Last year I wanted to build a tank to house my highland Nepenthes that would be coming from Wistuba. Since some of them are ultra highlands I needed to get the tank extra cold at night. I went looking around on the web for ideas but most of the methods people use to cool down their setups we're rather bulky, unsightly, expensive, noisy, and consumed a lot of power. After seeing the mess of cooling units on the web I decided to make my own cooling device using simple, easy to obtain, cheap, and small parts. In the end I created what I call a T.E.C.U. (Thermo Electric Cooling Unit).
The whole device cost as followed:
Power supply unit from an old PC: FREE
Old LGA775 heatsink from old PC: FREE
1, 91watt peltier chip: $2.50
Thermal grease: $5
Corsair H50 CPU cooler: $65
Silicone sealant: $10
Total: $82.50
To understand how this all works, I made a demonstration video to help show the principles behind it and to show what the final device looks like. Sadly I can not construct a full model at this given time due to my crappy job only paying me $7.50 an hour and only giving me 11 hours to work in a week. I can show the device in it's final stage, it's not too hard to build once you get the parts. I can help anyone who has questions if they're confused about putting together the full working model. It can look a bit daunting at first, but if you understand basic wiring this really isn't that hard at all.
~*Click here to view the video I made as a demonstration/instructional. Enjoy!*~
Also, I would like to suggest purchasing the following items as well. They are not necessary for this all to work yet they are very handy and help make the whole system run better.
Repti Fogger[/url]: Great for pumping in moisture for your CP's. Helps get the air nice and humid for them. The only downside it the small 1 liter water cartridge. It's probably best just to rig it up so that it has a large reservoir of water to feed into it. Slight modification to do that, but anyone with DIY skills should be able to figure that out.
HygroTherm[/url]: Great way to control the humidity levels and temperature at the same time. I use the plug used for "heat" to cool down my tank when night comes. When the lights for the tank turn off at night, the light sensor on the HydroTherm kicks the cooling system (T.E.C.U.) on and chills the tank down to my desired temp of 12C at night. Once it reaches it's goal temp it turns off the T.E.C.U. and keeps it off till the temp rises above the desired night temp.
Styrofoam sheets: I use this to insulate the tank, it helps keep in the cold in my tank and helps cut back on all the light from the grow lights.
Feel free to comment everyone, if you have any questions on how this all works I am more then willing to answer them for you. This is my gift to help the entire CP community and provide a better solution to growing your plants.
The whole device cost as followed:
Power supply unit from an old PC: FREE
Old LGA775 heatsink from old PC: FREE
1, 91watt peltier chip: $2.50
Thermal grease: $5
Corsair H50 CPU cooler: $65
Silicone sealant: $10
Total: $82.50
To understand how this all works, I made a demonstration video to help show the principles behind it and to show what the final device looks like. Sadly I can not construct a full model at this given time due to my crappy job only paying me $7.50 an hour and only giving me 11 hours to work in a week. I can show the device in it's final stage, it's not too hard to build once you get the parts. I can help anyone who has questions if they're confused about putting together the full working model. It can look a bit daunting at first, but if you understand basic wiring this really isn't that hard at all.
~*Click here to view the video I made as a demonstration/instructional. Enjoy!*~
Also, I would like to suggest purchasing the following items as well. They are not necessary for this all to work yet they are very handy and help make the whole system run better.
Repti Fogger[/url]: Great for pumping in moisture for your CP's. Helps get the air nice and humid for them. The only downside it the small 1 liter water cartridge. It's probably best just to rig it up so that it has a large reservoir of water to feed into it. Slight modification to do that, but anyone with DIY skills should be able to figure that out.
HygroTherm[/url]: Great way to control the humidity levels and temperature at the same time. I use the plug used for "heat" to cool down my tank when night comes. When the lights for the tank turn off at night, the light sensor on the HydroTherm kicks the cooling system (T.E.C.U.) on and chills the tank down to my desired temp of 12C at night. Once it reaches it's goal temp it turns off the T.E.C.U. and keeps it off till the temp rises above the desired night temp.
Styrofoam sheets: I use this to insulate the tank, it helps keep in the cold in my tank and helps cut back on all the light from the grow lights.
Feel free to comment everyone, if you have any questions on how this all works I am more then willing to answer them for you. This is my gift to help the entire CP community and provide a better solution to growing your plants.
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