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Thread: Your diy cooling setup?

  1. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Matt McCoy View Post
    Thanks Rodne -- good info.

    What's your opinion on something like this?

    http://http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0048IVBT4/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2CXIDX PR1SRQR

    EDIT: Here's the correct model (2300 BTU)

    http://hydrofarm.com/p/AACH25

    It's what I'm using.... Works GREAT. My garage is hot and the water can start at 90*F. I can bring it down to a rock solid 68*F and hold it there without a problem.
    IMG_3296.jpg
    Jeff Body
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  2. #17
    Yea Rodne better keep a heavy coat handy, this is what I live with. AVG Temps in Phoenix high and lows
    95 69 May 35 21
    104 77 June 40 25
    106 83 July 41 28
    104 82 August 40 28
    100 75 September 38 24
    89 64 October 32 18




    Quote Originally Posted by Matt McCoy View Post
    Some things that should probably also be discussed in regards to chillers (DIY or otherwise) is ambient temp of your space, tube size, percentage of power used, and daily use. Some alternative cooling solutions will work fine for hobbyists, but not for manufacturing. Of course, something like a CW5000 might be overkill for an occasional tinkerer in a mild climate.

    I received a free CW3000 chiller that I goofed around with adding an additional 5 gallon reservoir with ice packs. The pump bogged down trying to move that much water and created a lot of bubbles. With just the CW3000, my working temps were 25-35 degrees on a 80 W tube in a very hot space.

    BTW Rodne, I checked the average monthly temperatures for Cape Town, since you mentioned that it gets quite hot. That looks like paradise to those that live in Texas during August. Be sure to bundle up this summer.
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  3. #18
    So what would you call Phoenix weather? Summer, hot, H*** extrem H***

    Quote Originally Posted by Malcolm McLeod View Post
    Texas weather gets such a bad rap! We have true 4-season climate: early summer, mid-summer, late summer, and that cold day.


    Matt, have you heard what the designated cold day is for 2016?
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  4. #19
    Jeff at that price why not just get a c5000 not that much more and will most likely outlast and work better in thr long run.I hate the price of the 5000 but I'm not going to spend over 500 on an aquarium cooler when for a couple hundred more I get a much better unit and it will last.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Body View Post
    It's what I'm using.... Works GREAT. My garage is hot and the water can start at 90*F. I can bring it down to a rock solid 68*F and hold it there without a problem.
    IMG_3296.jpg
    If the Help and advice you received here was of any VALUE to you PLEASE! Become a Contributor
    Rabbit RL_XX_6040-60 watt Laser engraving/cutting machine Oh wait its a 3D Printer my bad LOL
    Lasercut 5.3
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    10" Table Saw
    8" bench mount 5 speed Drill Press
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  5. #20
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    And remember he is really using a overdriven 40 watt tube, not a true 50 or 60 watt one. BTU wise, a 1/10 hp unit is on par with a drinking water fountain, really less. The capacity is just not there.
    Retired Guy- Central Iowa.HVAC/R , Cloudray Galvo Fiber , -Windows 10

  6. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill George View Post
    And remember he is really using a overdriven 40 watt tube, not a true 50 or 60 watt one. BTU wise, a 1/10 hp unit is on par with a drinking water fountain, really less. The capacity is just not there.

    It's actually the 1/4 HP (2300 BTU).

    The Aqua chiller is 200-$300 less.

  7. #22
    My whole setup cost $450 shipped overnight (Because I'm impatient and I feel it's well worth the extra $10-$15) from amazon prime.
    I have as much BTU as a CW5000 so there's more then enough room to grow if I get a bigger laser.
    Aquarium chiller is designed to run 24/7 to maintain the temp of an aquarium so I'm not worried about using for large amounts of time.

    When I moved the laser into the garage I had to do something because it was so hot in there. For the price of a CW3000 I have an active chiller that can maintain a solid temp of what ever I set it at. Currently 68* doesn't cause condensation. I'm sure once fall hits and the air is dryer I'll be able to lower the temp even more without a problem.
    Last edited by Jeff Body; 08-20-2015 at 1:34 PM.
    Jeff Body
    Go-C Graphics

    China 50W Laser
    Model # SH-350
    Controller RDC6442
    Vinyl Plotter Graphtec CE600-60
    Software used
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  8. #23

    After a few hours engraving here are my temps.

    So after a few hours of engraving I am at 77F 25 Celsius with my diy setup
    Redsail x700, 50watt & Shenhui 350, 50 watt

  9. #24
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    Anyone has any experience in DIY chiller with window AC unit? I can get a 8000btu used window AC unit for like maybe 100 bucks, but the CW5000 costs like 300 bucks plus shipping from China (that's another 100RMB on top of that). I'm running my laser in a place without a lot of AC and water temp is at least 35C in the summer. However a CW5000 is ready to go whereas I have to somehow build a water box around a Window AC unit... I looked everywhere for chiller units and the cheapest I can find is buying the CW5000 from Taobao.

    I don't use the laser in the summer because of the heat...
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  10. #25
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    If you think you can buy a REAL CW5000 for $300 or even $400 you are kidding yourself. A REAL, as in OEM S&A CW5000 CHILLER is $600. Don't buy a fake knockoff. They are built with poor components, are are just CW3000 radiators marketed as 5000 models. But I wouldn't try and use a window air conditioner. Won't work. Direct Air exchange to cool a coil might help a couple of degrees. And if you tried to contain air with duct, you will probably reduce life of the AIR conditioner.
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  11. #26
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    The CW5000 is 600 dollars in the US because you are buying it with dealer's markup. These things are all made in China.

    What I mean is put the cooling coil of the window AC unit into water and to cool water this way.
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  12. #27
    Yes, you can cool the water that way. An even easier way is to buy a small $120 refrigerator, drill two holes in the door for the water lines, and run the lines into/out of a 2 or 3 gallon container of water keeping cold inside.

    The problem with a homemade setup, as I see it, is regulating the water temp, especially with using an AC refer unit. A small fridge with a large enough water supply may be able to keep with the cooling demand as the laser warms the water, but I don't know for sure, and it would depend on how fast the tube is heating the water...

    My C5200 cooler, in my garage shop which gets well above 80°F ambient in the summer, keeps the water temp between 19.7°C and 20.9°C, I have NEVER seen the temp above or below these numbers in use.
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  13. #28
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    I have an extra small 2 door fridge lying around. Was thinking of just taking everything apart and then stick the cooling coil into the bucket. The bucket is a 5 gallon bucket filled with water. I already have it so I don't have to spend any money. The problem is the fridge compressor is only around 100 watts which I am not sure if it's enough to cool the water.

    I heard the C5200 chiller weights quite a lot though..
    Typhoon Guitars

  14. #29
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    Yes, I agree with Kev, if you put coil in water it would be way better than air to metal. But sometimes it is better to pay for a real tool. I'm 62 and have found out I can cobble a lot of stuff together, but then it really NEVER works quite the way you expect, and want it to. You can 'get by', but I usually end up buying what I really thought I didn't have to. Weight is about 50 pounds filled. (maybe slightly less)
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