How to turn a 5 gallon bucket into a cooler for $2

[Stonefree69]

Plastic spacers will up the r-value by being able to provide a thermal barrier on bottom of tubs or buckets. Reflectex is about r-1 when sandwiched with no air spaces but is > r-3 or 4 when providing at least 1 surface with an air space.

These might work but only 3 mm high ($12 for 100) on ebay. I need at least a 3/4" air space as the data sheets say. 6 stacked would work so still shopping for those only bigger...

Bingo! Someone said they sell them at hardware stores like HD.... I need a reasonably broad base and number of them to help disperse the weight.

 

[Stonefree69]

Jackpot! Less than $6 for 100. Now maybe some flat nylon discs/washers like this to help further distribute weight on the cheap.

At amazon.com: Round Spacer, Nylon, Off-White, 1/4" Screw Size, 1/2" OD, 0.257" ID, 3/4" Length (Pack of 100)

 

[Eighths-n-Aces]

figured you would like this one Sf ....... multifunctional is always good ... and it could work in a grow room

 

[Stonefree69]

figured you would like this one Sf ....... multifunctional is always good ... and it could work in a grow room

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Right on Eighths-n-Aces! Here's another going viral on Youtube, he uses that 5 gallon bucket insulation insert (from "unobtainium" tough right now but actually very happy as I've from the looks of it come up with a much better solution):


Homemade Air Conditioner DIY - The "5 Gallon Bucket" Air Cooler! DIY- can be solar powered!
[YOUTUBEIF]HxSLbpAwibg[/YOUTUBEIF]

 

[Stonefree69]

Final choices for shape, the octagon & dodecagon will let you run piping north-south & east-west perpendicular if you need to but I just run in-out from all my buckets so a hexagon shape will work. The hexagon allows more air space for a radiant barrier so I wouldn't have to take off my initial layer of Reflectix... If using the rounder polygons need to add about 3/4" to the radius in calcs for airspace, making diameter 8.625" or 8 5/8". My buckets are only 16-17" apart so I have limits to consider. That will up my insulation another r-3 to r-4 though.


6 sided hexagon

8 sided octagon

10 sided decagon

12 sided dodecagon

 

[Stonefree69]

Just did an update on my spreadsheet, all you have to do is sign up I guess to see it. Also realized radius should be 8.125" not 7.125" for the bucket with 2" insulation. Let me know if you know of any spreadsheet sharing programs around - Google docs it seems doesn't let you be anonymous. I just want to post a spreadsheet, share the link, and pop it's there for you to see & edit to your personal taste if need be.

Here's the link: https://docs.zoho.com/sheet/ropen.do?rid=12cbm23d9c619773e4d62a2574d8a2868fa62

 

[Stonefree69]

And here it is updated. Gonna have a nice weekend, hope you all the same too!

 

[Eighths-n-Aces]

check out what these guys can do with their product Sf. this stuff is hellishly pricey and non reflective but the way they form curves might interest you. http://us.wedi.de/_shared/_pdf/infomaterial/zum_herunterladen/wedi_product-brochure.pdf

 

[Stonefree69]

check out what these guys can do with their product Sf. this stuff is hellishly pricey and non reflective but the way they form curves might interest you. http://us.wedi.de/_shared/_pdf/infomaterial/zum_herunterladen/wedi_product-brochure.pdf

Nice, I've seen that using bendable foam slats somewhere for garage doors. It was too thin though, maybe an inch or so not 2 inches. 2 inches of eps or polyurthane are r-10 to r-13.

Also I thought wouldn't it be frivolous to use all that insulation and you have the tops with net pots and all exposed. The plants can shade a lot of that light & heat as they get bigger. I can't hide my hydro halo water rings that do top drip/flow as they make the dissolved oxygen and need air exposure. BUT - I can take advantage of this and have an oscillating fan blow at those spots, actually cooling the water some there and adding humidity. Just put a Reflectix circular cutout and put on top of water rings too, allowing air from the sides from the fans. Funny one problem creates 2 solutions!

 

[Stonefree69]

Updated to include metric measurements. That's how I measure a lot of things for projects and calculator shows down to 10ths of a mm. I don't like the 5/16 or 3/32nds bologna especially when I need to do simple math with those numbers. 1/10th of a mm is about 1/250th of an inch and no imperial system can come close to ease of use and accuracy. Even if I do get sloppy so what I'm off by maybe a mm (millimeter) or 1/25th of an inch.

I try to never go near imperial measurements using geometry or trig anyway. Once you know 2.54 centimeters equals exactly 1 inch - you can go from there for any conversion for length and use it in your calcs too.

BTW my fav seems to be the octagon, it fits best with it's flat sides facing up, down & both sides for piping, has not too many seams to do (more continuous insulation) and comes out to almost 95% of being round like a circle.

 

[Stonefree69]

The stuff we all come to know and love or bubble-foil insulation is pretty amazing stuff. Provided you have an air space (naturally it's created when you wrap your buckets) here are the specs: 4 ft. x 25 ft. Double Reflective Insulation Thickness (in.) 0.3125 in. Product Weight (lb.) 6, R Value, 3.7. Even most double pane argon gas filled windows are maybe R-2 or so so this stuff really works on the cheap!

This means per inch the r-value is 3.7 X 1/.3125 inches which comes out to R-11.84 per inch or almost DOUBLE polyurethane which is the highest rated foam insulation (R-6.5/inch).

 

[Stonefree69]

Busy is as busy does, actually having fun with this. Wrapping things up. Do things right the 1st time & you'll never have to do it again (at least for a while)...

1: Calculator good for sizing insulation to cut & fit around round buckets of given diameter. Bucket diameter would equal apothem in hexagon or octagon insulation diameter. Add 3/4” minimum for radiant barrier spacing to fit and insulation thickness (example 2 inches) to apothem length for proper sizing and fit. Put in totals for: 6” bucket radius + 1” air gap + 2” foam insulation. Also added 2 layers of Reflectix bubble-foil insulation which is .3125” (5/16”) thick.


2: Bucket height is for to help determine total area needed for insulation per bucket. The bucket height + spacing for top & bottom of bucket for radiant barrier insulation (minimum of 3/4” spacing) should be entered in parameters for calculating. I've already put in totals for: 14 3/4"” 5 gallon bucket height (w/net pot lid) + 2” for 2 1” air gaps (for top & bottom of bucket w/spacers). Also added 2 layers of Reflectix bubble-foil insulation which is .3125” (or 5/16” thick each & making 2 air gaps total). These walls will all sit on the octagon base and finally glued & taped for a sturdy well sealed construction.


3: Total area are sides and top + bottom added up. This is the sides forming the polygon and the polygon shaped top & bottom. Bucket height determines area along with polygon apothem (bucket diameter + insulation + spacing).

 

[Stonefree69]

Here it is to clear things up a bit, a rough graphic art deign drawing of water cooler for 5 gallon bucket (also updated spreadsheet):

 

[Stonefree69]

Further moded calculator with custom input parameters for buckets & insulation. My veg room has space constraints so this helps a lot:

 

[Red Stripe]

good thread ! will post pics and own thread of container we will be using hoping to get advice.

 

[Red Stripe]

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[dublniklz]

Amazon sells them

Amazon sells them

Amazon sells them though it appears they are out of stock right now.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...399153563&ref_=sr_1_cc_3&s=aps&sr=1-3-catcorr

 

[Loc Dog]

I need to read this for my RDWC project. Would love to not need 500 watts worth of water chiller. Does anyone know how many gallons the 5 gallon bucket becomes with insert? I wish the had foam that the bucket could be inserted into.

 

[LostTribe]

Wow, this is cheap and ingenious! Found at Home Depot online - a fairly new product, Leaktite 5-gal. Bucket Cooler - http://www.homedepot.com/p/Leaktite-5-gal-Bucket-Cooler-BC18COL/203867911

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How to make a Simple "Hard-Sided" Ice Chest - "5 gallon bucket" style! w/styro-liner - cheap & easy

[YOUTUBEIF]zvJwmGOCt2I[/YOUTUBEIF]





Also you can wrap that in Reflectix (bubble foil insulation):

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Actually you dont really need the liner....but not everyone can drink beer as fast as others....just need a bag of ice and beer. Open bag of ice and stuff beer inside. Or you could just buy beer and man up and drink it. Some dont require it being cold.

In some parts of the world ice is considered a luxury and not available as well! Cheers Then!

 

[Loc Dog]

Actually you dont really need the liner....but not everyone can drink beer as fast as others....just need a bag of ice and beer. Open bag of ice and stuff beer inside. Or you could just buy beer and man up and drink it. Some dont require it being cold.

In some parts of the world ice is considered a luxury and not available as well! Cheers Then!

I am assuming that to be sarcasm. If not, for Deep Water Culture, water temperature is critical, and must be kept between 65F and 72F. Expensive chillers are normally required due to the heat HID bulbs put off.