000 - was that a fridge or dehumidifier? and how much did u pay for it? Are you cooling a second circuit or cooling using the refrigerant?

rotor - which models did u try modding cuz i want to buy my stuff through ebay.

BigBen2k - did u buy anything yet?

It's a dehumidifier, found it at sears it was a return and they only wanted $76 for it (originally $249), I guess cuz it's pretty dry here already and so not many people want a dehumdifier.

I'm cooling a second circuit with it. I just unbent the tubing to the evaporator and have it extended behind the unit inside 2 coolers.

-Sidney

is it the Kenmore 65 pint version?

Yup that's the one, probably overkill but it was what was on sale.

Nope, but since cost is an issue, I'm gonna stick it out for a lucky find, like 000.

bigben2k,
When you go to sears you should wonder around in places that you wouldn't think a humidifier would be at, because that's where I found the one I got. At my sears they have a bunch of returned stuff (mainly air conditioners) under a table tucked out of the way in the refrigerator section. It's kinda weird cuz that's upstairs and the dehumidifiers are downstairs (at my sears anyhow). The other weird thing was that at my sears they seem to make piles of returned things all over the store, so you can't just go to a certain area. Anyhow I figured I'd let ya know about that just in case it was like that at your store, I know I just found mine by accident.

-Sidney

Thanks, 000, that's a good tip! My Sears is all on one floor, but that's how most places are, here in Houston, TX!

Do you know what is the BTU rating for that dehumidifier? I looked all over kenmore.com with no luck.

I couldn't find anything either, but I found this:
Model# 05265
Auto Shut-Off: yes--compressor shut down
Collection Pan Size: 21 pints
Depth: 17 1/2 in.
Drain Hose Connection: yes
Height: 20 3/16 in.
Humidistat: humidity control
Number Of Fan Speeds: 2 speeds
Water-Level Control: yes (auto defrost control)
Weight: 45 lbs.
Wheels: yes
Width: 12 9/16 in.

pulls 6.5 amperes on 115 volts in this 750-watt unit

I'm not sure, I've tried to figure that out myself though and haven't been very succesful. The closest thing I've found is the wattage for the unit, I do know the compressor uses r22, which I think means it's fairly powerful. I also found that the fan (the only thing that I can think of besides the compressor) uses 0.4 amps at 115 v, which I think means it's a 46 watt fan. So that leaves about 700 watts for the compressor which is ~ 0.9 hp. I also know that the compressor is a rotary compressor made by lg electronics, but I couldn't find the model on their website. I'll look it over again tonight and see if I find any more info about it.



-Sidney

cool. keep me updated. from the horsepower of the compressor, i believe it will deliver promisable results.

Ok well this is what I found it says on the back of it it's 1.73L/kwh which since it does 65pts/24hrs means that it's a 2527.559 btu unit... that's if you can make that conversion (I think you can but maybe not)

Also there was a little more about the compressor
It's high side is 400 psig, low side is 150 psig, and it has 9.9 oz of r22 in it.

thx for the info man! I went today and got me the same dehumidifier u got. I paid for it 140 bux for a returned one. Open box. I took it home and stripped that baby apart. Too bad when unscrewing the radiator one of them just refused to come off. So i just left it and tomorrow i'll get something from home depot to get it out. i tried several tools but nothing worked. Oh well gotta wait then.

BigBen.. you ain't alone.. I'm beyond crazy..

Anyway.. if you did a phase change and used that peltier too.. I wouldn't be surprised to see you hit -50F under full load.. and -90F no load.. it's completely possible using a 226w peltier..

My phase system consists of a full water cooled condensor.. that is 20ft long and the evaporator is in PVC tubing.. my system water pumps through it.. 3 tubes.. 30ft of evaporator..

1/20HP compressor, r-134a.. not finished yet.. but I expect to see -25F on the evap once it's done.. Be very soon.

Hey, 000 you are here too :)

I am perm banned on ocforum.. But Sam is going to try and get that fixed for me.. I got banned for the stupidest reason.. Having an opinion.. sick touchy cry baby people..

Anyway.. :)

I got the stuff running but the Compressor is too hot. I got the 65pint version from my local Sears for 140. Its a returned item too. I ran it with Texaco antifreeze and the water got to 5Cish. The Peltier ran at -5Cish. I had to turn it off becuz the compressor got too hot.

Put a fan blowing on the compressor.. it will be fine then.. Doesn't need to be a HUGE amount of air.. Also.. if you cool your condensor better you will see better temps on the evaporator and lower temps on the compressor.. I didn't read this whole thread.. how are you running your setup?

He He...:p

Do you have any pics? You never mentionned anything about running the evaporator through PVC tubing!

I put a comair rotron and a 120mm 120v fan on it. It still goes hot. I am thinking that heat is okay because thats what the compressor does, increases pressure therefore making the refrigerant VERY hot.

Yes, the compressor compresses the freon .. adding heat energy to it..

Yea.. I got pics.. I'm just about done with the system..

IF anyone needs to bend copper tubing.. like 1/4" soft tubing.. for your condensor or evaporator and you need to make elbows n stuff.. Fill the tubing with sand.. make sure you fill the whole tubing with it.. cap the ends..

This way you can bend it around and even do tight elbows and the copper won't kink or crush down..

Also, if you have an air compressor and you can get a compression fitting for the hose.. fill the tube with sand.. then put the air compressor on it.. to pack the sand in really tight.. then fill the tube up more and keep doing that.. that way the tubing won't kink at all.. you can really work with it then.

You can get a 50lb bag of sand at home depot for 3 dollars.

i see all the guys here too |PuNiSh3R| what have you done?well i just got mine back up and testing now.tack a look -52.1 on face
-45.9 on the side of the block .not bad .not loaded though i hope to load it this week after i am sure of the system running smooth for a couple of days.

That's cool dude.. Glad you are doing better now.. I fell a bit behind schedule.. and I've made a few changes in my plans.. but I don't feel like spending anymore money on parts so I am going to cheap route now.

Um, pardon my stupidity, but how the heck do you use a dehumidifier to cool your fluid (like with the Kenmore unit)? Could somebody be kind enough to put up a cheese MSPaint diagram? I'm desperately considering anything to lower my temps ....

Ok, On every device that gets cold.. like an air conditioner.. refrigerator.. de-humidifer.. etc.. It has the core components that are true to every device..

Compressor, Condensor, Evaporator

On an AC unit the evaporator gets something like 22F.. On a de-humidifer.. it's probably around 40F (?).. and of course on a frige it's whatever you want it to be..

So if you strip the guts out of a de-humidifer you will end up with those core components.. which you can use to chill water..

That's the easiest way of explaining things.. I suck with any art program..

|PuNiSh3R| take a look.
well first day of testing .so i thought what the hell get out the big peltier. 156watts at 13.8 volts.full loaded my block .didnt do bad at all.i had to adjust the freon some.caused my no load temps to go from -53.5 down to -45. but at least is keeping the block cold.i have 3 probes.one one the cold plate reading-43.3 one on the hot side of the peltier reading -7.5 on one on the block reading -27.7.not too bad so far.

ARGH, I was only able to get my unit to go to -7 C (water temp). I am using the cold water to cool the compressor.

water cooling the compressor is completely useless and is a waste..

Just put a fan on it.. doesn't even need to be a high CFM fan...

Nice work BOWMAN

Nice work!

That's what I'd like to get into, but I don't have enough info to build my own assembly from scratch. Your website has some info, but did you ever write up an article about it?

Punisher: the temps that you reach depend on the refrigerant that you use: R-22 (dehumidifier) will reach a lower temp than R-134A(fridge).

Its not a waste to cool the compressor. Should I pump more R22 into my system to get it colder? Cuz i think -7C water temp is crap. I expected better.

Adding more refrigerant is tricky, but overall, no, you're not likely to get much improvement, since the system is probably already running at capacity.

Cooling the compressor with a small fan is probably your best bet. If you're watercooling your compressor, then you're also cooling some of the refrigerant, as the compressor heats up the refrigerant. It's ok, they're designed that way.

I'd be frustrated too, if my coolant temp was only -7C.