Where Is The Best Place To Put A Chiller?

[albert2k]

Mine now is connected from the sump to the sump and this turn on every 15 minutes. Is that ok?

[hahnmeister]

Outside. That way the warm air doesnt just stay in the house to heat the tank up again.

[JRod]

Agreed. Garage also if is it attached and unheated.

They generate alot of heat.

[Bax]

Can you keep a chiller out of doors year round in a climate like New Jersey without ruining a chiller?

... Sorry if it's OT

[albert2k]

Maybe i don't explain, I have now set my chiller from the sump to the chiller and then return the water to the sump. I want to know if is better idea to put the chiller directly from the tank and then return the water direclty to the tank?

[Roger928]

From the tank - to the tank. IMO

[ordy1]

Originally posted by albert2k
Maybe i don't explain, I have now set my chiller from the sump to the chiller and then return the water to the sump. I want to know if is better idea to put the chiller directly from the tank and then return the water direclty to the tank?

Saludos:

If you plumb your chiller so that you pump water from your sump to your chiller and then back to your sump make sure that you don't direct the cool water towards the temperature sensor. You want to mix the cool water with the warmer water coming from your tank and allow the sensor to not short cycle the chillers compressor. Short cycling is when the sensor tells the chillers compressor to turn on and then off and then on and then off ect., This would happen if you expose the temperature sensor to cold water from the chiller and then warm water from the sump.

I have mine plumbed so that my return pump splits with one outlet going back to the tank and another going to my chiller and from my chiller to my sump. My sump is divided into three sections; Protein skimmer - Refugium - Return sections. My temperature sensor is located in the return section. I return my water, from my chiller, to the skimmer section so that it has a chance to mix with the warmer tank water before it reaches the sensor in the return section.

I've seen them plumbed so that the chilled water flows directly back to the tank. I like the mixing in the sump method. It gives the temperature of the water a chance to stabilize before it goes back into my tank.

Suerte

[pjf]

Originally posted by JRod
Agreed. Garage also if is it attached and unheated.

They generate alot of heat.

I don't recommend putting a chiller in the garage. In areas with strict building codes, the attached garage has thicker sheetrock to form a fire barrier. No holes or tubing can be run through the firewall. I've already inquired with my county's building inspection department and was told that this is not allowed.

[Elliott]

I have my 1.5 hp chiller in the garage. It puts out a lot of heat, so much that I have to run an evaporative cooler blowing cool air on it to avoid it shutting off from it's built in pressure sensor. If I were to do it again it would be outside.

[AZDesertRat]

You have to keep in mind, the plumbing in a chiller and to and from it can pick up heat if its in the garage or outside. I keep mine inside in a vented cabinet next to the reef. I though about outside but I would pick up more heat through the plumbing and coils than I would dissipate so it would not be efficient. Same goes with venting it outside. If you have it blow outside you will be sucking in warm air around doors, windows and everywhere else to replace the air you are exhausting so you home AC will work harder.
Its a no win situation!

[Elliott]

I guess sidewinder770 has the best setup for this. His was a DIY split system where the compressor was outside but the resevoir was inside.

[4everwet]

I have a 1/3hp chiller that sits in the garage directly behind the wall that the tank is against and I have no problems at all! Part of one of my returns feeds the chiller and it returns to the tank. Yes it makes the garage a little warmer in the summer, but not enough to matter. I tried it inside the house but it just made the AC work that much more.

[ordy1]

i have mine in the basement. Stays around 72 degrees in the basement year round. I also have central air so the heat from the chiller is negligible as far as the AC kicking on and off.

[albert2k]

Originally posted by ordy1
Saludos:

If you plumb your chiller so that you pump water from your sump to your chiller and then back to your sump make sure that you don't direct the cool water towards the temperature sensor. You want to mix the cool water with the warmer water coming from your tank and allow the sensor to not short cycle the chillers compressor. Short cycling is when the sensor tells the chillers compressor to turn on and then off and then on and then off ect., This would happen if you expose the temperature sensor to cold water from the chiller and then warm water from the sump.

I have mine plumbed so that my return pump splits with one outlet going back to the tank and another going to my chiller and from my chiller to my sump. My sump is divided into three sections; Protein skimmer - Refugium - Return sections. My temperature sensor is located in the return section. I return my water, from my chiller, to the skimmer section so that it has a chance to mix with the warmer tank water before it reaches the sensor in the return section.

I've seen them plumbed so that the chilled water flows directly back to the tank. I like the mixing in the sump method. It gives the temperature of the water a chance to stabilize before it goes back into my tank.

Suerte

I thinks that my resun haved the temperature inside of the chiller. That is why i have not external temperature sensor.

[mr. pluto]

sump to tank so your chiller won't cycle so fast.

[hahnmeister]

Or, just get a drop-in chiller. I have always liked them better than inlines because you dont have to mess with plumbing then.

[Horace]

The best place is in the store where it belongs . Just get good fans and you wont need a chiller. I run dual 400w over my 75g and my temp doesnt get over 80.

[danskim]

Originally posted by Horace
The best place is in the store where it belongs . Just get good fans and you wont need a chiller. I run dual 400w over my 75g and my temp doesnt get over 80.

That could be true in places where humidity and temperatures are relatively low.
For someone in FL, that's probably isn't always/ever a possibility. The higher the humidity, the less heat can be extracted through evaporative cooling. Evaporative cooling also causes the need for more make-up water.
And of course a higher ambient temperature is also a limiting factor for fan-based cooling.

[AZDesertRat]

I did fans only for two summers and the humidity in the house was unbearable. My top off was 6 gallons every other day. After adding a chiller, the tank temperature is exactly the same 80 degrees but now the top off is 5 gallons every fourth day. Much better!

[ordy1]

Originally posted by albert2k
I thinks that my resun haved the temperature inside of the chiller. That is why i have not external temperature sensor.

Albert: If I understand you correctly you say that your temperature sensor is located in your chiller. What kind of chiller do you own? Most chillers have a probe with a long cord that allows you to place the probe either in the tank or in your sump. The probe measures the temperature of your tank water and causes the chiller to turn on when your tank water gets too warm.

(If no one minds I'm going to translate the above to Spanish for Albert. I'm having a hard time understanding some of what he's trying to communicate. If there is a problem then I apologize.)

Albert: Si yo lo intiendo a usted el temometro de el Chiller suyo esta localizado adentro de el chiller. Que tipo de chiller tiene usted? Muchos chillers tienen el sensor de temperatura afuera de el mismo chiller. Asi se puede localizar adentro de el aquario o adentro de el "Sump". El sensor causa el chiller que aprenda y apague cuando la temperatura de la aqua sube demasiado.

[Horace]

You can buy a hell of a lot of DI water for the cost of a chiller....

[AZDesertRat]

Yes but when all the metal in your house starts rusting from the added humidity and you can't sleep at night because you are soaking wet, enough is enough! The canopy fans now run on timers with the MH lights and the sump fan is on a Ranco 2 stage controller so if the chiller fails it comes on as back up.

[BruiseAndy]

Originally posted by Horace
You can buy a hell of a lot of DI water for the cost of a chiller....

It's all heat (energy) whether you reject sensible heat outside buy using a remote condenser or spit the latent heat inside in the form of added humidity that now you have to remove with your houses central air. The energy has to get removed from your house somehow. You could argue that the houses central air is more efficent than most (any) chillers out there but I would still prefer putting a chiller outside when the seasons allow or finding a refer friend to build you a split system.

[hahnmeister]

I just use fans. I was sick of the humidity and heat from running open-top tanks, not to mention the conpetition with the AC. So now I still dont use a chiller... that will likely never change. But I did drill a 4" duct in the wall so that I can use a 100cfm fan on my canopy to blow the hot & humid air outside right away. There are also a few fans blowing across the water surface, so the evaporative cooling is in effect, and then all that nasty air is vented out right away... drawing in more cool air from the room, sure... but still, its waaaaay more efficient than anything else.

The woman likes it because it means the fish cant carpet surf anymore, and now the only smell comes from the skimmer (which is getting changed so all the output air is vented outside with the other air as well).

The tank is 80 all summer. Then again, I am using a light-mover so I get away with one 250wattDE where two would otherwise be needed. So my total lighting wattage is under 500 on a 125g which is packed with SPS (actually, Im thinking I need to remove 2 of the 4 T5s because the tank is too bright for some things still).

[ordy1]

If I'm understanding Albert correctly he's not talking about the physical location of the chiller. He's talking about how he should plumb the chiller; directly to the tank or back to the sump............

Ordy