Chiller malfunction. I need help

[reef insane]

I sold a tank last weekend that was plumbed into my main system. When I shut it down I forgot to shut down the chiller. Chiller overheated and popped a fuse. I replaced the fuse chiller comes on and I can hear it working however the fan doesn't blow. Any suggestions? Does anyone have a chiller

alt="" />I can borrow or rent please.


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[russ-iv]

sounds like the fan motor burned up. may want to take off the housing and inspect the wires

 

[reef insane]

That's true. I'm going to break it down after work today.


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[nickh06]

How hot is it where your tank is? I have been having good luck with a couple desktop fans in the canopy/sump area.

 

[russ-iv]

i just got one myself. id have to keep stand and canopy open and house 75 to stay below 81.

i have an external pump and led lights too

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

Russ....I find it hard to believe that on an external pump and LEDs that you run 81 without a chiller. I too ran an external pump and LED's on my 180 with a house temp of 74 and found that I'd have to run heaters in the summer to keep 78 degree water.


As to the original post....I suspect you've burned up either a relay for the fan or the fan motor itself. The easiest way to check the fan is to wire it direct for 110vac and see if it runs. If it runs, the relay may have burnt up.

 

[outdrsyguy1]

Hey Jeff, i'd like to know what exact pump you were using on the 180? My house is 72 and in summer my chiller runs on my 110 with LED's, external pump, and skimmer pump. When the humidity's higher the reduced evaporation makes a huge difference. In winter my chiller might run once every couple days, but in summer it's on quite a few times during the day. I would definitely hit 81 without a chiller.

 

[bcavalli]

I keep my house at 75 and the water stays at a steady 78 with heaters cycling on and off constantly (I run a .5 degree variance) and run LED'S and a DC 12000 with a ton of extra accessory pumps. I think Jeff is right on point. Like someone else suggested add a canopy fan or a desktop fan for now, it should make a difference.

 

[bcavalli]

outdrsyguy1;1036106 wrote: Hey Jeff, i'd like to know what exact pump you were using on the 180? My house is 72 and in summer my chiller runs on my 110 with LED's, external pump, and skimmer pump. When the humidity's higher the reduced evaporation makes a huge difference. In winter my chiller might run once every couple days, but in summer it's on quite a few times during the day. I would definitely hit 81 without a chiller.

Rusty, is your setup located anywhere near your ac vent? You might be in a dead spot where it's located. Just a thought.

 

[outdrsyguy1]

Brett sparked something in my head for OP. First, leaving the hood open and a good house fan blowing into it will do a lot. Second, if your thermostat is in the same room as your tank, set the thermostat fan to "auto". This will help keep the humidity in your house a little lower. However, if the thermostat's in another room and your fish room tends to heat up, you're better off setting the thermostat fan setting to "on". On will keep the air mixing between rooms and help the AC come back on faster but it will also re-evaporate all the water on the cooling coil and drain pan of your AC unit which keeps the house a little more humid the more the unit cycles on and off. However, that will be over come by the fact that there's air movement between rooms that are cooler than yours.

Brett, I have an supply grille 5 feet from my tank. I don't know how you guys keep your tanks so cool! I bought my tank used and I feel like my pump that came with it probably adds a lot of heat to the tank (even though it's external). I also had to buy an emergency skimmer pump from a local petshop when my original died, it's probably not the most efficient either. I did build a larger canopy than the standard one that was on it which is better ventilated. That helped a bunch, but definitely still requires a chiller.

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

outdrsyguy1;1036106 wrote: Hey Jeff, i'd like to know what exact pump you were using on the 180? My house is 72 and in summer my chiller runs on my 110 with LED's, external pump, and skimmer pump. When the humidity's higher the reduced evaporation makes a huge difference. In winter my chiller might run once every couple days, but in summer it's on quite a few times during the day. I would definitely hit 81 without a chiller.

Rusty....I'm currently running a Little Giant 4MDQX-SC external as my return. My Reef Octopus pump is in the sump as well as a Mag 5 to power my UV and a Maxijet 1200 to power my CA Reactor. Today I'm at 81 degrees with 3 x 250w MHs, 4 x 54w T5's and 3 x 250 AI Sol LED's fully on. Granted, I don't have a canopy and my evaporation rate is probably a bit higher than most...about 3 gal per day, but I don't mind if it saves me from running a chiller (I've got one just in case).

 

[russ-iv]

porpoiseaquatics;1036101 wrote: Russ....I find it hard to believe that on an external pump and LEDs that you run 81 without a chiller. I too ran an external pump and LED's on my 180 with a house temp of 74 and found that I'd have to run heaters in the summer to keep 78 degree water.


As to the original post....I suspect you've burned up either a relay for the fan or the fan motor itself. The easiest way to check the fan is to wire it direct for 110vac and see if it runs. If it runs, the relay may have burnt up.

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those numbers on the right arent my winning lotto numbers

 

[outdrsyguy1]

are you leaving that sump light on? If so that's definitely part of your problem, incandescant lights inside your sump area will heat the bottom of the tank quite well when the doors are closed. I had a couple power compacts lighting my sump once and it made a huge difference when i turned them off.

 

[russ-iv]

outdrsyguy1;1036120 wrote: are you leaving that sump light on? If so that's definitely part of your problem, incandescant lights inside your sump area will heat the bottom of the tank quite well when the doors are closed. I had a couple power compacts lighting my sump once and it made a huge difference when i turned them off.

except....


Its a CFL

i dont see it heating 300+ gallons to 81 degrees

 

[outdrsyguy1]

how many watts total in the cfl?

 

[russ-iv]

outdrsyguy1;1036135 wrote: how many watts total in the cfl?

22 watts

tbh my external pump gives off more ambient air heat.
my leds are 3w bridgelux. which run a bit hotter than the cree. however they only run at 50% peak at midday.

 

[outdrsyguy1]

yeah, your pumps motors putting off more heat than that. I cut 2 - 7" round holes in the top of my new canopy and i can tell a huge difference in how cool my LED fixtures stay compared to before. otherwise that heat just builds up in the top. I even had fans blowing in the back (pc fans) but nothing helped as much as just allowing the heat to rise up and out and suck the cool air in the lower area.

 

[reef insane]

Hey who thread is this anyway. LOL. Thanks for all the insight. My 75 and 40 frag tanks are running at 82° right now. Closed loop system. I shutdown the main blue line 100 HD pump for a few hours running just the power heads. Dropped 3 degrees. I ran to Walmart and jerry rigged a desk top fan. So if it's just the chiller fan that malfunctioned I'll know soon enough.

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From this point I'll decide if I need to test the chiller fan. We will see


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[reef insane]

Back down to 76.8. It worked. So I'm looking to replace the fan in the unit.


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[myreefclub0070]

here is a back up unit.