Refrigerator/cooler suggestions

[JMH]

Hello everybody, I have been relying on my garage temps for my cooling period and it just doesn't get cold enough. I had a mini-fridge a few years ago, but it died shortly after and I haven't gotten around to getting a new one. What do you guys use? I'm a broke college student, so I am on a budget but with black Friday I thought I might be able to save some money. Also, does anybody use freezer chests? I have seen some that can be adjusted to above freezing.

 

[sde]

Here are some threads that might spark an idea.

The first is a simple DIY air cooler, but if you hook up some hoses or something and have it blow into your tank it might work decently as a chiller. http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1173-...ke-great-tank-chiller.html?highlight=chiller?

The second is the cooling setup I used, a simple Styrofoam cooler filled a quarter way full with water, two plastic one gallon tubs in them, and ice packs. Pretty simple, yet quite effective. However you do need to change the ice packs at least once daily. http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1173-...g-setup-pictures.html?highlight=cooling+setup

And lastly, a information sheet on cooling. Caudata Culture Articles - Cooling

Hope this helps. -Seth

 

[JMH]

Thanks! I only keep one aquatic species right now, so I am mainly interested in cooling terrestrial species but I did see one link that addresses this.

 

[sde]

The first two ( links ) should be compatible for terrestrial species as well. With the first one you would just put the air hose in the tank. It would probably cool the air a decent amount.
With the second one you would simply have no water in the tubs. So the Styrofoam cooler would have a few inches of water in it, the icepacks would be in that water, and the tubs would have something heavy in them ( a rock, soil etc. ) weighing it down. So the water would still be cooling the tubs, but wouldn't be getting into the tubs. Good luck with your cooling! -Seth

 

[caleb]

Also, does anybody use freezer chests? I have seen some that can be adjusted to above freezing.

In theory, if you're good with electrics, you could replace the thermostat in a freezer or fridge to cool to any temperature you want. An STC-1000 temperature controller would cost less than $20, and would give a digital readout of current temperature, just like in fancy wine coolers.

(If you do get an STC-1000 or similar, make sure to get one with cooling as well as heating output- some of them just do heating).

In practice, you'd probably have to monitor the temperatures for a while before putting any animals in, to make sure it doesn't swing too far when the thermostat switches on or off- a few degrees too low could be nasty.