Bali Patio Cooler Project

[Byrd]

Tidings from an Expat in Bali! I’ve been working on a handsome little cedar barrel cooler as a summer patio project. Thinking it might be nice to reach for a nice cold beer on a hot day without worrying about getting up for ice.

So I've set out to design a handsome cedar cooler that would look nice next to my jungle patio barbecue this summer. Plus, I'm hoping that nobody knows it even has a refrigeration system inside. I’m not a refrigeration specialist, so everything you see has been learned by trial and error. I'm well into this little project, but still have a few questions, tweaks and perhaps a total redesign.

I've picture documented my project and thought that it might be a nice to get some feedback from this forum as I head into my final stages. I plan on uploading a few pictures of my successful and not so successful steps.

I hope that by seeing what I've accomplished some of you might be interested in giving me your advice, I'm really hoping my patio cooler is as energy efficient as possible.

I’ll try to add a few pictures ever couple of days so that you can make any comments. Good or bad I’m hoping to learn something about refrigeration from this project.

Here's the barrel I intend on transforming...

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[Byrd]

Here I am getting my design juices flowing. My objective is to locate the equipment into the bottom lower proportion of the barrel hiding compressor, condenser, fan and electrical entirely from anyone’s view.

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[Brian_UK]

Looks promising.

Are you planning to have just air cooling for the beers or having the unit chill water in the base of the bottle side?

Don't forget that you will need good, easy(ish), access to the condenser coil and fan to clear any dust or debris that collects there.

Might be an idea to get casters with brakes or a long power lead ;)

Sorry, forgot to say, welcome to the forum.

[Magoo]

Hi
are you having cold wall piping on the beer holding area, or a brine tank arrangement. Suggest that the refrig compartment can be dropped out for servicing., with a coiled pipe connection to evaporator, capillary tube feed to evap as well.
Great idea, I won't one. Bali is a neat place I beleive. Hot and steamy , and the weather as well. Be carefull though those bars are targets, you will know what I mean.

[Byrd]

Looks promising.

Are you planning to have just air cooling for the beers or having the unit chill water in the base of the bottle side?

Don't forget that you will need good, easy(ish), access to the condenser coil and fan to clear any dust or debris that collects there.

Might be an idea to get casters with brakes or a long power lead ;)

Sorry, forgot to say, welcome to the forum.


Thanks Brian for your suggestions, actually I’ve worked up a couple different layouts using AutoCad and Coral Draw. But, I’ve ended up just designing everything with Corel Draw because it was quicker. Sense I’m doing it myself, I didn’t need an elaborate blueprint.

I’m planning for air, water and ice so I’ve put a lot of thought into a removable bottom which will need to be both water tight but also removable in case I need to access the equipment department. Because I’m trying to hide all of the working refrigeration components from all four sides I need to design it so that both incoming and outgoing air flow are entirely from the underside of the barrel. There’s not much space and I’m not open to drilling into the side.

As you might have already imagined I’ve fallen asleep at night laying out the equipment in my head. I’m thinking that I’ll need some type of filter to filter incoming air because it will be coming from underneath the barrel. Leaves, dirt and debris might have a tendency to accumulate under the barrel so I should make it detachable filter for easy cleaning. I’m thinking that preventing debris from getting into the unit is better than opening it up each time to clean.

As far as casters you can see that I’ve already included them in one of my previous drawings. I’m not sure if I’ll get them into the first design being that the floor is going to be wood and I already have plans to cut several large opening into it which might leave the wooden floor too weak to support any upward force from casters - but I’m not ruling it out as of yet.

As for a “long” power lead I’ve also taken that into consideration. However, I’d like the unit to have a UL approved molded power cord with waterproof terminal box on the inside. Finding something longer the 1 meter that comes as a complete unit has been difficult – but I’m still looking.

Brian thanks for the warm welcome and I’ll try to post to my project several times a week. I hope that my project will inspire others home enthusiasm to just what can be done with a little imagination and lots of patience.

[Byrd]

One of two compressors I ordered ended up getting ‘roughed up’ during shipping. I’m sure it’s ok, but decided to take a few pictures and send back to the manufacture. I was surprise that after being crated and boxed so nicely that there was a very poorly designed Styrofoam insert that didn’t do much to keep the compressor from moving around inside the box.

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[jdunc2301]

All looks good buddy! Hopefully it will all come along nicely!

Ohh and as for the damaged bits....welcome to our world ;)


One of two compressors I ordered ended up getting ‘roughed up’ during shipping. I’m sure it’s ok, but decided to take a few pictures and send back to the manufacture. I was surprise that after being crated and boxed so nicely that there was a very poorly designed Styrofoam insert that didn’t do much to keep the compressor from moving around inside the box.

[Byrd]

I’ve laid out the refrigeration components at the bottom of the barrel in this picture. You can also see the embossed aluminum interior paneling I intend on using. I’ve already wrapped it with copper tubing 10 meters of .5 cm cooper tubing. I’ve got 2 compresses I’m thinking of using, one is a rotary with the following specifications.

Compressor 1: (Rotary)

ITEM OPERATIONAL LIMIT

(1) Refrigerant used. The HFC-134a (CH2FCF3) refrigerant must be used.

(2) Evaporating
temperature range. -10℃( 14。F ) to 15℃( 59。F) [0.10~0.39MPaG].

(3) Condensing
temperature range. Below 60℃ [ 1.57MPaG ]. The maximum limit is 1.77MPaG for short-term loads such as overloads.

(4) Compression ratio. This should be 8 or less.

(5) Discharge gas
temperature. Not exceed 115℃( 239。F ),
This temperature should be measured at the surface of the heat-insulated discharge pipe at 150mm distance from the shell surface.

(6) Suction gas
temperature. The suction gas’s superheat must be over 2℃(36。F) and the gas must be used on condition that discharge gas temperature is satisfied.

(7) Motor wiring
temperature. Not exceed 125℃(257。F).

(8) Supply voltage.
(during operation) The compressor must be operated on within the range of rated voltage ±10%. But the compressor must be operated on the rated voltage of 85% or more at the time of start.The operating voltage shall be the terminal voltage of the compressor during operation.
Therefore,leads should be wired to be range of the above mentioned rated voltage,considering the voltage drops due to leads wired power source.

(9) Starting voltage. A voltage of 85% or more of the rated voltage shall be supplied at start-up. The starting voltage shall be the terminal voltage of the compressor when the voltage drops due to starting. The starting voltage is provided for start-up on the high/low pressure balanced 0.59MPaG.

(10) ON/OFF cycle. The ON/OFF cycle shall be a maximum of 10 times an hour. The OFF period shall extend from start until the high/low pressure are balanced, and the balancing time is 3 min. or more at the standard system.
In case a PTC starter is used for a start relay, it will take 3min. or more for the PTC starter to re-set.
Operating time shall be maintained at least 3min.



Compressor 2: (Piston)


Main Technical Data
Model PW3.5VK PW4.0VK PW4.5VK
Application LBP
Running Voltage（V） 187～242V AC 50Hz
Capacity（W） 95 112 126
Motor Input（W） 95 102 110
Current（A） 0.60 0.70 0.85
COP（W/W） 1.0 1.1 1.15
Weight（Kg） 7.2 7.2 7.2

Test Condition Applied Condition
Evaporating Temp： -23.3℃±0.2℃ Evaporating Temp Range：-35℃～-15℃
Condensing Temp： 54.4℃±0.3℃ Refrigerant： R134a
Super Cooling Temp：32.2℃±0.3℃ Compressor Cooling：Static Cooling
Suction Temp： 32.2℃±3℃ Ambient Temp： 10℃～38℃
Ambient Temp： 32.2℃±1℃
Power Supply： 220V AC 50Hz

My requirements need to keep beer and/or soft drinks at an ice cold temperature. The interior will be designed to hold water if desired and might at times be pre-fill with both ice and product. Only air refrigeration on those lazy days when I just want to drop in a couple six packs. Anticipated volume will be about 50 – 12 oz standard cans of beer or beverage. These most like will be placed into the cooler at ambient outside temperature which is normally somewhere around 30 C – 38 C with humidity in the 80 to 90s. I’ve place the capillary in the location where I think it most likely will go, but have yet to determine the exact length and size. Any comments on which compressor I should use or capillary size?


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