Skyl3r's Chillbox Build Log
Introduction
Hello everyone! I'm excited to share with you all my first attempt at making a chillbox. I started last night and I'll be continuing today and on throughout the weekend until it's done. I'm hoping some of the more experienced among you will be able to give me suggestions and pointers as I go.
Post 1 - Design Phase
The AC Unit
To do this, I'll be using a 12,000 BTU AC I picked up for $50. If it works well and I don't break anything in the process, I may purchase a 15,000BTU.
The first step was to rip all the housings off and take off (read as "destroy") the fan.
After this, I plugged it in and got it to turn the compressor on by breathing on the temperature probe. I may end up attaching this to the condenser; which seems to be a reasonable bet for a constant source of >60C
Good news! It's cold!
The Cabinet
This is my design for the cabinet I want to put it in. The bottom shelf will probably be vented so I can get some airflow over the condenser.
The left side of the middle shelf will be the chillbox. It will be 4" thick expanded polystyrene on all sides except for the front. which will be open. It will have gasket adhered to all edges of the polystyrene which will come in contact with gasket on the cabinet door when closed. The board going up the middle is for a locking mechanism to ensure a solid seal on the gaskets when the door is closed as well as to prevent an interested person from trying to open it while it's cold.
The hole on the bottom of the second shelf is for the silicone tubing to run through (It may be moved more towards the center). The hole on the wall in the middle of the second shelf is for all wiring to escape through. The right half will be for the PSU, SSD, temperature monitors, etc.
The top shelf is for my stereo receiver and record player
I'll probably shorten it a little bit, as it's really just obnoxiously and unnecessarily tall as is. But anyways, I'll have to decide what kind of wood I want to use then make it down to home depot tomorrow or saturday to pick up Gorilla glue, epoxy, screws and the wood.
Please feel free to give suggestions before I shoot myself in the foot
Other Parts
So, today I went ahead and ordered more parts to continue my build. I already have waterblocks for my CPU and GPU's and a 360mm radiator, which I think will be adequate for chilling the chillbox. I ordered a temperature sensor with LCD display to monitor the temperature in the chillbox and an inline temperature sensor with LCD display to monitor the temperature of the coolant.
I also ordered some barbed hose fittings and a bunch of silicone tubing. I'm gonna do clear cheap tubing up to the chillbox from the radiator, then some nicer looking primoflex tubing for the components.
While typing this I found Silverstone's PSU extension cables with white sleeves. Man would that look sick with my build. I'm using an MSI XPower x370, Crucial Ballistix Sport LT (The white ones). The other benefit is I can leave the wires stuck in there and still swap PSU's.
The Computer
I'll be testing first empty, then with an old athlon board to verify it's working and won't damage the board. The system going in there will be:
Introduction
Hello everyone! I'm excited to share with you all my first attempt at making a chillbox. I started last night and I'll be continuing today and on throughout the weekend until it's done. I'm hoping some of the more experienced among you will be able to give me suggestions and pointers as I go.
Post 1 - Design Phase
The AC Unit
To do this, I'll be using a 12,000 BTU AC I picked up for $50. If it works well and I don't break anything in the process, I may purchase a 15,000BTU.
The first step was to rip all the housings off and take off (read as "destroy") the fan.
After this, I plugged it in and got it to turn the compressor on by breathing on the temperature probe. I may end up attaching this to the condenser; which seems to be a reasonable bet for a constant source of >60C
Good news! It's cold!
The Cabinet
This is my design for the cabinet I want to put it in. The bottom shelf will probably be vented so I can get some airflow over the condenser.
The left side of the middle shelf will be the chillbox. It will be 4" thick expanded polystyrene on all sides except for the front. which will be open. It will have gasket adhered to all edges of the polystyrene which will come in contact with gasket on the cabinet door when closed. The board going up the middle is for a locking mechanism to ensure a solid seal on the gaskets when the door is closed as well as to prevent an interested person from trying to open it while it's cold.
The hole on the bottom of the second shelf is for the silicone tubing to run through (It may be moved more towards the center). The hole on the wall in the middle of the second shelf is for all wiring to escape through. The right half will be for the PSU, SSD, temperature monitors, etc.
The top shelf is for my stereo receiver and record player
Please feel free to give suggestions before I shoot myself in the foot
Other Parts
So, today I went ahead and ordered more parts to continue my build. I already have waterblocks for my CPU and GPU's and a 360mm radiator, which I think will be adequate for chilling the chillbox. I ordered a temperature sensor with LCD display to monitor the temperature in the chillbox and an inline temperature sensor with LCD display to monitor the temperature of the coolant.
I also ordered some barbed hose fittings and a bunch of silicone tubing. I'm gonna do clear cheap tubing up to the chillbox from the radiator, then some nicer looking primoflex tubing for the components.
While typing this I found Silverstone's PSU extension cables with white sleeves. Man would that look sick with my build. I'm using an MSI XPower x370, Crucial Ballistix Sport LT (The white ones). The other benefit is I can leave the wires stuck in there and still swap PSU's.
The Computer
I'll be testing first empty, then with an old athlon board to verify it's working and won't damage the board. The system going in there will be:
- MSI XPower x370
- Ryzen 1800x
- Crucial Ballistix Sport LT
- Crossfire Fury X's