Chiller Running Frequency

[Archilles19]

Recently I've discovered that my 1 yr old 1/2HP PC chiller is running longer than it should be....temp at that time was 25~27 deg cel.

I called the repairman since it is still under warranty....when he came & had a look at the unit...he told me that the flow rate was just ok...infact he told me that it should be about 2000~2300 ltr/hr....

Now I reset the temp to 26~28 deg cel.....& so far its running for 6 hrs before it cut-off.....this afternoon....6 hrs to bring down temp from 1200 hrs to 1800 hrs....then at 1900 hrs it cut-in again... & has been running till now (look at this post posting time)...

I was told that it will take 4 hrs or more to cool down a 4 ftr tank with the same unit...

Anyone out there care to share how long before Ur chiller cut-in & cut-off........maybe of the same make, model & spec....& what did U do to tackle this problem.....

[ah_d3x]

bro... i think u got a slow cooling chiller...

unlike those tat cool within 15-30mins...

bro ur chiller is just nice for ur tank or wat?

i mean the tank capacity is just nice or wat?

getting a chiller stronger then wat ur tank require is good... cause it wont have to work so hard...

[Archilles19]

So far...before & after purchase....I've checked that for my tank size, 1/2HP is sufficient enough......been running it for almost a year now...its only recently that I notice the difference....

[amteo]

Sounds like the efficiency has reduced. Have you check/clean the cooling coils? I using a 1/2hp Ti Relief and the cooling coils does not have a filter. The coils do indeed get clog with dust and this will affect the heat transfer. It should be clean/vacuum every 3 months or so. I should probably DIY a filter to make cleaning less a chore, but very lazy!!

The other think I can suggest, is to check the freon level. I'm not sure about your chiller, but mine does not have have any way of checking. I will likely need to call the repair guy to check or get the gauge.

My 2 cents worth. HTH

[riot]

Mine is a 1/2 hp Reef Relief. Tank is 4X2X2 with a single 400w MH. 2 1260s pumps, the rest negligilbe heat (tunzes, CR pump). 4 hours to bring down temp from 28.5-25.5. Takes another 2-3 hours to bring it back up to 28.5.

Looks like yours need servicing. Check with Cookie.

[junyong84]

Mine is a 1/2 hp Reef Relief. Tank is 4X2X2 with a single 400w MH. 2 1260s pumps, the rest negligilbe heat (tunzes, CR pump). 4 hours to bring down temp from 28.5-25.5. Takes another 2-3 hours to bring it back up to 28.5.

Looks like yours need servicing. Check with Cookie.

wow, thats alot of temp fluc. 3 dc...

[ervine]

If i'm not mistaken it might take a while to bring the temperature down a few degrees more so when it's the first time your are running the chiller. Maybe can wait a while see how?

[riot]

+yeah- coz dont know how to set to 2 degrees ;P

quite stupid actually.

[prec]

im using resun and its working prefectly fine on my 3x2x2.. takes around 50mins to cool from 28-26deg. and around 2.5hrs before it is turned on again.. do check if the coils are in good condition.. cleaning the chiller helps..

just my $0.02

[Archilles19]

Already spoken to Derek aka the repairman.....he was saying that how fast the chiller kick-in after cut-off depends on the surrounding temp.....I just need to monitor how fast can the chiller cut-off after kicking-in...

In term of self maintenance.....hmmm....I do clean the heat transfer coil every month without fail.....will see how fast it can cool the tank.....thank for all your concern & advice.....

[williammuk]

+yeah- coz dont know how to set to 2 degrees ;P

quite stupid actually.

Sorry, bro Archilles19. Hope you don't mind.

Bro riot, I'm using Reef Relief too. To set the differential, you need to go into the program mode.

1. Press the "Set" and down-arrow button for a few seconds until it enters the program mode.

2. Scroll through the list of parameters using the arrow buttons until "HY".

3. Press the "Set" button and it should show the current differential value (eg. 3.0).

4. Use the arrow buttons to change the value (eg. 2.0).

5. Press the "Set" button.

6. Wait for 15 seconds and it will revert to the usual temperature display.

I found the detail instructions for you here.

Hope this helps. Cheers.

[riot]

Aw william- thats really nice of you!

Going to set it up now. Thanks!!!!

[XPeriment 626]

Already spoken to Derek aka the repairman.....he was saying that how fast the chiller kick-in after cut-off depends on the surrounding temp.....I just need to monitor how fast can the chiller cut-off after kicking-in...

In term of self maintenance.....hmmm....I do clean the heat transfer coil every month without fail.....will see how fast it can cool the tank.....thank for all your concern & advice.....

yes, the time it takes to rise in temperature has nothing to do with the chiller. after all, the chiller's already off. it is the surrounding temperature that does it. not only that, check the number of pumps you are running, for chiller, for skimmer, for CR, for UV etc etc. Each pump (esp the larger pressurated ones) heats up the water a little as it passes through. Also, your lights will add heat to the water.

if the time taken for the temp to rise back to 28 or so is very short, this will also mean that the time taken to cool the water down will be very long, because your environment is hot (or there is a lot of heat-adding equipment in your setup) and your chiller is fighting against all these during the cooling phase, resulting in a longer time taken to cool the water down.

[Archilles19]

Im not sure if this happen when I initially run it on my 5 ftr.....its was okay when I ran it on my 3 ftr.......its been almost a year now that my 5 ftr up & running...never really notice how long it takes to cool down or how long before it cut-in again......

Anyway I already remove the back cover of the chiller so that more warm air blowing out of the chiller instead of circulating in it.....

I was also informed that the length of time it takes to chill could be due to the warm weather that we were having this fast few days & the chiller may take shorter running time during the cooler season...saaayy....in Nov or Dec.....

[XPeriment 626]

yeah we're having some major heat wave right now, no rain for many days. that will definitely make your chiller work harder...

[moonwalker]

Can anyone recomend any good pump (flowrate?? model?? brand??) for CL650. Cos I also face the same problem of on/off every 5mins for just 26deg celsuis. Currently, to cut cost I juz used existing eheim canister filter (flowradte at 700l/hr), think it is too low, right??

[Reefbum]

Mine used to do that coz I shared the return from the chiller to my skimmer.Now it is straight into the tank.Max time on is abt 20mins and came back on after 2 hrs.