Chiller Go Boom.

[Just_Dave]

Hi all,

While cleaning the sumps out this weekend - it's Spring, after all - my chiller's drop-in hose cracked above the water line, producing a faint hissing noise but no liquids. I duct-taped the crack but there's no cooling happening.

It's a fifteen-year-old CustomSeaLife 1/3 HP chiller, driving a 300 gallon reef tank. Truthfully, it's age and efficiency were already in question, being that it's on more often than not and probably ruining our electric bill.

At 15 years old and $1g new, would you service this or buy a new one? Which brands and models do you recommend? Custom Sea Life is no more. Tradewinds?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Dave

 

[dan-in-gr]

Hi, I had a 1/3 hp JBJ chiller on my 180 reef and really liked it. I am now going with a 1/4 hp Tradewinds Chiller on my 90 gal SPS tank, I feel better with USA built and easy factory service.

You can take your chiller to a local heat/air service place, you may be able to get it recharged and fixed without too much expense.

 

[cmaxwell39]

If it cracked and you heard a hissing noise then you have lost all of the refrigerant out of your chiller and you will need to get it repaired before being able to use it again. It is unlikely that it is going to be worth repairing a 15 year old unit, but you may want to have somebody who knows refrigeration take a look at it and give you a quote to repair it. Good luck.

 

[RoachF4]

I have the 1/3 HP JBJ working right now and have no complaints. It's only hooked up to a 55 so it doesn't really have to work that hard, but it's been great. Maintance is pretty easy...every 6-8 months you have to flush the system and clean the airfilter/screen.

 

[Just_Dave]

Thanks, everyone! That helps lots. Ideally, my replacement will be drop-in and, unfortunately, it doesn't appear that JBJ makes one. So, I'm eying the Tradewind DI-42....

Any other recommendations before I pull the proverbial trigger?

Thanks again!

 

[chilwil84]

never heard a bad thing about tradewinds chillers

 

[cham]

I like my cooling fans.

I run a sump (and had a frag tank) in a Florida hot garage and the fans have no problem keeping up.

Two four fan Azoo's running over the surface of my 120 inside do the job. Cheaper to buy and very cheap to run.

 

[Just_Dave]

Thanks for the additional feedback!

Truth be told, we already employ a 10" fan installed between our lamps, venting the air into our plumbing room which, in turn, vents the warm air outside by yet another fan. As is, the fans do most of the cooling work. Without them, the chiller couldn't keep up.

But the real trouble is that, in the Sierra Mountains, many homes are built w/o AC, being that our hottest days are typically in the mid 80s. And that's fine most of the time, but when we get a heat wave, the ambient room temp can rise into the 90s by noon. Add aquarium lighting to the mix and you've got a fish fry.

 

[cham]

Thanks for the additional feedback!

Truth be told, we already employ a 10" fan installed between our lamps, venting the air into our plumbing room which, in turn, vents the warm air outside by yet another fan. As is, the fans do most of the cooling work. Without them, the chiller couldn't keep up.

But the real trouble is that, in the Sierra Mountains, many homes are built w/o AC, being that our hottest days are typically in the mid 80s. And that's fine most of the time, but when we get a heat wave, the ambient room temp can rise into the 90s by noon. Add aquarium lighting to the mix and you've got a fish fry.

I had cooling fans venting a closed top tank and I couldn't keep temps below 82. I turned them around to blow across the water (counter intuitive if you ask me) and the tank instantly went to 78 and stayed there.

Big difference in my experience.

 

[studentdriver]

Looking at a Oceanic Chiller, have anyone used one before. And advice on this and other brands.