Tim,
I presume the same problem would apply to aquarium chillers if I'm importing them unless they're Thermo-electric.. will look locally, but I did a quick search previously and found that the cheapest option was to get the cw5000 shipped with the laser.
I also had a quick look at computer water cooler units which are also hard to find as people these days dont have as high heat capacities in their computers than they used to have.. damn you efficient computer technology!

Rodne Gold
08-30-2013, 3:24 AM
Use an old freezer or fridge with a coiled copper pipe and a small pump?

Tim Drinkwater
08-30-2013, 9:21 AM
Cheers Tim,
I presume the same problem would apply to aquarium chillers if I'm importing them unless they're Thermo-electric.. will look locally, but I did a quick search previously and found that the cheapest option was to get the cw5000 shipped with the laser.
I also had a quick look at computer water cooler units which are also hard to find as people these days dont have as high heat capacities in their computers than they used to have.. damn you efficient computer technology!

I didn't express it but sourcing locally was my thought. Should be a lot easier to find a used 1/2HP aquarium chiller than a glass tube CO2 laser chiller :)

Adding a small aquarium chiller inline might be a good option for others that feel there existing chiller is struggling in the summer months.

Jeff Tsang
08-30-2013, 9:44 PM
So I also confirmed with laser supplier (bodor) and they also confirmed with their chiller supplier that there's no way to degas these things so it's scrapped of my order.

Rodney, I considered doing that with a fridge, but then didn't want to release ozone depleting gas into the air to modify it to chill liquid with a plate heat exchanger. Australia has a big enough ozone hole to start with!

Tim, yes I understood that, but aquarium chillers are not that much easier to find here either.. or maybe I"m not looking in the right places. Google dosn't show up with much.

anyway I figure with the amount of energy I need to get rid of I can get away with a big computer radiator ~$20 and home made tec/peltier cooler (thermal block ~$20, Peltier module ~$10, and a thermoelectric controller ~$20 and some tubing ~$10) all up about $80 bucks to give me something that should provide a -2C delta from ambient.

just need to get the parts and test it out for before my laser comes :)

BTW, I also managed to place my order of a 500x600 mini bodor engraver with 80W reci and ruida 6332 controller.. very happy with their sales rep so far.. quick to answer technical questions and absolutely no pressure to place an order.

Cheers for the advice on chillers all.

Mike Lysov
09-02-2013, 7:08 AM
I do not have CW5000 but I guess my chiller is much more powerful(8000BTU) than CW5000 as it is used to cool down two 140W tubes. I do not know what kind refrigerant is used in mine but I have not had any problem importing it to Australia.

Jeff Tsang
09-02-2013, 7:46 AM
Interesting. Thanks for the info Mike. Do you know if it was de-gased before it came into the country? if not you either had non-ozone depleting refrigerant or you got away with it..

I'm not willing to have complications on my laser import as I have a job lined up for it not long after it's scheduled to arrive.

anyway.. a bit of a mini project making my own cooling system will be a bit of fun :) oh other options I considered was taking the condenser/outdoor unit of a split airconditioner and making a chiller out of that. I could even locate it outside, but it is a bit of overkill for a 80W laser and I'd rather it not so noisy.