Chiller question (1 Viewer)

[spham]

How long does it uselly take a chiller to cool down the tank temp?

I have a 54g and Aquanetic 1/4 chiller. It take the chiller 15min to cool down 1F. I'm thinking there something worng with it and wanted to have an AC guy to check it out. But before I give away my money to the AC man, I just wanted to check if the chiller really need repairs.


TIA,
spham

P.S. More about my system.

54g
15g sump
Velocity T3 return pump
4" DSB
60-70lb LR
250w heater

tank is set at 81F-82F

 

[Guest]

That doesn't sound too far out of line. I have a 1/4HP on my 75, about 110g total water volume, and it takes about 15-20 minutes to cool down 1 degree. I also keep mine set at 81, chiller kicks on when it hits 82.

What kind of flow rate are you running through the chiller? Sometimes it helps to play with the flow rate to find where the optimal cooling is occurring (yes I know, in theory it doesn't matter, but in practice I bet it does).

And how are you circulating the cooled water? Does your cooler output to your tank or the sump?

 

[spham]

The chiller is plumbed from the return pump (T3). It then goes into the tank and out to a spray bar. Here a pic of the tank:

The spray bar is located behind the rocks.