1/2 hp Chiller- I'm sick of the power cost!

[ziggy]

Today is the day. Well is it working . I see sun . I should put a roll of 3/4 polly pipe in my pool and do the same thing( well kinda ). If I could get the pool down to 77 . MaMa likes it on the high side about 82. I kicked the pool heater down a little. See if MaMa notices, it will take a few days to cool down. :shock:.
PS Nice copper job .

Tracy-
If the pool thing doesn't work out you could always run the 3/4 polly into the back of the toilet. It also will keep your Vodka cold



Danno-
Did you happen to include a pressure gauge. It may help to alert you to any falures or leaks due to : kids, boats, birds, or the lockness monster messing with your lake line.
Very cool Idea, I dont think it will work in my septic though:lol:
Chad

 

[Snowboarda42]

Got any pictures of the outside? Like one of the lake and the lines running into it?

 

[danno14]

I don't have the lines buried yet.... hopefully this weekend. I will snap some shots for posting. D

 

[ziggy]

Is it working so far? You can't post something as cool as this project and leave us hanging.

 

[salmonslayer]

Talk to danno yesterday. It seems to be working. He needs to get the pipe in the ground and he's short on time. He has alot of things going ( thats par for him ). He's getting some temp rise from the blk polly pipe above ground but not enough to cause a problem.
You know how it is. No matter how much planning you do there is always some tweaking thats needed.

 

[Reeferdude]

Hey danno great project and good idea. Looking forward to seeing the results of it in full swing.

 

[danno14]

Reeferdude- I am smiling!
Thanks again for making the effort, the advice, etc.
Rgds,
D

 

[danno14]

Sooo.... at long last I have the pipes in the ground. Just a little "mission creep" happened. I figured "if I have to have a trench from the house to the lake, I might as well add power for the boat cover, a new waterline for the boatlift, a better drain line for the roof drain, and what the heck- a new sprinkler system for the lower yard! @#$@%#&*^%!!! this chiller loop has become expensive!

Of course with the money I will be saving, the whole shebang will be paid for in 90-100 years!

Not really, it should be MUCH sooner than that

Anyway, some pics:
view toward the house

View toward the lake

da pipe inna trench

I have insulated the line as it returns from the lake and anywhere the pipe is less than two feet below ground.

With the house AC off and the cooling loop running today, it held nicely between 77f and 78f. (The interior house temp was at 85f.) I have the pump on a controller set to a 1 degree swing right now and will probably extend that to 4 deg. The total power used to keep it there since 2:00 yesterday afternoon was .26kwh as measured by a kill-a-watt. The controller itself uses 1w when not running the pump and the combined is 38w with the pump running.

The pipe will be covered tomorrow and this project will (I believe) be complete. The windows for the whole house were delivered today, so it looks like that's next
By my measure the cooling loop is a success!
D

 

[apollothesun]

pretty cool. your backyard view is awesome.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Clutch cooling system!

 

[salmonslayer]

YAHOOOOO. One project down and 14 more to go. Nice job pal.

 

[dieden]

You can do basically the same thing with lines buried deeper than four feet. Unless you happen to live near an active geothermal "hotspot" the temp for four feet down to 50 or 100 feet (depending on your geographic location) stays at a constant 50 to 55 degrees throughout the year. There are a number of places using these methods to cool very large buildings so I think a relatively small aquarium should be cooled with no problem.

 

[danno14]

Dieden- you are correct to a degree (pun intended )

relatively small is just that- relative. My system total is roughly 430g. Others with smaller systems have tried what you refer to with varied success.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1332850

Water transfer is pretty commonly accepted as having the most efficient geothermal heat exchange capability. Earth differs greatly with density/moisture level (clay vs. sand for instance). I had the calculations performed early on in the design phase to determine what materials should be employed (the fine fellow who did this for me is employed by Msoft for just this purpose- cooling server buildings). As for cost- it would have been cheaper on an expenditure basis to keep using one of the chillers I already had. Ongoing is far less now that the cooling loop is in place. Only 38watts while the cooling is needed will pay off monthly.

Thanks for reviving a dead thread.... I guess I should post some "after" pics.
D