Pesci

Dragon, now would be a good time to bring this out as well:

do you chillers have a pump that brings the water in/out to chill it or is it a pumpless model that has a probe that goes into the reservoir and the probe chills the water?

Seems as if there are several different types of chillers

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Luke Highwalker

i think the dragon has the pump types... even though you must supply the pump its not incorporated into the machine.

the probe chillers seem like t hey could be a real pain in the ass. the probe isnt long, meaning the heat exchanger will have to be in the room with your grow... one more thing puking out heat and taking up floor space.

at least the external types you can put wherever and pump the water to them...also the external types have plugs on the back to control a heater and uvb purifier for the water also.

no idea if the probe types have those features.

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Luke Highwalker

hey how big is your res?

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Pesci

I would think both types would put out a butt load of heat. It has to go somewhere. Thats how a typical a/c works. Pull out hot air and replace with cool air.

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"The only way to end Prohibition is to break the relationship between Capitalism and the Criminal Justice System"--me
"Follow the WIERDNESS"-me
"Don't dwell on reality, it will only keep you from greatness"-unknown
"A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing opponents and making them see the light. But rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it"-Max Planck, Scientific Autobiography
"Unattainability - The Most Intense JOY lies Not in the Having, but in the Desire. Delight that never fades, Bliss that is Eternal, is only yours when that you Desire Most is just Out of Reach”-C.S.Lewis

HSkunk

My res is small, 5gal. But a 1/10hp chiller will work with larger res's. Also, with a smaller res the chiller doesn't have to work as hard which makes for a longer life span.

You can see many different kinds (inline vs drop-in) and sizes at marinedepot.com

On my last grow I was using the frozen bottles of water, just didn't think the cost of a chiller was worth it. Vpur, I think it was, said the chiller was well worth the cost. I took his advice and haven't looked back.

GreenDragon2k

In-line chillers are preferable for the most part. I have one drop in, but I don't think I'd get another one... I have a couple inlines. The in-lines have more efficient heat exchangers, and in general use slightly less electricity. Also the inlines are much much easier to relocate locate outside the growroom & away from the reservoir which is a huuuuge plus, as these things put out a buttload of heat into the atmosphere.

The only advantage of a drop in is the ease of cleaning. If you use organic hydro nutes then I might recommend using a drop in... You can simply scrub the heat exchanger with a brush an your good to go... Pump ins are a lot tougher to clean, and you have to be concious about not letting them sit full of water or they'll grow gunk inside. If I'm letting one sit, unused I'll usually fill up the tank with a strong solution of h2o2. I think the best way to clean the in-lines is with a pressure washer, after soaking them in bio green clean. But thats a method I've recently come up with and have yet to try.

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Luke Highwalker

i was curious about your res size because current says these 1/10th are good for 40 gallon res, ive seen 1/10th hp chillers {generic} rated up to 135 gallon res. just wondering who was closer...

they are typical ac units, no doubt there.

they put out a SHITLOAD of heat... extracting the heat is alot easier said than done. i would definately plumb the chillers into another room or as far away from the plants as possible.

GreenDragon - When i called current they suggested {while it was apart awaiting the fan} to put a sub pump in bucket and circulate CLR through the heat exchanger. this will disolve all the leftover built up salts from our nute solution. he suggested to do this every 6 months to a year for hydroponic growers... less often for aquariums.

of course thoroughly rinse out the CLR.... the exchanger in a current chiller is titanium reportedly...so the clr wont harm it.

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GreenDragon2k

CLR? I had to look that up. A seriously gnarly household cleaner it looks like...

ingredients consist of: GLYCOLIC ACID, DISODIUM CAPRYLOAMPHODIPROPIONATE, SULFAMIC ACID, 2-BUTOXY-ETHANOL, 2-HYDROXY- 1,2,3-PROPANETRICARBOXYLIC ACID, and water.

Yummy! LoL I guess it probably works heheh. Make sure you rinse the fuck outta that baby though... Everything leaves residue. Personally I think I'll stick with my bio-green clean & pressure washer idea That bio green clean dissolves salts and algae better than any other cleaner I've tried, although I haven't tried CLR...

You bring up a good point about sizing though, that I forgot to mention. Pay no attention to the gallon ratings for aquariums that these chillers have... You want to pay attention to horsepower and BTU's. Usually a "300-500 gallon" rated 1/2 HP 6000 BTU chiller is only able to handle a 100 gallon hydro reservoir tops. It really depends on how much cooling you need though. Some people might be able to get away with a smaller chiller on a 100 gallon reservoir if they only need a few degrees drop, others might need a 3/4 HP to cool that size of a reservoir if they need say 15-20 degrees drop.

for a 40 gallon reservoir I'd recommend at least a a 1/3 HP. For 20 gallons a 1/10th HP is probably fine. Oversizing is always better, as it will make your chiller last longer because it wont have to run as often.

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Luke Highwalker

yeah i hear that... i thought 130 gallons was a bit over optimistic.

the tech at current suggested clr... this is personally from a get the machine clean perspective.

he said growers send him chillers allthe time that are packed slamed shut with salts and wont even circulate water anymore..

lots and lots of flushing and cleaning afterwards would be in order

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vpur

Yeah Luke your a technical guy, all those probe chillers are Peltier Coolers. You could build one up, simple reverse thermocouple. As for chillin hydro, they suck.

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