chiller help

[sawzai]

Hi. I recently just bought a hailea hs-66a 1/4 chiller for my 400litres tank. I set the temperature at 27degree , chiller will only kick in at 28degree and chill to 26.9degreee then stop.

But the chillimg process, takes 2hour. . And kick out period is 3-4hour.
Is it normal??
My pump doesn't feel hot, as all the pump im using is tesino pump.
Lights are off too. Heard chiller only takes 25-30mins to chill only.
Room temperature is about 29-30degrees.

Have also calibrated the chiller to match the tank temperature. And its accurate. Im feeding it with a 3000L/hr pump. Im wondering if the fast flowrate, causes the water having not enough time to chill before exiting the chiller??

[Shadow]

Its normal, chiller will kick in 1 degree above the set temperature. Different brand, like artica, kick in 0.5 degree above set temperature. I'm not sure if it is adjustable on you chiller.

Different tank will take different time to chill, normally bigger tank take longer. It is also normally take longer to chill if it first time use.

[sawzai]

Its normal, chiller will kick in 1 degree above the set temperature. Different brand, like artica, kick in 0.5 degree above set temperature. I'm not sure if it is adjustable on you chiller.

Different tank will take different time to chill, normally bigger tank take longer. It is also normally take longer to chill if it first time use.

i see.. but its been 1 week , and the running duration of chiller is always 2 hours ( thought only starting first time use ) . calculated electricity cost , 1 month around $40. wow !
haha..

any bro here can share
-what is their running time of chiller
- chiller model
-what tank size
??

[Shadow]

where you put your chiller? make sure you don't put it inside cabinet. You need to put it at open space if possible, somewhere with a lot of ventilation.

[David]

Hi. I recently just bought a hailea hs-66a 1/4 chiller for my 400litres tank. I set the temperature at 27degree , chiller will only kick in at 28degree and chill to 26.9degreee then stop.

But the chillimg process, takes 2hour. . And kick out period is 3-4hour.
Is it normal??
My pump doesn't feel hot, as all the pump im using is tesino pump.
Lights are off too. Heard chiller only takes 25-30mins to chill only.
Room temperature is about 29-30degrees.

Have also calibrated the chiller to match the tank temperature. And its accurate. Im feeding it with a 3000L/hr pump. Im wondering if the fast flowrate, causes the water having not enough time to chill before exiting the chiller??

Hi Sawzai

I am assuming your 1/4 means the HP of the chiller? The way I see it, your 1/4 HP chiller is just about right for 400 liter tank. It is always good to get a chiller one size bigger and you should have gotten a 1/3 HP chiller. All chiller normally works + 1C / - 0.5C of the set temperature.

Ensure that you have all the plastics removed from the chiller. Most users tend to forget to remove the protection paper or shrink warp from the filter. Next as what Shadow as mention chillers cannot be placed in a fully enclosed cabinet. Its needs ventilation and most people tend to forget again is that the distance between the condenser fan to wall or any blockage should at least be 50cm apart. If you have a nearby window will help the heated air to escape if there isn't, try to have at least 60cm distance.

Your ambient temperature is high at 29C to 30C so you need to take account of that factor. I don't know where you are hearing from that a 1/4 HP takes only 25mins to 30mins to chill 400liters of water? At what set temperature? My take is that it is highly unlikely. I am running a 1/3HP with 360 liters of water and it still takes me 40mins to 45mins at a target temperature of 26C and an ambient temperature of 27C to 28C. On hot days even an hour.

Are you running your pump at full flow rate? Perhaps you may want to reduce it to about 1/2 to 3/4 of that rate.

[BFG]

2hr is definitely too long for a chiller to chill the water. Can you list down the equipment that is used for your tank and what is connected to your chiller?

[David]

BFG two hours is long but 1/2 hour seems too short. My take is flow rate is too high and the distance from condenser fan to wall is too short and the hot air is circulating around the back of the tank.

[qngwn]

I'm not sure whats the recommended, or norm for chiller horsepower to litres of water.

For my 2ft (Approx 55L) I used to use a 1/10HP - which is 0.00185HP/L
For my 3ft (Approx 145L) in the past, i used to use a 1/4HP - which is 0.00172HP/L

my chillers kick in for approx 20 to 30min on average to chill from 27 to 26, with ambient temp of 29 to 31.
I would rather overpower my chiller, than to let it run for long hours

If going according to my kiasuness, for a 400L, perhaps maybe a 1/2HP chiller should be just right for myself..

[sawzai]

Hi Sawzai

I am assuming your 1/4 means the HP of the chiller? The way I see it, your 1/4 HP chiller is just about right for 400 liter tank. It is always good to get a chiller one size bigger and you should have gotten a 1/3 HP chiller. All chiller normally works + 1C / - 0.5C of the set temperature.

Ensure that you have all the plastics removed from the chiller. Most users tend to forget to remove the protection paper or shrink warp from the filter. Next as what Shadow as mention chillers cannot be placed in a fully enclosed cabinet. Its needs ventilation and most people tend to forget again is that the distance between the condenser fan to wall or any blockage should at least be 50cm apart. If you have a nearby window will help the heated air to escape if there isn't, try to have at least 60cm distance.

Your ambient temperature is high at 29C to 30C so you need to take account of that factor. I don't know where you are hearing from that a 1/4 HP takes only 25mins to 30mins to chill 400liters of water? At what set temperature? My take is that it is highly unlikely. I am running a 1/3HP with 360 liters of water and it still takes me 40mins to 45mins at a target temperature of 26C and an ambient temperature of 27C to 28C. On hot days even an hour.

Are you running your pump at full flow rate? Perhaps you may want to reduce it to about 1/2 to 3/4 of that rate.

wow.. i guess there are really some problems. i am running full flow rate at 3000 L /hr to feed my chiller , though the recommendation flowrate is 1000~2500 L /hr . will tune down and see how it goes.. intially wanted to get 1/3hp but theres no hailea hs series for that horsepower

[sawzai]

2hr is definitely too long for a chiller to chill the water. Can you list down the equipment that is used for your tank and what is connected to your chiller?

2x tesino pump 3000L / hr ( 21 W ) , 2x pharos 90w led , hailea hs-66a ( 1/4 HP ) , skimmer

[sawzai]

the chiller
all the hot air is directed out the window of the house.
im sure its not the ventilation problem..

[Ken_ng]

Camping here to see if turning down the flow rate affects please. I am facing a similar situation just that my flow rate below the recommended rate. Wondering if I should up the flow rate.
Thanks

[sawzai]

will update here again after tuning down to the recommended flow rate.. ken_ng , what chilller size and what tank size are u using and how long does it take to chill ?

[Ken_ng]

I'm using a teco TR5 (1/12 Hp) for my 2ft. Currently takes about 40-45mins to bring the tank down to 26.0 to 27.0 but kicks in again about 1.5 hours later with 96W of light.

[David]

@sawzai. I am quite sure that your flow rate through the chiller is too high. Watch you distance from condenser fan to wall distance as well.

@ qngwn...sorry if I spell your nick in error. Your estimates is about quite there though 1/2 is a tat much for 400 liters.

[khuancc]

Sorry to hijack the thread. I am using a TR20 on a 5ft by 2.5 by 2.5ft tank with a 3.5ft sump. Main pump is eheim 1264 and my chiller pump is eheim compact 1000 which is a 1000L per hour pump. Set my chiller to 26.5deg but it seems like it takes forever to chiller it to 26.5deg. My lighting timing is 4x80w (8 hours), 2x80w (4 hours) and 2x80w (2 hours). According to the teco chiller sizing I need a TR15. Do you think the chiller is not sufficient to chill my tank? Any help appreciated. Thanks.

[Shadow]

the chiller
all the hot air is directed out the window of the house.
im sure its not the ventilation problem..

wow even have exhaust pipe

[David]

Sorry to hijack the thread. I am using a TR20 on a 5ft by 2.5 by 2.5ft tank with a 3.5ft sump. Main pump is eheim 1264 and my chiller pump is eheim compact 1000 which is a 1000L per hour pump. Set my chiller to 26.5deg but it seems like it takes forever to chiller it to 26.5deg. My lighting timing is 4x80w (8 hours), 2x80w (4 hours) and 2x80w (2 hours). According to the teco chiller sizing I need a TR15. Do you think the chiller is not sufficient to chill my tank? Any help appreciated. Thanks.

Teco TR20 is a 1/3 HP which is not enough for your tank size. Just your tank dimension, you have about 845 liters of water and that does not include your sump. you should be running a TR30 which is a 1/2 HP minimum.

[khuancc]

Thanks David. The chiller was performing well in my 5x2x2 with 4ft sump and chilling it to 25deg. Didn't notice the water is so much more for. 5x2.5x2.5 and chilling it to 27deg. Haha. So the next affordable choice will be the Hailea 1hp? Thanks.

[BFG]

Sawzai, there might be a few things that is disrupting your chiller performance. Your diy air exhaust might be restricting the hot air away from the chiller, causing a bottleneck effect that the hot air isn't moving away at a rate that it should operate. Secondly, your flow rate is too high that the chilling rate might decrease which lead to a longer operation of your chiller.

My advice is if you still would want to use the hot air removing contraption is to construct a larger container to collect the hot air which wouldn't constrict the hot air coming out from the chiller. The size should be at least double the size of your chiller. Another thing is to modify your chiller with an external temperature probe instead of using the stock one on your chiller. Reason being this modification will take the actual temperature of your tank water instead of from the water tank in the chiller compartment. Search the forum here on how to do it and where to purchase the necessary items.