Icey Reservoir Anyone?

[FlaHP]

Is that at cruise, WOT or across the board?

It just went in so i dont have much seat time with it.

I make a lot of heat with the KB so I am curious if the unit can keep up with it esp. when it warms up.

I was seeing 90 degree ait2 cruising in 55 degree weather

110 at idle in 70 degree weather.

I have not data logged with it yet but will and I have some very good befor logs to compare to.

 

[LightningClint]

Thanks FlaHP I'll be watching for the info before I pull the trigger

 

[Stewart_H]

Steve, or even Bob, can one of you, in detail please, explain the routing of the refrigerant/freon as it routes through the OEM system and the icey reservoir?

Thanks!

Stewart

 

[Stewart_H]

bump

 

[JeffsLightning]

Not Steve or Bob BUT here ya go..
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS FOR True Forged ICey Res

NOTE: Installation of the True Forged ICey Res should only be attempted by someone with basic automotive a/c experience and automotive a/c tools. It will be necessary to evacuate and vacuum the a/c system. Evacuation into the atmosphere is illegal and can result in large fines being levied against the responsible person. Vacuuming the a/c system requires an a/c gauge set and a deep vacuum pump designed for a/c systems. If you do not have experience and the proper tools, it is recommended that installation be performed by a qualified automotive a/c service center.

Tools Required:

Basic set of metric sockets
Basic set of metric open end or flare wrenches
Metric allen wrenches
Deep vacuum pump
R134a A/C gage set
R134a refrigerant (3 12-ounce cans minimum, 4 cans recommended. It is also recommended that one of the cans contain stop leak to help prevent any minor leaks in the system)
R134a charging hose (if not included with a/c gage set)

**The ICey Res was initially designed to replace the stock intercooler reservoir. Installing it in that way requires no extra components. By installing it the following way (keeping the stock ic reservoir), you will need an extra 2’ of ¾” heater hose and two spiral hose clamps.

Installation Steps:

Allow the engine to cool. This avoids potential burns and makes the work easier on the installer.
Evacuate the existing a/c system. Wear safety glasses to protect eyes from refrigerant. Note that evacuating automotive a/c refrigerant directly into the atmosphere is illegal and can result in large monetary fines. Also, R134a refrigerant is hazardous to breath and can cause frostbite when discharging. Refrigerant oil is present in evacuating refrigerant and can irritate skin. When evacuating the refrigerant, do so at a rather slow rate. If you begin to see oil come out of the release valve, slow down. By keeping the oil in the system you will not need to add more when re-charging it.

Remove existing windshield washer reservoir. The reservoir has an electrical connection at the pump that must be unplugged to completely remove the reservoir. Carefully unplug the connection and set the reservoir aside.

Check to be sure you have all the parts for the ICey Res, including all the o-rings for the a/c fittings.

Remove the clamp bracket that holds the a/c lines going into and out of the a/c condenser. This will help manipulate the a/c lines when installing the ICey Res parts.

Disconnect the high pressure a/c line that runs from the condenser to the firewall. Use open end wrenches on each side of the connection to avoid damage to the metal line.

Connect the short, T-shaped a/c line supplied with the ICey Res kit to each end of the a/c line you just disconnected. Be sure o-rings are in place on the ICey Res a/c line and use a/c refrigerant oil to lubricate the o-rings. You will need to carefully bend the line to provide enough gap to insert the ICey Res a/c line. Do not kink the line when bending.

Tighten the connections using open end wrenches on each side of the connection. BE sure the connections seat. Be careful not to cross-thread the fittings. The fittings should thread by hand until bottomed, then cinch down with wrenches. When fully connected, only a couple threads should be visible.

Remove the large low-pressure a/c line from below the a/c accumulator. This line is connected with a single nut threaded onto a stud.

Move the disconnected line to the side and remove the stud using the correct size external Torx socket. This stud will be replaced with the allen bolt included in the ICey Res kit.

Connect the large a/c line included with the ICey Res kit to the fitting below the a/c accumulator. Lubricate the o-rings with a/c refrigerant oil. Use anti-seize on the allen bolt threads. You will insert the large end of the new ICey Res line into the fitting below the a/c accumulator, then insert the low-pressure hose you disconnected into the ICey Res fitting, then use the allen bolt to connect the parts together. Be sure all parts are properly seated before tightening and be careful not to cross-thread the allen bolt.

Place the ICey Res box in the space previously occupied by the windshield washer bottle. Do not bolt the box in place yet, as this will make it more difficult to connect the a/c lines to the box.

Lubricate the o-rings on the small and large ICey Res a/c lines and attach each to its matching port on the box. You should be able to start these connections by hand. Be careful not to cross-thread the fittings. Snug each fitting with the correct size wrench.

Bolt the box to the existing auto body nuts that were used to bolt the windshield washer bottle. Tighten bolts. It is much easier to execute this with the battery removed.

Drain existing intercooler heat exchanger by disconnecting the outlet hose (passenger side fitting). Capture coolant, as it can be re-used.

Using a ¾” heater hose, connect the intercooler heat exchanger output to the top fluid fitting on the ICey Res box. You will need to attach the ¾” fitting included in the ICey Res kit to the box. Use Teflon tape on the threads to seal the threads and prevent leaks. Use spiral hose clamps on each fitting.

The lower fluid line on the ICey Res box will connect to the existing fluid line that runs to the intercooler inlet. The ICey Res fitting is 7/8” diameter. A ¾” diameter heater hose will slide onto this fitting. If your existing intercooler line is smaller than ¾”, you will need to adapt a ¾” line to your existing smaller line. Use spiral hose clamps at all hose connections.

 

[Steve@TF]

Blkbolt your box shipped out today.

Smeltz, yours is ready as well. perhaps we can meet at FFF?

TruBluL, i got your box yesterday. ill snap some pics of it in the morning before i drop it off for airbrushing.

Jeff, i should have yours tomorrow as well. my buddy picked it up from powdercoating for me today.

 

[Steve@TF]

just got off the phone with my friend who wrote the install guide...

it comes out of the condensor, Ts off. one goes the regular route for the a/c while the other goes to the inlet on the ICey Res which has an expansion valve, through that, through the evaporator inside the box, then out of the evap. and ties into the outlet on the evaporator on the truck (at the firewall). this system runs in parallel so there is no loss in performance in the a/c system.

 

[JeffsLightning]

Maybe the installation instructions I posted was too long..:burnout::lol1:

 

[Fade 2 Black]

Sorry guys, I've been REALLY busy lately, looks like Jeff covered it. :beer:

 

[Stewart_H]

Maybe the installation instructions I posted was too long..:burnout::lol1:

I'm sure someone familiar with the A/C system better than I could have gleaned what was needed from that massive overload of info you posted! ;-) But I needed something a bit more condensed (A/C & Icey Res for dummies book? LOL) without having to wade through the complete instructions. Even Steve had to call his man to get the basic, "point A, to B, to C, to D and back to A" info for me since he wasn't super familiar with the engineering aspect of the product.

Steve, thanks for the info.

I'd been looking at the KC for awhile, and had forgotten about the Icey Res until I was reminded by this thread. So I had to make sure I checked out both products first.

Seeing as the cost is the same as the Killer Chiller, and I prefer how the Killer Chiller runs in series to the OEM A/C system, rather than in parallel to the A/C system like the Icey Res, I'm going to opt for the Killer Chiller.

It would have probably been a flip of the coin if all the refrigerant was filtered through the accumulator/dryer canister, but since the Icey Res runs in parallel to the OEM system, some of the refrigerant never gets filtered. Probably not a big deal, but over the long run, probably not very good for the A/C system either.

Steve, you have a nice product, and I'm not knocking it, I think with my limited knowledge of how the A/C system works, I'd prefer the routing of the refrigerant of the KC system over the IR system. Plus, since I already have a JLP intercooler res, I'd like to keep it and utilize the KC system of forcing the fluid through a sealed evap core, as opposed to allowing it to slosh around and through an evap core.

Thank you for taking the time to help. Your customer service was excellent, unfortunately I'm gonna go the other route.

Stewart

 

[JeffsLightning]

Blkbolt your box shipped out today.

Smeltz, yours is ready as well. perhaps we can meet at FFF?

TruBluL, i got your box yesterday. ill snap some pics of it in the morning before i drop it off for airbrushing.

Jeff, i should have yours tomorrow as well. my buddy picked it up from powdercoating for me today.

Steve hate you resurrect this but it has been a couple of weeks since mine came out of powder coating......Anything?

 

[JeffsLightning]

Steve I send you a paypal request for a refund. This has been way too long and with the box you were working on screwed up I need a full refund... Respectfully Jeff

 

[Steve@TF]

Steve I send you a paypal request for a refund. This has been way too long and with the box you were working on screwed up I need a full refund... Respectfully Jeff

you jump to conclusions to easily jeff oke:

here's yours (as posted in the other thread)

 

[JeffsLightning]

Not really but it looks good and hopefully will be shipped soon...:banana:

 

[Steve@TF]

Not really but it looks good and hopefully will be shipped soon...:banana:

tomorrow brother! :beer:

 

[JeffsLightning]

tomorrow brother! :beer:

Cool...:rockon:make sure the expansion valve is good...:beer:

 

[Steve@TF]

just wanted to address a question that has popped up a few times, including this thread. one of the guys who bought one of these units in this GB pointed this out, which i dont know why i hadnt even thought of it.

people have sometimes asked to compare this product to the Killer Chiller. as this customer pointed out, our unit is integrated into a resevoir which keeps a gallon or so of already chilled water, ready to be pushed on through your intercooler. the KC system is just a core that runs inline through the system and does not store a large amount of chilled water. with both systems, when you go WOT, the a/c automatically shuts off. our system will still have chilled water on hand to push through the system. the KC system immediately turns to hot water again which is then pushed through your system, since it doesnt have a resevoir to store the chilled water. some people use the JLP tanks which would help to store chilled water, it would just be double the quantity of chilled water "on tap" with our system.

also, an engineer friend of mine theorized that since their system runs in series and goes through the cab first, it will actually have less coolant to provide to the core since some of it has been used by the stock a/c system. since our system runs in parallel, there is no no lesser amount of coolant being sent to the core.

just some things we were discussing this week on the comparison of the two systems. and i have not personally examined a KC system but am going off information ive been told by others who have dealt with them.

feel free to discuss :beer:

btw, we're toying with the idea of making the boxes out of carbon fiber for even better cooling properties.

 

[Stewart_H]

feel free to discuss :beer:

Steve, I ended up choosing the Killer Chiller over the Icey Res for two reasons.

The first reason is the pathway the refrigerant takes in each unit.

For the Icey Res, according to the information you provided to me, the system runs parallel to the OEM A/C system. Some of the freon/refrigerant is t'd off into the Icey Res, cooling the evap core in the reservoir tank, which cools the intercooler fluid. The refrigerant is then directed back to the return line coming off of the accumulator (receiver/dryer), heading back to the compressor.

That pathway means some of the refrigerant (the amount flowing out of the Icey Res) will always bypass the accumulator. The accumulator filters particles and water from the refrigerant. Over time, the particles and water will eventually damage the A/C system because there is always some refrigerant that doesn't get filtered.

The Killer Chiller is different in that the KC system runs in series to the OEM A/C system. ALL of the freon/refrigerant is sent to the KC first, then on to the vehicles A/C evap core, then to the accumulator (receiver/dryer) where it gets filtered, on to the compressor, then back to the Killer Chiller. So all of the refrigerant is always being filtered. Plus, the KC gets the first hit of refrigerant cooling properties, not the vehicle.

The second reason I chose the KC over the IR is the difference in the "heart" of each system.

The IR has an evap core in a tank which replaces the intercooler reservoir in the engine bay. The fluid sloshes through and around the core as it's pumped into and out of the tank. While this produces very good results, the IC system is less efficient for cooling than the sealed KC system.

The KC doesn't replace your intercooler reservoir. It has a sealed unit that sits behind the front bumper where fluid doesn't just slosh around a cold evap core. The fluid is forced through a system of evap core plates, where none of it can slosh passed the sides of the core.

The KC appears to be a more efficient design, in both the refrigerant pathway, and fluid pathway, and in the long run, won't degrade the vehicle a/c system with contaminated refrigerant.

Stewart

 

[rlearp]

The Killer Chiller is different in that the KC system runs in series to the OEM A/C system. ALL of the freon/refrigerant is sent to the KC first, then on to the vehicles A/C evap core, Plus, the KC gets the first hit of refrigerant cooling properties, not the vehicle.

So how does this work out for folks running the KC where the average daily mean temperature is above 85F? Sounds like to me the AC won't be working so well in the truck if all the refrigerant has already gone through an expansion valve in the KC. Comments?

 

[JeffsLightning]

The IR has an evap core in a tank which replaces the intercooler reservoir in the engine bay. The fluid sloshes through and around the core as it's pumped into and out of the tank. While this produces very good results, the IC system is less efficient for cooling than the sealed KC system.

The KC doesn't replace your intercooler reservoir. It has a sealed unit that sits behind the front bumper where fluid doesn't just slosh around a cold evap core. The fluid is forced through a system of evap core plates, where none of it can slosh passed the sides of the core.

My IR does not replace the stock reservoir...