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Cooling a terrarium with fridge parts?

Hi, has anyone here ever bought an old fridge, strip it naked and place the cold tubing inside a terrarium? (For highland Neps)
I’ve heard about this and would like to know more about it from people who have experience with it.

Things like, how to do it
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, is it difficult or dangerous? What rookie mistakes should I try to avoid? And how much degree can it actually cool a large terrarium for example...

Thanks.
 
I like the concept. I especially like the out of the box thinking. I would avoid electricity and wet. Bad combo. Also, I would avoid plugging bare wires into the same outlet. I speak from experience on that one! It kinda looks like Doc Brown trying to get the electricty from the bell tower / electrical storm to attain 121 gigawatts of electricty, in Back To The Future! That's one of those, "Don't try this one at home" type thingys.
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Hi Phyrex,
Sorry... tried it, does not work.
you will have better luck with an AC. Same price too
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Robin
 
Well I have an old fridge lying somewhere so price is not a factor or something.

But could you explain a little why it didn't work?
Did you not manage to get a system working or when it did work it just didn't cool a lot?

I would like to know any details about your experiment before I do it (which is next week).

Thanks.
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I took apart a brand new small refrigerator roughly 2' x 2' x 2'
I then enclosed the freezer portion of the unit in a rubbermaid tub , with a intake and exhaust hole, with a fan attached on the exhaust side. I then attached a thermometer to the the exhaust end.
There was no difference in temperature after 4 hrs. I think the little freezer unit just did not have the oomph to cool anything not extremely well insulated.
If you have a full size fridge on the other hand you may be able to use it as is.. Just cut a hole in the door and put in a window or plexi-glass. that would probably be your best bet. I'm putting together large freezer set up now. Simply a freezer with a storm window in the lid.
Hope that helps,
Robin
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Thanks for the explanation Rlhirst.

I have a bit larger fridge although not your typical 'large' one. I will still try it since it's old junk anyway.
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Anyway, you said I would be better off with an airconditioner. I was initially planning on doing that (and still am if this doesnt work) and have a ultrasonic fogger in front of the airco to re-humidify the air again.

Do you have an airco setup? If so, how much degree does it actually cool? And do you have any problems with the setup?
 
Phyrex,
The AC cooled a good 20 degrees. I only use it when the outside temps stay over 60 @ night.The problem I have with it, is that the humidifier I use, heats up to 62 degrees. Since the humidifier is on the whole time the ac is on, the temp wont go below that 62 degree mark.
Fortunately, I only need to use the AC for a month or so in the summer.

Good luck with your project! Let us know how it goes,
Robin
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Well 62 degree seems very good to me.
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Currently my room temperature is a constant 72 and with 232 wattage of light on it goes up to 84. As long as it doesn’t go above the 86 it isn’t a big problem right?

60 degree at nighttime is good enough for plants like Rajah, Lowii and Hamata right? (Also have the following on my wishlist: Sibuyanensis, Eymae, Ephippiata, Veitchii and Macrophylla, and then my 100 gallon terra will be no doubt full
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Oh and about your setup, why use a steam humidifier when heat is your problem? Why not buy a cheap ultrasonic mister which produces cool mist?
I’ve bought one for 50 euro (New its 125) and it’s great. Insanely quick humidity increase close to 90-100 within 5 minutes.

Ps: How big is your terra Rlhirst?
 
Phyrex,
60 - 86 degrees is pretty good, but I would prefer 50's if possible, especially for Raja. Nice taste in plants Sir!
I do use a ultrasonic humidifier typically, but the ac produces so much dry air, that I had to use a large greenhouse fogger. Perhaps next summer I will try 2 ultrasonic humidifiers at once, to see if that can keep up with the AC.

Here is a pic of my main highland settup.
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Basically a shower stall with a storm door on it. I am very happy with this settup.
Hope that helps,
Robin
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