chiller & head loss

[mralex]

I wonder how much head loss I will get from running a small pacific coast 1/10 chiller, I know the water have to swirl in a series of circles in order to lower its temperatures, unfortunately head loss calculation programs do not have the chiller as an option to calculate the head loss. Does anyone have experience how much loss of flow is caused by a chiller?

 

[Scooterman]

Typically you pump water through a chiller at a very slow rate, maybe off a return pump so your not talking much, the water will have to travel from the sump or pump to & from the chiller, you can use that as a guide if needed to measure the loss. the water just circulates through the chillers freely going through the coils, you'll get some losses there also but there again your not needing much to circulate through it.

Welcome to RF, hope you saty a while!

 

[bc_slc]

In my experience the chiller actually reduces the pump flow a lot. I have a 1/2hp aquamedic chiller and it calls for around 500gph and I have a mag7 running on it and still only get about 300gph from it. The coils are quite small and generate a lot of resistance. This flow through the chiller is important as you want to be able to cool a reasonable amount of water per unit of time while the chiller is running. I found that most manufacturers do not recommend a pump, which can be frustrating.

If you do decide to T off the return pump then you can fine tune the output from the chiller to match the PCI specs.

 

[Scooterman]

I guess I should of been a little more clear on my part, I agree they give the required flow rate for their chillers but not a pump size. also some coils or smaller than others which makes a difference, I don't think the 1/10th chiller requires that much flow so using a Tee from your return may be all you'll need. Getting a little more information up front always helps.