Chiller or Air Conditioner??

[preons]

I am going to buy Jeff's 1/3 hp in-line chiller that he has (had) for sale. For a total volume of 180 gallons, would you consider that a "normal" chiller?

if that is the prime 1/3 high btu rated chiller you might just be ok on 90 degree days here, but that is an $800 chiller. And if not youll simply need to turn off your halides like me and my brother have to do on the hot days.

Here is another question for you, if you put a chiller outside of your split level, how much verticle and distance would you have to pipe it out there? Flow through a chiller is criticle and elevation means youll have to over shoot on your chiller pump. And that will add to your electric bill and add pump heat.

 

[Meche]

but I'm trying to wrap my brain around how running A/C makes a house more humid.

You might be at that a while. It doesn't.

 

[Jan]

if you put a chiller outside of your split level, how much verticle and distance would you have to pipe it out there? Flow through a chiller is criticle and elevation means youll have to over shoot on your chiller pump. And that will add to your electric bill and add pump heat.

mmmm....maybe about 2-4 feet, max. I'm glad you're asking all these questions as it will help me figure out how to install it. I haven't ruled out installing it inside, with a vent for the hot air to flow outside.

 

[danno14]

Do any of you actually have a chiller outside?

I do. Second time around. Also have AC.

 

[DonW]

if that is the prime 1/3 high btu rated chiller you might just be ok on 90 degree days here, but that is an $800 chiller. And if not youll simply need to turn off your halides like me and my brother have to do on the hot days.

Here is another question for you, if you put a chiller outside of your split level, how much verticle and distance would you have to pipe it out there? Flow through a chiller is criticle and elevation means youll have to over shoot on your chiller pump. And that will add to your electric bill and add pump heat.

Ive got a elcheapo pacific coast outside, no ac 750w MH, more pumps than most. Again never a problem. My house hit over 90 when the outside get 90.
It would take the differential temp rising before outside temp causes a real problem. Your not pulling down the water temp from 90 your keeping it constant which is much easier.
If this were close to true air conditioners would have the same problem. Heck you wouldnt have ac in your car every time the wether got hot. The superheat temp of most condensors is 40 degrees higher than the target temp. Even at a mere 10 degree dfferential superheat with a evap temp of 80 90 is no problem what so ever. Will the chiller work harder, yes. The proper sized chiller should be able to handle high ambient temps.

Don

 

[preons]

You are totally right about the chillers working if they are rated high enough, don. I have a pacific coast on my 75 and my brother has a pacific coast on his 100 gallon and they both failed to keep the temp down to below 85 infact my brothers hit 90. We had to turn off the halides for 5 days. Your chiller may work but both of ours didnt. There is was definately a point that more heat was entering our tank than was leaving. Even though our chillers are rated for 150 gallons. My chiller not only works a little harder, it hit capacity. For us that point is about 90 degrees in the room the tank is in. I only keep saying all this because I lost livestock that week and if someone told me to make sure I had better chiller if I dont have ac I wouldnt have.

 

[preons]

I just looked up how hot is was that week

July heat wave puts lawns to sleep
Seattle Times - Aug 2, 2006the hot spell included back-to-back daily records for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport of 97 on July 21 and 96 on July 22. Normally, the city's water ...

Related web pages

 

[Jan]

and it only gets hotter, every year...

 

[Meche]

and it only gets hotter, every year...

Lets not go there.

That is a disscussion for another thread. :lol:

 

[danno14]

To reopen on topic....I have my AC set at 72, with the 1/2 hp chiller, and my tank is stable at 77.5. Power bill will probably be terrible, but the natural sunlight/coolness of the water sure has things happy (including mommy). How is everyone else faring?

 

[Jan]

I've had an air conditioner and a chiller for 2-3 weeks, and neither of them is set up yet

So I've been making due with shorter halide hours and lots of fan action.

 

[sgwill122]

I have been venting my hood (1000 watts of lighting) outside my house using two fans blowing in on one end of the hood and on the other a 6 inch exhaust outside the house with a inline fan. It keeps the tank from heating the room which keeps the water temp cooler. The tank room(the coolest in the house fortunately) hits 75 usually around 3-4 oclock on a 80 degree plus day. I have a in window AC that kicks on at this temp and blows cold air across the tank front which keeps the room and the tank cooled. I think the key is to vent your hood outside if possible. I turn AC off around 6-7oclock and open the windows. So far the system has worked well, my tank temp is kept between 79-80. Before I vented my hood outside, the room and tank temperature were both getting warm very quickly on 70 degree days. Power rates here in the northwest are set to rise very soon so I am trying keep the power draw down.

 

[The Apprentice]

Hi Guys I too have had trouble with my PCI CL 450 It could not keep up on a 75 gallon tank with 2 ea 250 watt Halides The PCI sits on the junk Pile with my Current prime chillers going into their 3 summer of cooling 2 tanks to 78 degrees exhausting into a fan cooled garage that is currently 95 degrees here in the eastern Oregon desert. Don said it best in his post "It would take the differential temp rising before outside temp causes a real problem. Your not pulling down the water temp from 90 your keeping it constant which is much easier." I have tried different approaches like have you lights come on at 5 am and shut down in the early afternoon this way it helps combat the heat loads during the time your chiller is working at its hardest..
I am a big fan of chillers If you want some thing nice you have to pay for it. It sucks IAM amazed my wife lets me stay in this
But I pull my chillers from the garage in the fall and I use entirely tank heat to heat my 1080 sq foot home in the winter

You are totally right about the chillers working if they are rated high enough, don. I have a pacific coast on my 75 and my brother has a pacific coast on his 100 gallon and they both failed to keep the temp down to below 85 infact my brothers hit 90. We had to turn off the halides for 5 days. Your chiller may work but both of ours didnt. There is was definately a point that more heat was entering our tank than was leaving. Even though our chillers are rated for 150 gallons. My chiller not only works a little harder, it hit capacity. For us that point is about 90 degrees in the room the tank is in. I only keep saying all this because I lost livestock that week and if someone told me to make sure I had better chiller if I dont have ac I wouldnt have.

 

[preons]

Hot in here today. Decided to order a 1/3 hp. Should be coming soon. One other thing people can do when there chiller gets maxed is put a fan in front of it. Another thing is clean that puppy out every year. I heard rinsing it with hard water stain remover is good. Then the chiller works a little better.

peace
josh

 

[danno14]

hard water stain remover

I guess I am cheap.... I would just use vinegar and close loop it with a pump running the solution through the chiller over and over again. Flush well with H2O and it's done.

 

[dragoneggs]

Well I hooked up a LG brand, 10,000 BTU chiller I purchased this weekend from Home Depot for $199. It did very little to keep my tank temp from rising on Sunday just like Saturday without it. I am thinking of returning it and stepping up to a chiller.

 

[DonW]

Well I hooked up a LG brand, 10,000 BTU chiller I purchased this weekend from Home Depot for $199. It did very little to keep my tank temp from rising on Sunday just like Saturday without it. I am thinking of returning it and stepping up to a chiller.

10Kbtu is only good for a enclosed 350 sq ft with NO internal heat sources like halides and pumps. Great for a bedroom but not if you had a big reef in the bedroom.

Don

 

[davidabrown66]

My PCI 650 worked well, the tank got to 81, even thought it sits in the garage which is normally the coolest part of the house, but it heated it up to about 85-90 in there. I need to vent that differently. I have a 150 gal with 2 250 watt halides, and 75 gal sump/fuge.

I recommend cleaning the chiller's air filter out, and setting up the input of the water going to the chiller to come directly from separated section of your sump that receives return water directly from your tank like a baffle so it doesn't mix with the chiller return water. Then, the output of the cooler water should be right next to where the water returns back to your tank. I know this is basic knowledge, but sometimes we overlook the basics. This is actually on my own "to-do" list b/c I didn't incorporate this design in my new sump, and I've seen a difference in how well I'm able to cool the tank this year versus last year.

 

[DonW]

My PCI 650 worked well, the tank got to 81, even thought it sits in the garage which is normally the coolest part of the house, but it heated it up to about 85-90 in there. I need to vent that differently. I have a 150 gal with 2 250 watt halides, and 75 gal sump/fuge.

I recommend cleaning the chiller's air filter out, and setting up the input of the water going to the chiller to come directly from separated section of your sump that receives return water directly from your tank like a baffle so it doesn't mix with the chiller return water. Then, the output of the cooler water should be right next to where the water returns back to your tank. I know this is basic knowledge, but sometimes we overlook the basics. This is actually on my own "to-do" list b/c I didn't incorporate this design in my new sump, and I've seen a difference in how well I'm able to cool the tank this year versus last year.

Agreed. I return mine directly to the display. It acts as a back-up return pump.

Don