The beginnings of a bong/nuclear cooler

Boozer said:
yes i know its going to evaporate. your adding water anyway. i forgot about the fumes tho. it shouldnt be that bad. i help clean pools as a side job, fumes are that bad all day, then again its outside.
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I still think it is a bad idea to add chlorine to a bong cooler :). Your exposure (if you are a heavy user) would probably be higher than if you had a job cleaning pools.

I may be wrong though.

Would betadine work? What if some sort if extra dispenser was made to slowly add some sort of antibacterial agent?
 
"Softswim" is the non-chlorine chemical that is used in swimming pools. No bad smell, it doesn't evaporate, and best of all? It kills all the little green nasties that you're trying to get rid of/prevent.
 
Sheldron said:
"Softswim" is the non-chlorine chemical that is used in swimming pools. No bad smell, it doesn't evaporate, and best of all? It kills all the little green nasties that you're trying to get rid of/prevent.
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There's another one called baquasil (sp?) that is for pools. though, they're prolly the same thing.
 
GodSpeed said:
I mean replacing the water all together with an oil like substance.
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It's the actual act of evaporation that creates the cooling. Otherwise, you simply have a regular cooling loop with a huge hole in it, and no radiator.
 
How much chlorine is bad for you:

No standards exist for the amount of chlorine allowed in the air of homes. We use a formula to convert workplace limits to home limits. Based on the formula, we recommend levels be no higher than 0.01 ppm of chlorine in air. Most people can smell chlorine when levels reach 0.02-3.4 ppm. If you can smell chlorine in your home, the level may be too high to be safe.

and it's effects:

Organ Systems: The main effects of exposure to chlorine gas include diseases of the lung and tooth corrosion. People with previous lung disease, smokers, and those with breathing problems are more sensitive to chlorine.

from http://www.dhfs.state.wi.us/eh/ChemFS/fs/chlorine.htm
 
Check out this page, Especially the Copper and silver ionizer!
Link

This may even prevent corrosion of your block!??
Very interesting; will do some research on this!
:)
 
Sheldron said:
"Softswim" is the non-chlorine chemical that is used in swimming pools. No bad smell, it doesn't evaporate, and best of all? It kills all the little green nasties that you're trying to get rid of/prevent.
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Softswim has been mentioned many times now, I think that if I don't go the UV route, that I'll do this stuff. Is it available in size smaller than would usually be used for a pool?

Also, do I want both A and B, or just either one? C seems to be a 'bather waste' eliminator that I don't need.

It's going to be hard to not overdo this stuff- 2 ounces per 5000 gallon. I think I'll need a micro-syringe to put in a proper amount.

Edit: 0.035 ccs for a 3-gallon system.
 
SpangeMonkee said:
There's another one called baquasil (sp?) that is for pools. though, they're prolly the same thing.
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yup, Baquasil is the same as Softswim. Just a different brand.

As for the parts to use, you'll definately want to use both A and B. the C chemical is a water clarifier... it's just to clear up the color of the water. If you don't mind green or brown water (not anything wrong with it, PH balance is still good) it's not really needed.
 
GodSpeed said:
I mean replacing the water all together with an oil like substance.
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It's been done... even total system submersion in oils. Problem with that is that as temps go down, the viscosity of the oil will slowly increase (the oil becomes thicker) making it harder to pump, and the cooling ability of oil doesn't come close to that of water.
 
The big problem with using chlorine is the fact that it is an oxidizing agent. As it evaporates off with your water it will cause all sorts of things in your home to corode over time. If it is anywhere near your computer you can guess how good this will work out.

I highly suggest using Baquacil.

Also you can increase the efficiency of your cooling tower by adding what they call splash fill.

It may be hard to pull off in a 4" peice of pipe but you probably can do it.

The easiest way off the top of my head.

Go to home depot and purchase a white plastic grid used for a flourescent lighting fixture. They are very cheap and all homes improvement centers have them in stock. It should have about 1/2" grid or so. Cut this into small pieces large enough to fit into the pipe horizontally.

Where the PVC T meets the standpipe put 4 screws in it to support the grids and start stacking them on top each other, not lining up the grids inside the pipe. The object is to increase the amount of time that the water is in contact with the air within the tower. This essentially increases the hieght of the tower and thus increases the pull down on your temp you will get....within reason of course.

If you care to make the calculations, google....... the Merkel Equation.
 
Does anyone have any ideas for administering such small quantities of chemicals? Maybe I'll be forced to make up a large batch of it and use as needed... I don't want to use way too much chemicals, either- one drop is way too much for a 3 gallon system, which is being generous. I was thinking syringes- do they make syringes small enough to accurately give 0.038cc?

I was in the doctor's office today, I should have asked if they had any small syringes... but they probably would have thought I was a druggie looking for a clean needle.
 
GodSpeed said:
I mean replacing the water all together with an oil like substance.
Click to expand...

Sheldron said:
It's been done... even total system submersion in oils. Problem with that is that as temps go down, the viscosity of the oil will slowly increase (the oil becomes thicker) making it harder to pump, and the cooling ability of oil doesn't come close to that of water.
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Yes but a bong cooler is an evaporative cooler, whatever coolant you use needs to evaporate. With oil, its lighter molecules will evaporate quicker than the heavier. This could lead to problems in a system like this.
 
All good ideas come in the shower. I had the idea to dilute the pool chemicals before adminstering them to the actual system, say put 10ccs of chemical in 990ccs of water,(see note) which gives a 1% concentration, so I administer 100 times the dose, or 38.4ccs- much more managable. I just need to make sure that this stuff stays 100% in solution so that I always get 1% chemical and 99% water when I draw out my 38.4ccs. Does softswim/bacaquil stay in solution that well? Say, when it's been mixed with the water in a bottle for several months. Will a good shake do it? Any ideas welcome.

Note- would it be more correct to use 1000ccs of water instead of 990? If this stuff dissolves and becomes a solution, would I need the extra 10ccs of water to make my calculations correct? Or, would it be a mixture as opposed to a solution, and you want to get 1000ccs total, so you use 990? I'm not sure. Anyone who just took chemistry chime in.
 
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