 10 feet of 1/4 inch copper tubing. This stuff is soft, and easy to work with. I twisted this shape entirely by hand, no tools. Be careful NOT to let the tubing collapse. Notice the galvanized pipe I'm using. It's split down one side. Easy to work with also. Mine is 3 inches in diameter, (Do NOT go there..) when the seem is closed. |
Drill a couple holes just larger than the tubing, through the galvinized pipe, about 1/3 of the way form the end. |
Slip the two ends of the copper tubing through the holes you just drilled, and span together the seam on the galvinized pipe. This takes a little doing, but once you get part of it hooked, it's goes pretty well. It should look like this when you're finished. |
The seam in the galvinized tube is hardly water proof, so seal it with a good bead of common silicon. Use you finger to work it deep into the seam, then apply another coat. Let it dry throughly. |
The cheesy 3 dollar ice chest. I used the sharp edge of the galvinized tube to cut a hole on each side of the chest, then carefully inserted the assembly into the chest. This is why the holes for the copper tubing are a third of the way from the edge. Stick the long side in first, then insert the short side. |
The chest is pretty flexable, so I was able to insert the cooling assembly with a minimum gap size around the tube. But this thing needs to be water tight. |
A generous bead of silicon, and at least 24hrs drying time should fix the water problems. |
Do the inside, and pay close attention to the copper tubes. You should be able to fill this chest with water, and have no leaks. When in operation, it will be filled with ice and water, so pay careful attention to you silicon job. I'm planning on running this unit at the office, water leaks would be bad. |
Carefully bend ONE of the copper tubes so it points away from the top of the chest. Notice the second coat of silicon around everything. |
