Peltier chiller?

[jgvergo]

I came across this device, a Peltier thermoelectric cooler. Has anyone ever attempted to create a chiller with one of these?

 

[Jimbo_Slice]

I did about 4 years ago. It can be done in my case it didnt remove enough heat from the tank to make it worth while.

 

[jgvergo]

I did about 4 years ago. It can be done in my case it didnt remove enough heat from the tank to make it worth while.

How big is your tank Jimbo?

 

[NeptuneGarden]

Ok for 10 gallon nano-cubes, useless for anything else.

they have already been adapted for use in aquariums.
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/iceprobe-thermoelectric-aquarium-chiller-nova-tec.html

 

[Jimbo_Slice]

The one I tried it on was a 30 gal that was getting a little to hot for me. I bought a few cpu aluminum waterblocks and sandwitched 2 peltiers in it so it went.

Wb1 [pelt1]wb2 [pelt2]wb3 so I had a hot loop and a cold loop.

Honeslty It was a pain to run I wouldn't do it again that way maybe just jusing a heatsink on the hot side would have made it work better.

 

[jgvergo]

Thanks everyone. I think I will steer clear of this solution. It does not seem to have enough cooling power for me. I have ~115 gallons in my system. Unfortunately, I have near zero space for a typical commercial chiller. I may just try fans.

 

[pdt7361]

Peltiers are good for a lot of things....built a computer once cooled the processor with a peltier. Turned the whole block into a chunk of ice. Can't see one working properly as am aquarium chiller without a lot of work.

 

[NeptuneGarden]

Thanks everyone. I think I will steer clear of this solution. It does not seem to have enough cooling power for me. I have ~115 gallons in my system. Unfortunately, I have near zero space for a typical commercial chiller. I may just try fans.

Fans work well. You'll be surprised how much heat they can suck out of the tank ....... or course your evap is going to go way up too ...... and that evap is going into the air in your house, so watch out for mold issues and watch your home HVAC closely.

A small 1/10hp JBJ chiller is the way to go. They really aren't that big either.
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/jbj-arctica-chiller-1-10-hp.html

 

[Tori]

Thanks everyone. I think I will steer clear of this solution. It does not seem to have enough cooling power for me. I have ~115 gallons in my system. Unfortunately, I have near zero space for a typical commercial chiller. I may just try fans.

This is my issue also. I only have a 13x13x13 inch area to fit a chiller and I can't find any commercial units that would fit. I have some peltiers just lying around so I might give them a try to see what I can come up with. My tank is only 20 gallons though so it may be worth a shot.

 

[mcarroll]

I hate to say it, but upgrading to LED's will pretty much eliminate this issue. :)

I agree on using fans in the mean time.

The goal would be to create excessive evaporation.

This means you need at least one fan blowing FRESH ROOM AIR on at least one open tank of water.

This also means that if your house is already humid that this solution won't work - enough evapoation won't be possible.

So HVAC to the room has to be EFFICIENT in replacing the room air with "new air" on a regular basis.

A humidity sensor in the room will help you to know if this is happening. Obviously open all the vents, but you might have to experiment with keeping the door to the room open or closed to see which actually makes air-replacement more-efficient. (Depends on your HVAC system, lotsa different designs out there....vents on floor, walls or even ceiling...location of return air vents makes a difference, etc, etc, etc.)

Barring good HVAC air exchange, a box fan sitting in an open doorway can also work, if that's an agreeable solution. :)