Chiller outside the home

[nezw0001]

I am looking at installing a chiller for my 1500G system and would like on that mounts outside so the heat is not returned to the house. It looks like all the chillers would require me plumbing aquarium water outside to the chiller. I have concerns about water freezing in it during the cold MN winter. I need to run my chiller in the winter as my tank temp is warm in the winter, not just the summer. Will water freeze if its -30 outside in the chiller?

I was hoping to find an option with a separate heat exchanger and glycol water running out to the chiller.

Any thoughts?

 

[Subsea]

I am looking at installing a chiller for my 1500G system and would like on that mounts outside so the heat is not returned to the house. It looks like all the chillers would require me plumbing aquarium water outside to the chiller. I have concerns about water freezing in it during the cold MN winter. I need to run my chiller in the winter as my tank temp is warm in the winter, not just the summer. Will water freeze if its -30 outside in the chiller?

I was hoping to find an option with a separate heat exchanger and glycol water running out to the chiller.

Any thoughts?

As a marine engineer, I could spec a titanium heat exchanger with a closed loop chill water system.

However, you may be overthinking things. No matter which way you go, the lines between house and garage need to be insulated. Adding an extra heat exchanger & pump adds more failure points and consumes more electricity.

 

[nezw0001]

I agree the lines need to be insulated regardless. I will need a separate circulation pump regardless of which design is used so thats sort of a horse a piece.

The advantage of having the glycol water running outside instead of tank water, is two fold. 1. in the event of a pump failure glycol water won't freeze and 2. in the event of a line break there is not the risk of draining out my entire tank.

The chiller needs to sit outside, not in a garage. We can get down to -30F in the winter.

Maybe I am overthinking it and should just run tank water outside and set up some sort of an alarm to notify me of a failure?

thanks for the input. its hard to find anyone to help with this situation.

 

[Jamie814]

looks like all the chillers would require me plumbing aquarium water outside to the chiller.

They make drop in chillers that would work without running your tank water outside. Your sump would need to be very close to the exterior wall where the chiller would sit since it looks like most tubing on them are only a few feet long.

1/2 Horsepower Cyclone Water Chiller with Drop-In Titanium Coil CY-5, 115 volt

Description: Aqua Logic Cyclone Water Chiller 1/2 horsepower with Drop-In Titanium Coil, 115 volt.Brand: Aqua Logic

www.liverocknreef.com

 

[Subsea]

“I will need a separate circulation pump regardless of which design is used so thats sort of a horse a piece.”

If you run a closed loop glycol chill water system, it needs a pump and the water circulating from the house requires a pump. So two pumps, not one.

“The chiller needs to sit outside, not in a garage. We can get down to -30F in the winter”.

Consider putting chiller in the attic space. Use a liquid level sensor shut off and a catch basin for ruptured line protection.

 

[Subsea]

@nezw0001

Have you calculated the size chiller that you need. I have a 1/2HP chiller on 150G Rubbermaid tub that I use as a cold plunge down to 50 degrees.

 

[Mike Sydney]

I am looking at installing a chiller for my 1500G system and would like on that mounts outside so the heat is not returned to the house. It looks like all the chillers would require me plumbing aquarium water outside to the chiller. I have concerns about water freezing in it during the cold MN winter. I need to run my chiller in the winter as my tank temp is warm in the winter, not just the summer. Will water freeze if its -30 outside in the chiller?

I was hoping to find an option with a separate heat exchanger and glycol water running out to the chiller.

Any thoughts?

I think that's really making something way overcomplicated. Why don't you duct the hot air outside from the chiller, make up a cover for the fan outlet and connect it to a duct that goes outside

 

[nezw0001]

I'm guessing 1 - 1.5 HP. Ill need a 4 degree drop over 1500G.

The attic is an interesting idea but access to out attic is terrible and its a tight fit to crawl through.

 

[Subsea]

Amazon product

1.5HP @ $900 is a super price, no matter where you locate it.
Know this, the recomended flow rate for this chiller is 1500 GPHr. The water will not freeze in 3/4” piping when at that flow rate.

 

[Subsea]

I'm guessing 1 - 1.5 HP. Ill need a 4 degree drop over 1500G.

The attic is an interesting idea but access to out attic is terrible and its a tight fit to crawl through.

If you assume it needs to be reduced 4 degrees 24/7, then you would need 4 HP of cooling running 24/7, I suggest you start out with 1.5 HP chiller.

1500G multiplied by 8.34 lbs/G multipled by 4 BTU/lb
Equals. 50,000 BTU of cooling required.

“One ton of air conditioning is equivalent to 12,000 British thermal units (BTUs) per hour. This measurement refers to the cooling capacity of the AC unit, essentially how much heat it can remove from the space in one hour.“


I Ton is approximately 1HP which is 746 Watts.

 

[nezw0001]

you think those amazon units are decent quality? Would I be better off spending a bit more to get a better name brand one?

Another thought a member of a local forum brought up was mounting it inside and venting the heat from the unit. Maybe that would be a work around?

I'm no HVAC expert :)

 

[Subsea]

you think those amazon units are decent quality? Would I be better off spending a bit more to get a better name brand one?

Another thought a member of a local forum brought up was mounting it inside and venting the heat from the unit. Maybe that would be a work around?

I'm no HVAC expert :)

In reviewing your extended system, I think it is most important to get an energy efficient unit considering the cost of electricity. I am not a HVAC expert either, however, considering the scope of your system, you should get a professional HVAC contractor.

Let’s assume you need a 3 ton unit. This might be what you need at $4,625.

Hydro Frost Water Chiller – 3HP

Find premium aquarium supplies at Aquacave. we offer top brands like Tunze, Ecotech, and more. Free Shipping available!

aquacave.com

If you only need 1.5 HP then electrical cost to operate chiller compressor is 1KW 24Hrs 30Days and assume $0.10 per KWHr then $72 per month (maximum).

Here in Austin, Texas I use 22 SEER efficient ductless heat pump and maintain different tank temperatures using evaporative cooling pancake fans. Here in the South, latent heat (moisture) is 70% of our chilling requirement in our homes.

 

[nezw0001]

Oh I should add we have solar so I don’t pay for electricity.

I have a HVAC contractor who is good but he feels he is out of his comfort zone on this. We are super rural so it’s hard to find local experts

Thank you for all your help

 

[Tcook]

As Mike said above you can vent the hot exhsust outside. You can even run an inline spa fan in the duct to come on when the chiller switches on. Use a flap valve on the duct on the outside.

 

[Tcook]

As Mike said above you can vent the hot exhsust outside. You can even run an inline spa fan in the duct to come on when the chiller switches on. Use a flap valve on the duct on the outside.

 

[nezw0001]

I think I'm going to explore that option. My HVAC guy and I are first working on venting the hood heat. Once that is done I will have way less need for a chiller so maybe I could get a smaller one and experiment with how much heat it adds to the basement.

 

[nezw0001]

So I had my HVAC friend install a big radon fan in the basement that removes hood air and vents it outside. This appears to be more effective than the little fart fan I had in there. Got it on a controller so it kicks on at 75. Seems like if I can keep the hood room temp tank temp stays in line.

I also removed the lids from the basement 750G and evaporation dramatically increased and I suspect this is helping with temp too. Maybe I can get away without a chiller.

 

[Subsea]

“I also removed the lids from the basement 750G and evaporation dramatically increased and I suspect this is helping with temp too. Maybe I can get away without a chiller.“

Thermodynamics 101: liquid/vapor phase change

When 1 lb of water evaporates, 1000BTU of heat are removed

PS: Moisture will be added to your basement air as a result of evaporative cooling. As your exhaust fan removes warm moist air from basement what air replaces air exhausted outside.