Chiller question

[JoJosReef]

Does anyone put their chiller pump on a temperature controller like an Inkbird? I plugged the circulating pump into the inkbird and set the chiller to 77F target + 2 start (79F start chilling till reaching 77 again). The inkbird kicks on cooling at 79F, so I assume it will start the circulation and cause the chiller to turn on as well once the hot water starts flowing through.

The other thought is that the chiller temp is measuring temperature in the water that's not circulating, so as the room heats up, it will heat up the still water and turn the chiller on throughout the day. Is this correct? I can probably live with that.

Any thoughts?

 

[Subsea]

What is your chiller model number? I have a 1/2HP chiller with an internal water temperature monitor that requires pump to run 24/7. Pump uses 30 watts and chiller uses 300W when it runs.

 

[JoJosReef]

What is your chiller model number? I have a 1/2HP chiller with an internal water temperature monitor that requires pump to run 24/7. Pump uses 30 watts and chiller uses 300W when it runs.

It was an ebay chiller, not the name brand JBJ or other. Will look it up. Claims to be 1/3HP. I left it on the Inkbird so that the pump only comes on when the temp reaches 79F. According to Hydros, tank is currently 79.4F, so it should be running now. Unfortunately, I don't have a Wyze camera on the tank. I should look into that.

 

[UncommonSense]

Hmm… have you tested the chiller to see if it will return to prior settings after a power cycle?


The chiller reading temp from its own water supply is indicative that it is designed to have water moving through it 24/7… presumably, it just turns its refrigerant compressor on when the water temp reaches your set point, and is otherwise on standby! — consider plumbing it in series with a reactor or other medium flow equipment that is already on your return manifold or an accessory pump?

The water sitting stagnant inside the chiller with your temp control operating the chiller pump probably isn’t the end of the world, but also likely isn’t ideal… — I’m thinking of cold weeks when the tank never warms up enough to circulate any water through the chiller!

 

[JoJosReef]

Hmm… have you tested the chiller to see if it will return to prior settings after a power cycle?


The chiller reading temp from its own water supply is indicative that it is designed to have water moving through it 24/7… presumably, it just turns its refrigerant compressor on when the water temp reaches your set point, and is otherwise on standby! — consider plumbing it in series with a reactor or other medium flow equipment that is already on your return manifold or an accessory pump?

The water sitting stagnant inside the chiller with your temp control operating the chiller pump probably isn’t the end of the world, but also likely isn’t ideal… — I’m thinking of cold weeks when the tank never warms up enough to circulate any water through the chiller!

I thought about this as well. But then began asking myself "do people leave their chiller pump running nonstop?" Mine is a bit noisy. Perhaps has to do with positioning of the return tube... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Perhap plugging it to the Hydros would work. Set to turn on a few times a day just to circulate the water a bit and then running longer when tank temp triggers the refrigerant.

 

[UncommonSense]

I thought about this as well. But then began asking myself "do people leave their chiller pump running nonstop?" Mine is a bit noisy. Perhaps has to do with positioning of the return tube... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Perhap plugging it to the Hydros would work. Set to turn on a few times a day just to circulate the water a bit and then running longer when tank temp triggers the refrigerant.

How is it noisy? The pump that came with the chiller makes a buzzing noise? Or there is audible splashing from the return plumbing?

The latter is an easy fix!

So, there’s no other filtration equipment down in your sump that you can just run your chiller in-line with, using one pump for two jobs? — this would let the chiller just stay on standby constantly until it’s needed!

Alternative idea; solenoid valve teed off return plumbing, have your controller trigger it open to circulate water through the chiller intermittently… solenoids survive repeated start/stop cycles better than pumps in many cases!

assuming the chiller just defaults to factory settings when power cycled; option 1 may be the best bet…

 

[JoJosReef]

How is it noisy? The pump that came with the chiller makes a buzzing noise? Or there is audible splashing from the return plumbing?

The latter is an easy fix!

So, there’s no other filtration equipment down in your sump that you can just run your chiller in-line with, using one pump for two jobs? — this would let the chiller just stay on standby constantly until it’s needed!

Alternative idea; solenoid valve teed off return plumbing, have your controller trigger it open to circulate water through the chiller intermittently… solenoids survive repeated start/stop cycles better than pumps in many cases!

assuming the chiller just defaults to factory settings when power cycled; option 1 may be the best bet…

Admittedly I'm not sure I follow everything. But here's what I can say. The chiller pump is sitting in my filter chamber and is relatively quiet. The water returning is coming out of the tube that ia poitioned over the return chamber at a slight angle so it can hit the chamber wall. But it is still quite noisy. No splashing out of the chamber, just noise as the returned water hits the walls/water below. I positioned it a bit high so it wouldn't get completely submerged when the return is off.

No equipment in the sump except a return pump and an algae scrubber, if you don't count the heaters and little sump powerhead.

Re: solenoid valve, I wanted to keep the return plumbing simple, and it is a type of pex piping in the sump area (union though the back wall of stand that exits as pvc pipes to the return nozzle). So not sure how I would plumb out a solenoid valve.

All in all the simplest would just be to leave the pump running all the time and configure the return tube so it's hitting at a better angle?

 

[UncommonSense]

All in all the simplest would just be to leave the pump running all the time and configure the return tube so it's hitting at a better angle?

This would definitely be simplest!

Possibly consider sticking a cheap reactor, UV, etc on the chiller plumbing in the long run to use the pumped water twice!

Regarding chiller return tubing; consider adding a larger inside diameter piece of plumbing/tubing to the outlet to reduce water velocity… a T or Y fitting to split the water two ways would also serve this purpose! — alternatively, is there any distinct issue with submerging the chiller return tubing, even if the return pump turns off? (Could be used like a circulation pump! [RFG on outlet?])

 

[Tcook]

My chiller runs off a manifold on the return pump. Chiller output is under water in the sump so it is quiet without splashing. Constant flow. You don’t want to creat a frozen plug when the flow stops inside a cold chiller.

 

[UncommonSense]

You don’t want to creat a frozen plug when the flow stops inside a cold chiller.

Smart thinking! Salt water does have a lower freezing point than fresh… but I could see water freezing in the heat exchanger and physically rupturing it!

 

[JoJosReef]

Smart thinking! Salt water does have a lower freezing point than fresh… but I could see water freezing in the heat exchanger and physically rupturing it!

Now I'm quite worried. The temp in the tank is not changing from 79.4F, so I am assuming the chiller isn't working or the pump isn't running... Or it is frozen, has broken, and now water is flooding the office...

 

[JoJosReef]

I switched the inkbird outlet on the xp8 to Off. Best if I can test this some more when I'm in the office. Only issue is that when I get back to the office the temp won't be an issue since the A/C will be on full blast. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[jsmkmavity]

The chiller probably wont start until at least 1 degree difference between set temp and actual temp, otherwise it would constantly be starting and stopping.

 

[UncommonSense]

Now I'm quite worried. The temp in the tank is not changing from 79.4F, so I am assuming the chiller isn't working or the pump isn't running... Or it is frozen, has broken, and now water is flooding the office...

Remember, there is a good chance this particular chiller simply reverts to factory defaults when it gets “unplugged, then plugged back in”, essentially!

It may-well just be sitting there waiting for you to input your desired temperature!

Edit: chillers will often use a liquid:liquid heat exchanger… this means that you have a liquid with good thermal characteristics (likely glycol or similar) bathing the aquarium water piping inside the chiller…

if the worst case scenario occurred and the salt water did manage to get cold enough to freeze/rupture its piping, it would only rupture into the watertight coolant chamber of the heat exchanger! That is, your worst-case scenario is still an equipment failure, not a flooded office!

— try to get some sleep!