ice box cooling

[bizzy323]

hey guys what you guys think abou the ice box +water chiller to cool 1000watt light system? anyone here using the ice box?

 

[4u2sm0ke]

I was looking into one those a year ago but decided against because of the Water needed next to 1000HPS :doh:

Im a bit Paranoid


take care and be safe

 

[ozzydiodude]

Water and electricity too close scare me.

 

[bizzy323]

yea true but i got gfi buster on all my lights as soon water touches anything it turns everything off...i just dont have to many choices when it's 100F+ everyday and lowest it gets at night is 80F

 

[Hushpuppy]

I have been looking at the same setup for my system. I think if yu set it up a few feet away from the light, yu should be ok. However, yu need to make sure that there is a way to expell the condensation that will build up on the coil. Especially if yer pulling air from outside yer house that can get quite humid depending on where yu are. If it isn't removed within the unit, it may build up and run down the flex tube and cause new problems. I would think the unit is made with a drain port in the housing to allow for removing condensation just like any other AC coil. If not I would drill a hole in it at the lowest point to allow the air pressure to force it to drain. maybe even look at turning the unit so that one corner points downward and drill a hole there.

I would also be careful about getting the air exchange too cool as the very cold air meeting a very hot bulb could cause the bulb to burst. Whearas if the air is only just cool (rather than cold) it shouldn't be a problem, and may cut down on the condensation issue.

 

[bizzy323]

what do you mean drill a hole? where? the water will leak out if i drill holes

 

[pawpaw]

I would also be careful about getting the air exchange too cool as the very cold air meeting a very hot bulb could cause the bulb to burst. Whearas if the air is only just cool (rather than cold) it shouldn't be a problem, and may cut down on the condensation issue.

If the cooling unit is running when the lamp is started there should be no thermal shock to the bulb. It would only be a problem if the cooling stream was so close or so directed that the area of the bulb that the cooling stream hitting caused the bulb to develop a sufficient temperature differential across its surface to fracture the bulb. If you are talking about running water (>32F, >0C) through the heat exchanger my gut feeling is that it is extremely unlikely to be a problem under any circumstances. I also doubt that it would reduce the temperature of the chamber by more than a few degrees.

 

[Hushpuppy]

If the cooling unit is running when the lamp is started there should be no thermal shock to the bulb. It would only be a problem if the cooling stream was so close or so directed that the area of the bulb that the cooling stream hitting caused the bulb to develop a sufficient temperature differential across its surface to fracture the bulb. If you are talking about running water (>32F, >0C) through the heat exchanger my gut feeling is that it is extremely unlikely to be a problem under any circumstances. I also doubt that it would reduce the temperature of the chamber by more than a few degrees.

Yeah, yer most likely right on that. I was thinking in terms of freon use that could really cool things down. (just conjecture though as I really don't know how big of an effect it would be. And the effect would depend on how far away from the light the coil is, and how cold the water is going through the coil)

Bizzy: the hole would be drilled in the plastic case that surrounds the coil, not into the the coil itself, and I wouldn't do it unless I tested it and found that I did have considerable condensation buildup

 

[bizzy323]

ok i get what your saying.....u think there will be water in there?

 

[pawpaw]

I too think there will be significant condensate unless you live in aridzona.

 

[pcduck]

I would also be careful about getting the air exchange too cool as the very cold air meeting a very hot bulb could cause the bulb to burst. Whearas if the air is only just cool (rather than cold) it shouldn't be a problem, and may cut down on the condensation issue.

:confused2:

Didn't they use to use hps bulbs for street and parking lot lights?
Gets mighty cold in some of the places they use them. Without bursting the bulbs when they turn on at night.

 

[pawpaw]

:confused2:

Didn't they use to use hps bulbs for street and parking lot lights?
Gets mighty cold in some of the places they use them. Without bursting the bulbs when they turn on at night.

Good point, looks like the experiment has been run and it's as close to certainly OK as one gets in this world.

 

[Hushpuppy]

The difference here guys is that in a street light, the bulb is contained in a glass bubble and has no direct air blowing on it. regardless of the cold, the bulb warms the inside air as it warms, while in our situation, the bulb warms in the path of a cold breeze that is continually renewing its own cold as it blows against a bulb that is getting continually hotter. I may be completely wrong on this. It may be fine, especially if the temperature of the coolant is only making the air mildly cool (50-60s)f. I intend to stress test mine or talk to the manufacturer of the bulb about it b4 instituting the change

 

[Hushpuppy]

The key to condensation is dew point. If the air coming in has humidity in it, (say yer in the southeast USA) and the dew point is 65degrees, and yer chiller is dropping the temp of the water to 55degrees, then yer coil is going to be 10 degrees below the point where dew forms. This will create constant condensation on that coil that will build up. That is why water runs out from under yer car in the summer when yu have been running yer AC. If yu look at a home AC unit, the evaporator coil in the house air exchanger has a catch pan with a drain hose to remove the condensation buildup. A lot of people neglect to clean these out and sometimes have water spill out from under the unit and rot out the floor beneath it.

 

[pawpaw]

The difference here guys is that in a street light, the bulb is contained in a glass bubble and has no direct air blowing on it.

Yea. I thought I remembered Lowes selling a unit that had a diffuser open at the bottom, but rain blown up into it would surely break the envelope. So I'll chalk that up to faulty memory. The only cautions I have found from manufacturers is:

Scratches on the outer envelope, direct contact with water, or excessive pressure can cause these lamps to break.

This is for MH but I'd expect the envelopes to be pretty much alike in terms of thermal performance.

 

[pcduck]

I would say it is fine.

I have a boat load of hps lights with the open diffuser that they used in a warehouse. I would imagine that on occasions they would open those doors when there was extremely cold temps with blowing snow and ect, blowing across/on them. Just my $0.02 :bong: