Can I run a 1/2 hp chiller on a 30g?

[tonymission]

Says it's rated for 300g and can cool down a 200g by 30 degrees. Would need controller redundancy so I don't somehow freeze my tank.

My buddy gave it to me when he was getting out and I just setup a 30g frag tank with a 400w radium bulb. I have the light about 26 inches up but I'm hitting 81 degrees during the cycle with NO light on. Obviously that MH will warm it up a lot even though I have it so high above the tank.

I figure it would barely run since it's overkill, but anything I'm missing as far as negatives go?

 

[jdavid]

Why is your temp so high? That's crazy. Mine will get down to 72 with no heater.

No AC in the workshop?

 

[jdavid]

That will be an issue though. I ran it high up too. Set up a fan across the sump and see what happens

 

[tonymission]

No it's not conditioned in that room even though it's always cool in the basement. Only non finished room in the house. Didn't feel that hot but either way I know that light is gonna drive it up and I'll be all sps -- gotta keep it stable.

 

[jdavid]

You've got the chiller already I say go for it.

 

[ptreef]

I'd trade you my smaller one haha, rated for 100 gallon max but using it on my 210. Doesn't quite cool it down far enough but keeping me out of trouble for now

 

[tonymission]

Josh that's pretty much what I'm thinking! Not worried about electricity since I can't see it running too much.

Puffer, I'll see how this goes first ;-) thinking about adding a second 30g to this sump. Plenty of room on the work table and easy to hang lights from the joists. Really like this tank especially though..

 

[johniii]

It will cause the chiller to cycle alot. Which you would think would be better, but is not. A motor has a high start current. That will cause a higher power bill and early compressor failure. Can you run it. Sure you can. But I would not recommend you do so. It wouldBe better to sell the big chiller and pick up a smaller one.
Just some background info
The chiller I am currently working on maintains 850 gallons of water at 17 degrees Fahrenheit. It has 150hp of compressor on the rack.

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2

 

[tonymission]

That's what I was afraid of. Seems that the resale market of chillers is not very strong. Seeing things go for about 30-40% retail lately.
Might just keep this for my big build in the new house and get a smaller one to handle at least two of these tanks tied into one sump.
Thanks for the reply, John!

 

[jdavid]

I'll keep my eyes peeled for a good deal on a smaller one.

 

[tonymission]

Any reason I can't plumb my chiller this way? Normally the flow on the system is too great for the chiller requirements, but I already have my return pump tuned to about 400gph to turn tank over while I use a vortech for flow.

I figured the 90 degree elbows were ok since I'm not worried about return flow here.. Maybe should add a second valve and T to allow the option to bypass the chiller for whatever reason.

I also realized my other temp probe was way off and temp only 77 with no light on. Figure this will only need to turn on when I start running the light 7-9 hours a day.

Saw this on RC and decided to try it.

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[seth the wine guy]

That ball valve partly closed is on the "in" port of the chiller right?

 

[tonymission]

Correct. Chiller recommends 300-500gph flow and figure I'm right in there. Obviously it's a little noisier with all the water going through the chiller but doesn't really matter in the workshop.

I'm sure throttling the output might not be great for the return pump, but if that's the only issue doing that, I'm ok with it.

 

[seth the wine guy]

Good deal. Throttling the output of the chiller would be worse. They aren't built to have have had pressure built up.

 

[tonymission]

Seth The Wine Guy;971531 wrote: Good deal. Throttling the output of the chiller would be worse. They aren't built to have have had pressure built up.

Good to know. Thanks for checking it out, Seth!