Show us your DIY AC Glycol Chiller enclosure

[cubsfan16]

I'm considering building a AC glycol chiller using project plans here on the forum but I'm having a hard time finding ideas on how to make it look nice. I would like to keep my basement brewery looking nice and after explaining and showing the wife what I was planning on doing, her response was...."will it look like that?"

There are plenty of build threads but most are stopping with the AC and cooler on a piece of plywood with casters. I may be going to a Penguin or SS chiller if I can figure out a way to make it look nice. Thanks!

 

[cubsfan16]

No dice?! Hoping someone did something with some 80/20 or some nice woodworking

 

[Jag75]

Hey , I just ordered my ac unit. Will get it in a few days . My plan is to use square tubing to make a frame to set it on. Sheet metal sides . Caster wheels on the bottom. I'll paint the frame black and put my logo sticker on the side .

 

[cubsfan16]

Cool, post some pics when you are done. I ended up just building a square plywood box, painted it black and added casters and hinged lid. I was able to tuck it away in a corner and store some misc brewing equipment on it. It’s chilling 6gal of Medusa /Strata IPA in my spike unitank as we speak.

 

[Drumminguy81]

Not the best picture but this is mine. I used a craigslist $20 window ac and a stainless cooler I picked up on Ebay. Put it on a harbor freight furniture dolley. Total <$100. Been running great for 4 years cooling three 22 gallon fermenters.

 

[Chihuahuita brewing]

Here's the one I built. Had the old window unit, cooler from Home Depot, moving cart from Harbor Freight, 1 can spray paint. Altogether it cost around $60.

 

[DeMalt]

 

[DeMalt]

I wanted a place to land my fermentor and move it around for pressure transfer into keg. The foam lid works better then the flip up lid and adding the inspection door on top allows me to mess with the pumps if I need to

 

[TheMadKing]

I'm going to reassurect this thread with hope for more ideas on enclosures

I have built my chiller but I don't do ugly, and I'm not a fan of the plywood boxes.

I have some 80/20 to work with, and I'm also looking at server cabinets, a printer cabinet, or a metal trunk or job box

My space requirements are 24"W x 24"L x 18" tall, interior.

Would love some ideas from the hive mind!

 

[TheMadKing]

https://www.ecomfort.com/Goodman-90G36H/p76997.html
I think this will work, a plenum kit, a grille cover, a couple hole punches, some bulkheads for cooling lines, and a coat of paint.

I can mount it directly to a wood base and then put the whole thing on casters

Anyone have any tips for assembly or other features that might be nice to have? Maybe a hinged top door?

 

[TheMadKing]

Well since nobody stepped up, I figured it out myself. Here's my DIY enclosure with aesthetics in mind:

Wasn't the cheapest, with fittings and parts coming in around $250 not including the AC unit and cooler, but it could certainly be done cheaper.

Next steps are: I need to plumb in the glycol lines through dripless bulkhead fittings from US plastics ($70 worth of fittings), paint it white, and do a full functionality test.

The metal body is a HVAC plenum attached to a 2x2 frame held together with pocket screws. The lid is made rigid by angle aluminum and corner braces.

All of the metal parts are attached by self drilling 1/2" metal screws

 

[Tom R]

Snazzy! Mine's just a painted plywood box.
Looks like you have plenty of room for soundproofing if the metal resonates.

You'll love it! And lagers are so easy now!

 

[TheMadKing]

Snazzy! Mine's just a painted plywood box.
Looks like you have plenty of room for soundproofing if the metal resonates.

You'll love it! And lagers are so easy now!

Yep my one complaint is the size. I built it around the size of the metal plenum to reduce the amount of cutting I needed to do. In hindsight I would buy sheet metal duct panels from home depot and make it much smaller.

 

[Tom R]

Mine is fairly large also, 20"x24"x35". That's as small as I could make it using the cooler which fit the evaporator.

No big deal, I made a work table that it lives under, so the space it occupies serves two needs.

 

[TheMadKing]

Mine is fairly large also, 20"x24"x35". That's as small as I could make it using the cooler which fit the evaporator.

No big deal, I made a work table that it lives under, so the space it occupies serves two needs.View attachment 683108

What did you build your enclosure from? Looks like a printer cabinet

Incidentally those are the exact same dimensions as mine haha

Edit: oh painted plywood you said that above

That looks really nice though

 

[Tom R]

It's 6mm plywood with wood framing. The $50 craigslist A/C sits on a platform to be the same height as the top of the cooler. It needs 11 gallons to cover the evaporator, so the glycol was expensive. I couldn't find a small, deep cooler. I almost made my own out of foam and fiberglass, but didn't want to "grow the job" that much.

I should label the switches. The one on the left is power, the other selects heating or cooling. Two Inkbirds for glycol and conical temps. 500W Dernord immersion heater for heat.

Works perfectly. I have about $250 into it.