need chiller charged

[wannaplayatlanta]

I just bought a three year old chiller that has been running the last there years. I need someone that can recharge for me just to make sure it is running up to par. Does anyone know of someone who can charge the r134a for me. Please let me know I'm in the north gwinnett area

 

[rbredding]

Does it have service fittings? (not all chillers do)

if it's got service fittings, an HVAC contractor might be able to do it.

I think that Jenn knows a guy that will service aquarium chillers (specifically)

 

[wannaplayatlanta]

I will have to check and see. It is a 1/3 hp current USA model. I would think that all coolant equipment would be able to... Which Jenn r u talking about

 

[KrisDeitz]

Should be able to do it yourself. Just buy r134 at a auto store and pump it. They have valves and gauges.

 

[acroholic]

If the chiller is still functional, then why mess with charging it at all? If it works, why fix something that isn't broken? The refrigerant is a sealed system. It does not leak if the coil is intact.

 

[rbredding]

^^ good advice..

 

[wannaplayatlanta]

Well it is running non stop.. I have it set at 77 n my heaters at 75. My chiller is running even at nite when my halides are off. It's rated for 360+ gallons n my complete system is only 200 gallons. I just don't want a 5 amp system running all the time .. what should I do

 

[jennm]

I do have a guy... sort of. Last couple of times I tried to get chillers serviced, I couldn't reach him. Nowadays though he's working inside the office of their family business (as opposed to being on the road). He supplied me with a part for my fish food freezer last week.

He was off sick earlier in the week but I can call and ask him if he is able/available to do chiller work. He bills you directly - I don't take a "cut".

Jenn

 

[morganatlanta]

I bought a used chiller from a guy here who said that he had it refilled by Chris at FishScales, so you might want to check with him.

 

[acroholic]

wannaplayatlanta;626324 wrote: Well it is running non stop.. I have it set at 77 n my heaters at 75. My chiller is running even at nite when my halides are off. It's rated for 360+ gallons n my complete system is only 200 gallons. I just don't want a 5 amp system running all the time .. what should I do

Which Current USA Model is it? Is it this:

alt="" />

Or this:

alt="" />

The top pic is the current Prime Inline and the bottom pic is a Current Prime Tower. I have a Current Prime Tower in 1/10 P for my small reef.

A lot of what may or may not be going on depends on the type chiller and your settings on your controller. The Prime inline requires a separate controller. In this case, if you are using an external controller (Apex, RKL/RKE, Ranco) and just a couple separate heaters in the sump, then your heaters may need adjusting down. They may be set too close to the turn off point of your chiller thermostat, and the two are fighting each other. The Prime Tower is dual stage controlled and has a built in outlet for a heater in the back, and can control a heater as well. My 1/10 Prime tower has a 200 watt heater plugged into the back outlet, so the chiller t'stat controls the heater as well as the chilling.

Current USA Tower chillers have a minimum control Range of +-2 degrees, but in reality it is 3 degrees. For example, if you set the cooling setpoint at 77 degrees, the unit will not come on until the temp hits 80.

So you need to post which specific chiller model it is, and exactly how you have it set up with your heaters to be able to get help.

Also, be aware that halide lights and lots of heat producing pumps greatly throw off chiller ratings. If you are using halides, then you may not have enough cooling capacity.

Further, if your chiller does need a charge, be aware that if it leaks refrigerant now, then it will leak again and any new refrigerant is only temporary and it will leak out again.

I'm PMing you my home #. Call me and we can work through it, but I don't think you have enough specifics posted to say whether the chiller is broken, undersized, or your controllers are set up incorrectly.

If your chiller is properly charged, then it is a waste of money to pay someone to do it, when it could easily be something else.

 

[rbredding]

also.. if you are blowing water through the system so fast that the chiller doesn't have time to pull the heat out, then you're not cooling down your system water..


I ALWAYS recommend trying to stay close to the "minimum flow" requirement for chillers.. (typically, somewhere between 250gph and 400gph, depending on the unit)


what is your minimum flow requirement?

 

[wannaplayatlanta]

Aight so talking to all of u on here and archolic on the phone. Immadeba few changes to my prime tower chiller.

I put the chiller on the mag 12 instead of the mag 18 to slow the flow down. I used a flow calculator online and with all the bends and fittings it is now down to about 600 gallons an hour. The minimum is like 400 and make is 800 I believe. So maybe this will give it a chance to chill the water better. The mag 18 was pumping it through the fast.so I set the chiller to 77 and my heater to 74. I hope that the 2000 watts of lights is now going to managed a little bettr.

I also took my glass lids of and I reconfigured a few fans to blow the air out of the hood. I may add a dew more.

I am also thinking of drilling holes and adding fans to the top of thank and putting them on a heat sensor to turn off and on



Any other input?

 

[rbredding]

with 1000W of lights.. just turn the fans on with the lights.. you're gonna be able to use their cooling effect immediately..


oh and tear them out and change everything to LED's
(ha-ha)


I'd still suggest throttling back that mag 12 though... (those online calculators use "rule of thumb" concepts.. It will take a LOT of bends to change a mag 12 down to 600gph..)

I do hope it works better for you though..