Refrigeration Project Jagermeister

[Pops]

I found a working Jagermeister cooler in the garbage the other day and I am dismantling it to explore making a A/C refer unit for my boat. My plan is to circulate anti-freeze or maybe grain alcohol in a closed loop where the Jagermeister used to flow (the specs on the machine state that it cools the Jagermeister to 5F). The loop would extend into the ice box to an aluminum plate inside the ice box and then back to the cooling unit. I think that the tubing used in radiant floor heating (some kind of plastic) and the aluminum plates used to transfer the heat to the floors in radiant heating systems would be a great place to start. My problem is that no one in my area uses radiant floor heat (our problem is cooling, not heating). I've checked with heating contractors that I know and hit a blank wall. I've gone on line and found materials available but only in large quantities. What I am wondering, is if there is anyone in the north regions who could grab me a couple of feet of the aluminum plate and 20 ft or so of the plastic piping out of a dumpster at a construction site. I will gladly send you postage and enough extra for a couple shots of Jager. I know that this sounds like a screwball project, but that's me.

 

[Tim R.]

I think you need to lay off the Jager!

 

[appleman]

I didn't know they made an official Jagermeister cooler. I always thought a snow bank worked well.

 

[Roger Long]

Sounds like my kind of project. I'll keep an eye on the dumpsters for you.

 

[Pops]

Thanks Roger. Its got such a cute little compressor, it makes me want to do some useful with it.

 

[Hermit Scott]

I am sending this message from inside a dumpster. I get great wifi here. I looked around but I didn't find any radiant tubing. Do you need a banana peel or perhaps a dirty diaper?

 

[Hermit Scott]

I have a $100, 5200 btu airconditioner window unit. I am going to run stainless tube against the condenser coils in the back and solder them together as much as possible. And take the cooling fan out of the back. Then insulate all that and use my marine water pump to try to cool it. I have marine ac already but it's old and I just have a feeling it will go out soon. If this works, when it goes out I will be ready.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Hermit, I wouldn't do that

I am going to run stainless tube against the condenser coils in the back and solder them together as much as possible. And take the cooling fan out of the back. Then insulate all that and use my marine water pump to try to cool it. If this works, when it goes out I will be ready.

Speaking as an air conditioning engineer, doing it that way will NOT, definitely, get you the heat transfer you need. The reason the fan is there is to draw air OVER the coils and remove the heat. W/o the proper heat transfer you'll overload the system and it will turn off on high head pressure.

In "engineer-speak" what you're trying to do is turn an air cooled unit into a water cooled unit. For the proper heat transfer to work, a water cooled unit needs a heat exchanger to remove the heat and evaporate/condense the refrigerant.

Please, unless ya just wanna throw the unit away right now, which would be a lot less work, try it and see, 'cuz it won't work. You could spend that time hangin' out in the dumpster and coming up with more cool ideas!

 

[Dean5735]

Post that on the "Northern Hombrewer" forum and someone will buy it from you, so you can buy a fridge unit!!

 

[Pops]

Hermit, can that diaper be cleaned? I could use it under my engine for any spills. No thanks on the banana peel. That didn't work (tried smoking one in the sixties).:naughty:

 

[Hermit Scott]

Stu- what about building a fiberglass case and putting antifreeze in it to transfer the heat?
The method I wanted to use will remove heat from the condenser, I just didn't/don't know if it will remove enough. I figured if I could get enough contact with enough solder and get the stainless close enough to the copper, and insulate it well it might work.
The other method I was thinking of is using antifreeze as a medium to transfer the heat. but then I have to be concerned with sealing it well enough as to not leak.
I have the ac all taken apart and I am ready to tear it up if need be. Nothing cool ever gets done unless you are willing to tear stuff up in the process.
(to be clear in the fiberglass case there would be the condenser and a stainless coil with sea water running through it.)

 

[Hermit Scott]

Now I am serious about doing this AC unit. I bought the copper pipe and am ready to bend it.
Will copper last with sea water running through it?
Is the copper pipe you buy at home depot copper nickle or just plain copper?
If copper won't last how about if I get the copper pipe chrome plated?-I know guys that do it pretty cheap.

 

[Ron20324]

Hermit, you might consider starting your own thread. Hijacking is ....

 

[Hermit Scott]

Sorry, I try to post questions in related threads so it doesn't appear I am psoting 1000 questions a day.

 

[Hermit Scott]

MerryPrankster I think you can buy suitable plastic tubing at home depot in the pvc isle. They sell alot of different kinds of plastic tube there. That's what you would want to use from the cooler to the freezer plate. For the freezer plate you could bend 1/4" copper tube into a snake like patten and cover the bottom and maybe up the sides of your ice box. To better absorb the heat from the ice box you could solder an aluminum plate to the copper tubing, that will work similar to having fins like a heat sink.

 

[Ron20324]

Sorry, I try to post questions in related threads so it doesn't appear I am psoting 1000 questions a day.

Trouble is, there starts to be multiple questions, and we can't tell which answer goes to which question. It's called hijacking a thread. :naughty: Start your own threads, please. Don't worry- we can tell you post 1000 questions no matter where they are.