AC Hack Ground Fogger

[hydehaunt]

Hello, did anyone ever conquer a working design for a hacked refrigerator, freezer, window AC ground fogger? I have old ones of each and would love to try something. Didn't want to reinvent the wheel if a plan was out there or get some direction from the masters here. Any help or thoughts would be great!
Thanks again, HH

[RoxyBlue]

I see there was an older thread about trying this, but it does not appear anyone followed up (at least with posts of successful hacks). Is the intent to use the cooling system of a refrigerator or AC unit as part of a fogger?

[hydehaunt]

Thanks for replying! To answer your question, I think so. I have seen industrial fog chillers that use what appears to be some form of refrigerant system to cool the fog, they don't seem overly complicated, but I just can't seem to wrap my head around a design. Thanks for the help! HH

[Raven'sHollowCemetary]

Hi, just a little thought. I work with extreme cooling systems for computers quite often. One thing the performance computing crowd found long ago was that refrigerator design doesn't allow for constant cycling of the system. They are unfortunately not a continuous duty device, but one that is designed to cool....then maintain that temperature by periodically engaging the compressor when temps exceed the setting of the thermostat. Even under relatively small heat loads (300w or less continuous), they will die in short order.

But, their is a ray of hope in that vast darkness I created above. A/C systems are a continuous duty system that will work 24/7/365. Now, that said, you're going to need a system on the order of around 15K-40K BTU capacity to handle chilling duty on a 1000w load (dependent on the actual fog temps by the time they reach the evaporator.

This is just an educated guess based on 200+ watt overclocked cpu heat load. Which typically would require a phase change cooling system of about 9000 BTU output, to maintain load temps in the 0-5°C (32-34°F). However, this is a direct contact heat load. Whereas the foggers output is not.

In order to save $$$, I would only recommend looking at single stage design, instead of daisy chained multi-staged systems. Multi-staged systems are well beyond the capabilities of even most certified & experienced techs. Requiring special methods of differing coolants used in each stage. Some of which are highly flammable. The multi-stage's are very expensive to build, and hardly worth mentioning for this intended purpose.

Either way, you're not looking at an inexpensive endeavor, even if you have some of the parts available to begin with. Not to discourage you by any means. It's just not an easy project that you have set your sights on. :)

[Ryan Wern]

Aside from the electrical danger, refrigerant can seriously injure and even kill you. It's very cold (duh!) and very toxic. I'd say go rent an industrial one for the night.

[Grouf]

Seems like the Window AC unit has a few easy options to make it work, but I haven't really thought about it till now. Good luck...