Post by
AGM »
https://forums.nicoclub.com/agm-u135.html
Sat Nov 29, 2003 5:51 pm
Hope this information I detail below is useful
I looked in detail at the viability of an electric water chiller in the boot. The problem with a fridge type is that it requires 240 volt, is large, takes a long time to chill, heats up easily and draws a lot of power to chill even if you use a converter to conver the 12 volt to 240 volt.
All 12 volt friges that I came across have such a low BTU that I did not pursue them.
When researching, I was amazed at just how much energy is required to chill water.
There are two types of water chillers, with the most adaptable being those used in cold water fish aquariams. There are two types, regrigerant and peltier. They both have the same problems of size, cost, time to chill ect mentioned above.
It is much easier to simply build a box and throw some ice in, allowing for an overflow pipe when the ice melts.
It is cheap, lasts for a fairly long time and acheives very low temps.
After a lot of research, I decided to utilise what is already in the car. I have plumbed in a commercial 'plate' style of heat exchanger on the suction side of the A/C just before the compressor.so that it causes minimum interferance with the cooling inside the car.
This chills the water and is currently just recirculating back into my storage tank until I decide what to do with this chilled water. Now that I have a chilled water line, at a lot less cost than introducing a stand alone water chiller device, I plan to experiment with how to best use this chilled water. ie store and use for a short burst or have running through a secondary intercooler, so that I have it on constantly, but not as dramatic as bursts of power.
I am leaning towards having a constant level of power.
Regards
AGM