I am new here at Reef Central, but I've had various tanks since I was 5 years old (1962!) and had reef and assorted salt tanks on and off over the years. The last reef I had was in 1998 - It was a 120 gallon mixed coral with the whole shooting match, including water factory in the basement and plumbed through-the-wall lines for top off, drain/fill, and kalk. Boy I wish I had the resources available now back then!
However, today I've come over to you reef folks because I know you guys have much more experience with chillers than us freshwater planted tank guys. I hope you can give me some pointers. I'm conflicted on how to proceed, as I have a Polar Bear CC-50 1/4 hp (340w) on the hook. Someone on craigslist has one for sale for $300. He claims it's never been used, but the manufacture date is 2004. 7 years makes me a little nervous... Since it's not hooked up, I don't have any way to listen to it run or get any idea what internal condition it's in.
This is not the actual chiller but is the same vintage as the one I'm looking at: e-bay item # 220861828673
Is this manufacturer reputable? I don't see much via the usual goog-fu one way or the other.
Can you please give me an idea of what I should look out for with this unit? Are there seals that dry out? Can a compressor seize up from lack of use? Neoprene ozone problems? Can I run it for 1-2 minutes without water running through it to at least know if it fires up at all? Also, is there a DIY or other forum (plumbing, HVAC) you would recommend that have guys who might be of some help here?
His pix look make it look brand new - it's still in the plastic it was packed in, but he doesn't have the box anymore. I'd just like to go check this unit out and have a little more than intuition behind me.
Any pointers you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Reefers!
However, today I've come over to you reef folks because I know you guys have much more experience with chillers than us freshwater planted tank guys. I hope you can give me some pointers. I'm conflicted on how to proceed, as I have a Polar Bear CC-50 1/4 hp (340w) on the hook. Someone on craigslist has one for sale for $300. He claims it's never been used, but the manufacture date is 2004. 7 years makes me a little nervous... Since it's not hooked up, I don't have any way to listen to it run or get any idea what internal condition it's in.
This is not the actual chiller but is the same vintage as the one I'm looking at: e-bay item # 220861828673
Is this manufacturer reputable? I don't see much via the usual goog-fu one way or the other.
Can you please give me an idea of what I should look out for with this unit? Are there seals that dry out? Can a compressor seize up from lack of use? Neoprene ozone problems? Can I run it for 1-2 minutes without water running through it to at least know if it fires up at all? Also, is there a DIY or other forum (plumbing, HVAC) you would recommend that have guys who might be of some help here?
His pix look make it look brand new - it's still in the plastic it was packed in, but he doesn't have the box anymore. I'd just like to go check this unit out and have a little more than intuition behind me.
Any pointers you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Reefers!