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So cool! Wish I was watching this. I bet it works like a champ.
Geothermal loop
- Thread starter grouper therapy
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Great news chiller barrel temp dropped 1 degree in 20 minutes and then another degree in the next 15 minutes!! I had to set the thermostat higher so I would not stress the animals. I am not sure how low I can take it but will find out over the next few days. My wife is bringing the camera home tonight so i am sorry I don't have pics. I am really excited even if it does not take the tank to the 76 degree goal at least we will have a basis to work with. I am really excited about gathering some data and helping others with a loop!
That's awesome news! Be sure to post specs at some point - ie- tank size, target temperatures, temps with no chiller (if possible..) or at least how much the chiller is currently on.
Not to rain on your parade (seriously- I really want to see this work), but I hope that you're not seeing the initial cooling from the ground. You'll hit a saturation point sooner or later where the ground simply can't absorb anymore over a certain time frame. The big question is.... can it absorb it and disperse the heat fast enough to keep up with your tank's temperatures....
Very interested in seeing the results. Good luck, and post pictures!
Not to rain on your parade (seriously- I really want to see this work), but I hope that you're not seeing the initial cooling from the ground. You'll hit a saturation point sooner or later where the ground simply can't absorb anymore over a certain time frame. The big question is.... can it absorb it and disperse the heat fast enough to keep up with your tank's temperatures....
Very interested in seeing the results. Good luck, and post pictures!
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I am sure nice cool soil is fooling me some what, but I should know in 24 hrs after full saturation if it will hold the 79 degrees that it is at now. What do you guys trhink ? full saturation at 24 hrs??.
Here are some specs,
150 gallon display main level 75 degrees ambient room temp
120 gallon sump in basement 76 degrees ambient room temp
total water 270
Tank ran at 81 topping out at 82 max ever
Evaporative cooling only until now
Target 76
1200 watts of light
160 watts on dart cl
150 watts return pump
250 watts on skimmer pump
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To be honest you should know in 24 hours, but I would do an average over a week just to see. Once the ground and the tank go through a full days cycle you should be there. I am looking into building a house in the near future and am looking into geothermal fro the HVAC system and am figuring on an extra loop for this, so I am very interested to see if there is any change over the time of year and weather systems.
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I think the saturation point has been met. The tank is holding steady at 80-81 all day and night. The tank would reach 81-82 with the evaporative cooling that I had running prior to the geoloop and 84-85 with no cooling and only 800 watts of light. So I am happy with the results so far but not satisfied. I would like to reach my 76 degree goal so it looks like more ditch digging and pipe installing. I am not going to give up it will work!!!!!
And MOJO don't worry about the parade we are all in it.lol. Bring on the imput.
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Sorry man I have had a bad week with devices. Computer proccessor down.,digital camera down,tablesaw motor down,dishwasher down, and two batteries in my truck down. But hey truck is running, new computer is running with most files recovered , motor for tablesaw arrives today,part for dishwasher arrives end of week and not sure about the camera yet but as soon as I do I will post, Its'all good!!dawgdude;385833 wrote: I think your lying. I havent seen ANY pictures.
So your loop as replaced your evaprotive cooling and you added another 400w halide? Or are you still running the fans?
I was about to say, if you can tell me the change in evaporation i can figure out the cooling capacity of the loop, but you have no clue do you....
I was about to say, if you can tell me the change in evaporation i can figure out the cooling capacity of the loop, but you have no clue do you....
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No the big fans are not running
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So far a constant 80-81 degrees 24/7 so I think it has reached its saturation point. More digging, I think I will go ahead and dig another 200 feet and lay the pipe but only hook up a hundred at the time to see the difference per hundred feet.
just do it all also have you tryed speeding up or down the pump?
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The speed thru the loop did not seem to make much of a difference. The flow of tank water thru the exchanger did make some difference . Not sure what the flows are at this point but if you sped up the tank water the temp would rise 1 degree.
jackthereefer
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Updates?
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I have not had time to add to the loop yet but will in the near future. Still holding at 80/81 after increasing lights from 10 hrs to 12 hrs. No spikes either way.
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still steady at 80-81 but I think I could lower the tank to 79-80 fairly easy. I did replace a dart with a 6500 gph dolphin pump and I switched to 3 pfo hqi ballast that are burning at 1500 watts total without any temp changes. I am going to lower the temp some and observe the cycle times.
