cheap method to cool a carboy

http://imgur.com/a/PawoI

Don't let the weird link scare you off.  This came across a club FB page and might be the trick for those of you looking for simple ways to control ferm temp.  I think the parts to build this would be fairly cheap.  Some assembly required. 

Uses water, ice and a pump to cool the carboy.  And seems to me you could merely link the two vessels with large tubing, and not necessarily attach them.  Sorta like two rain barrels are connected and one spills over to the next. 

reminds me a little of the basic brewing solution.  I'm not sure if you've seen their 'decocotion mashing and low tech lagering' video but they have a similar solution there.  Biggest difference is they use two coolers that aren't attached but the idea of keeping the beer immersed in cold water that is connected through some plastic tubing to another cooler filled with ice and ice water is the same.  Stick the temp probe in the side with the beer and as soon as the water comes up to a certain pre set temp the pump starts and sends the ice water through a copper coil that surrounds your fermentation vessel (for me its a plastic bucket, for many a glass carboy) and back into the icy side.  Pretty neat idea though I've found that when I employ this method it is a lot like work.  In the winter my home brewery sits around 60 degrees anyway so if I want to lager using this method, I'm not asking for a lot in the way of temp reduction.  I've found that keeping enough ice, snow, frozen water jugs etc...is difficult and even then, despite my best efforts, the water in the fermentation side still has a tendency to climb above the 48-50 degrees I'm asking for.  I'm not blaming the process though, I think the tubs I use may be a little too big and I'm asking this system to cool too much water. 

It is a neat idea though but I'm becoming more and more attracted to the idea a chest freezer 

I think it's a good idea also, but I travel for work, so babysitting something to keep the temperature under control wouldn't work for me. 

Once I have the funds for it, goal is to get one of the apartment size mini-refrigerators.  It needs to be just large enough both the widths and height to hold any of my fermenters with an airlock attached.  I'll then remove the door and build an insulated compartment off of the front of it and insall the door on the side of this compartment.  With a Johnson temperature contoller, I'll be able to hold temps on two different beers, as long as they both need the same fermentation temperatures.  I might make it large enough to hold three fermenters, like the one in the attached photo.  I'd put the door in the middle though, so that I can have easier access to the fermenter in the refrigerator area.  This is someone's mid-build photo that I attached.  Once insulation is added etc., it looks like it would be a great addition to a home brewery.