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Will nutrient enriched water damage brass tubing?

ellz

ellz

New member
Greetings GWE community. I am planning on building my own reservoir coolers using components commonly found in PC watercooling. I plan on taking a 2-fan radiator, running my water pump to it and then back to my drip and as it passes through the radiator it will be cooled by 2 120mm cooling fans. My biggest question about this is will the nutrient mixture corrode or degrade brass? If so, should I look for something else like stainless or aluminum? Thanks in advance.
 
hey ells!
you got it right the first time! brass is used in marine applications and the top reason is because of its non corrosive properties, especially against salt. however it will oxidize to a crusty green and the rough texture can cause salt to build up.faster requiring more frequent flushing. when you see salt buildup around your cap or fittings its time to flush. do not.use aluminum for salts/acids as in nutes! it will be eaten!
excellent project, like to hear how it works out. good luck
 
copper should be fine too. just no aluminum. and stainless will work for a while but does not form that protective oxidation layer and will fail sooner than copper and copper alloys. (copper nickel, silicon bronze, arsenical brass, etc.)
 
I think instead of the radiator idea, I am going to build a peltier cooler. It is a cheaper option and should work better than a radiator would. It would still be the same cooling principle as my original idea but instead of a fan cooled radiator, the water would be cooled by the peltier. I will probably install it outside of my cabinet because it will emit its own heat. Plus, the area outside the cabinet stays cooler than it does inside the cabinet which will improve the cooling ability of the peltier. My biggest issue at the moment is how many amps the cooler will pull. I am already pulling about 12A on a 20A circuit and I would be cutting it very close with my idea because the power supply for the coolers could be pulling as much as 7A. That would basically leave me with a 1A buffer before popping the circuit so if someone accidentally turned on a light or hit the garage door....POP! Have to do some more planning.
 
The thing I am having trouble figuring out is just how many amps would be drawn using a 360W 12VDC power supply unit. The one I am looking at is like this one: http://www.meanwellusa.com/webapp/product/search.aspx?prod=NES-350
It says the typical AC current used for this model is 7A at 115V. However, if you do the math on it, 350W @115V would equal on ~3A (using the formula W/V=A) so I don't see how it's pulling 2x that or more. Anyone have any thoughts?
 
Here is my power consumption broken down (more for my own reference):

600W light: 5A
Intake Fans (both units): 0.3A
Inline Fan (main): 0.6A
Inline Fan (booster): 0.3A
Clip Fans (both units): 0.3A
Vortex Fan: 0.6A
Water Pumps (both units): 0.6A
Air Pump: 0.05A
Reservoir Fans (both units): 0.3A
Swamp Cooler: 1.3A
----------------------------------------------
Total Consumption: 9.35A
+20% Buffer of 1.87A: 11.22
Max Consumption: 20A
Leftover: 8.78A
 
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