My Chiller Setup **Lots of pictures**

I sent an email to both of the suppliers listed in this thread, and so far only UMI has replied.

One of the things I asked was if the unit can be taken apart. The UMI cannot. This means that any cleaning will be a flush-out only.

It looks like the unit Tonytooth got comes apart fairly easily. Am I right.

Looks like I am leaning towards the SW-Wilson unit however.

Just picked up a 5200btu GE brand ac for $98 - Wall Mart. 5 year warranty on the sealed compressor section. Wonder if they mind if I modify it a bit?
 
stranglehold said:
It looks like the unit Tonytooth got comes apart fairly easily. Am I right.

Wonder if they mind if I modify it a bit?
Click to expand...

No it doesn't come apart. The only cleaning that could be done would be flushing like you said.

I am sure the warranty would be void if it's modified. I would worry though, those things run forever.
 
I thought from your pictures that you might have had it apart. I was just trying to compare the two.

By the way, Sears has a 5250 btu Whirlpool unit on sale for $88.
 
Wow...good price on the AC unit! I highly recomend you get the SW-Wilson exchanger. This is the most bang for your buck. Look at the size of this titanium coil. IMO that's worth $300 by itself. That's an awsome coil. That's inside this barrel. Have you seen the coil inside the UMI model? That would important to know. A lot of systems I have seen sometimes only have one single loop for a coil. This thing has a lot of surface area. It's overkill I know but if you ever want to upsize, you could easily throw a bigger AC unit on it and still use this coil. You could put a 1 ton unit on this coil with no problems. Probably even bigger if you wanted. I have seen chiller systems with a 5000 BTU AC unit and the coil was only one loop (about 1' of pipe and that's 3/8" pipe and this coil is 1/2" pipe) and it still worked great. This coil could handle a big unit if need be. Isn't it pretty :D
chiller2.jpg
 
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Just a couple of questions.

Did you find a replacement sensor for the Ranco that fits the temperature well? If so, where did you get it?

Grainger has two listed that are 10K thermistors - for about $13. One is direct immersion and the other is plastic molded. Are these acceptable replacements for the Ranco?

Does the temperature well in the Barrel read the inlet or outlet water? How are the inlet and outlet water kept seperate?(I ordered mine yesterday, so I will probably answer this myself soon).

What about the therm conductive grease for the temp well? Would regular Silicone dielectric grease or heat sink grease work better?

rgibson may be better for this one.
I was looking at a Parker 620 or 319 dryer. These are very similar to the dryer that is already on the AC unit. These are dryers rated for 2 tons - any problems on this 5200 btu system? One has the access valve already on it.

Any problems with having two on it? Makes it a little more difficult if I have to replace the existing one.
 
I didn't find a replacement probe. If you do find one, let me know please. You do know that this probe is directly soldered to the circuit board right? How are you going to replace it? Are you going to cut the wires or re-solder it?

Not sure about the replacements.

Yes the barrel reads inlet and outlet.

Not sure about the grease. I couldn't find it at my local AC shop. They looked at me like I was crazy. I really want to use that temp well.

Hey RGibson...can I get this grease online and could you help us find a bigger replacement probe? I would be very happy to get it running like you said, with the probe in the well. It's only logical to have it run this way but I am having trouble finding grease and replacement probes.
 
ok tony and I built his chiller and I always put the sensor at the inlet to the chiller not in well because it gives you a more real tank temperature. from what I can tell that well is useless because it doesn't appear to seperate the inlet and outlet water. this will cause short cycling of the compressor which can overheat and cause permanent damage to the compressor. If you are worried about the pump shutting off and the coil freezing because the compressor won't shut off DON'T. with the coil mounted horizontally when the pump shuts off it will drain the coil approximately half way and I have never seen water change to ice and expand that much. If you are still worried use a low pressure switch to shut off the compressor when it reaches a low enough pressure somewhere between 30-50 psig . We did not do this to tony's chiller because I really didn't think it was necessary because I have never seen a chiller for an aquarium with one. you should check your tank temp everyday anyway and you will know if there is a problem.
 
Personally, I would re-solder it. Not a problem for me, I have done LOTS of soldering.

If I would cut the wires, I would solder that joint and heat-shrink it.

I think I have seen some of the probes suited for this temperature well, but they were traditional mercury type probes - not electronic. I am looking for one that will work. Don't want to spend over $20 for it though.

10K thermistors are all the same right? Anyone

You need something that will almost completely fill the hole so that you get a faster resonse to temp changes. I think if we just used the standard probes with a lot of grease, the response would be too slow.

When you say that the barrel reads the inlet and the outlet, do both of the water connections end as soon as they get inside the barrel, or does one have an internal pipe that lets the water exit at the other end of the coil? Probably not soething you can tell without taking the pipes loose.

Thanks again for the great thread!!
 
Hey Rob....the temp well must work or they wouldn't make it. I am possitive the temp reading won't be as accurate as the way we have it but you can compensate for that by adjusting the thermostat. The way we have it....if I never look at my tank temp or I am gone, then this thing could stay froze and the unit could keep running for a long time and this can't be good. I just want to try it. I don't see anything wrong with giving it a try. Nothing ventured nothing gained. If it doesn't work then you can give me the big "I told you so". Hey..we both have a lot of I told you so's. In the end it is all for the better. It only makes us more educated and have better tanks :D
 
Tonytooth.

Just in case I need to use an alternate location for the sensor, tell me more about your fitting you are currently using for this?

Thanks
 
I got this 90 degree fitting at Lowes and then the rubber seal and holder part came from ROB. I think he got it at the AC supply.
 
the fitting used is a cord seal tight fitting I think the bore is around .250 it has 1/2'' male pipe thread bought from grainger for abour $6 . the pvc fitting is a 1 inch elbow with a 1/2'' female pipe thread sticking out of the corner purchased at home depot I think it was around $1. Tony if you use a low pressure switch it will do the same as you hope the probe in the well will do . It will cycle on and off until you notice the water is warm and you fix the problem or turn it off. I understand that since gibson is the a/c god you want to try it but I don't think he has seen the coil in person not sure. the inlet goes into the coil about 6'' and has a 45 on the end to direct the water toward the center of the coil and the outlet appeared to be the same . I think one of them was longer than the other but I don't recall which one. If you are worried about leaving it a low pressure switch is the way to go. Anything can be done if you don't want it to cycle off and on we can make it lock out and not come back on after a low pressure failure. It's up to you and your wallet. If you are wanting to just try it in the well thats fine but don't go buy a different sensor and waiste your money when you don't know. Just get the transfer grease somewhere and offset the probe in the well to one side it will work enough until you find out if you want to keep it that way then buy the bulb if you like it.
 
Heat conductive compound

Heat conductive compound

Heat conductive compound - white Rodgers is one , chech AC supplys and plumbing supply houses. I hope this will help. RGibson
 
To tonytooth

To tonytooth

Tonytooth-if you can not fine the heat conductive compound where you live e mail me your address and i will send you some at no cost. Have a good day. RGibson
 
RGibson...I believe I need to change my probe first right? My probe is only 1/4" and the well is 1/2". I am not sure is I can change it. They don't sell a replacement from Ranco. You don't recomend me using this size do you?
 
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