Normal for Chillers to be loud?

[ek9vboi]

So I recently got around to setting up my used chiller. Seems to be working fine, BUT why is it so loud. Obviously it only makes noise when it kicks into gear but is this normal?

The chiller I have is an ViaAqua CC-25. I do have another chiller but will not use it due to it's size and rating (1/3hp). This ViaAqua is rated for a 20-75g tank which is perfect for my tank.

So my answer is, when you chiller is on does it make a lot of noise?

 

[Ron Reefman]

Mine makes some noise, but it's a 1hp chiller and being that big I fully expect it should make some noise, which is why it's outside, behind the house. When I had a 30g and later a 75g tank, I had a 1/10th hp JBJ chiller sitting next to the stand (not inside it) and you could only tell it was running by a very soft woosh of air movement and the 'running' led. A chiller that small can be very quiet. But not all are.

Now for the story you don't want to hear. My very first chiller was a ViaAqua (about 7 years ago) and it only ran for one day! I took it back to the LFS and they gave me a very hard time about getting my money back. They said they would have trouble getting their money back from the wholesaler because the wholesaler would have trouble getting anything from the manufacturer! Like I cared. It took a month and my being a regular, stop in, non-customer who started making a scene after a few weeks, before I got my money. And can you believe that in the last 7 years I've never bought anything from that LFS again... not to mention, telling this story to every local club member so they all know as well. Some people just shouldn't be in a retail business! :headwally:

 

[atreis]

They vary by brand in how loud the are. My JBJ isn't too bad. I also had a Pacific Coast that wasn't too bad, and an Aqua-Logic that was pretty loud.

As for whether or not it's normal, that depends on where the noise is coming from and the type of noise. There are two major sources of noise from the chiller itself: the fan and the compressor.

If it's mostly "normal" fan noise (a fan moves air over the coils in the chiller - normal would be the sound of the air/fan, not the squealing of a bad bearing or the fan hitting something), that's normal.

The other major sound-making component is the compressor. It will tend to be louder on start-up, then will quiet some, but will not stop making noise while it runs. How much noise this makes depends on the type of compressor (piston compressors are louder than scroll compressors, generally), the quality of the compressor, and the quality of the damping (rubber bushings, typically). Again, "normal" would be compressor hum sounds, and not the squealing caused by a bad bearing.

It's not really part of the chiller, but many people also use a pump to pump water through the chiller, and only run this pump while the chiller is running. If that's the case, this pump is another source of noise.

 

[ek9vboi]

Sounds like you guys nailed it on the head. I was just checking, thanks for the info.

 

[Gotcha!]

Not to jump the thread yet about the noise issue. I have been using an inline for several years (Teco & a great chiller and quite silent in general yet they all make noise when on). The chiller is getting somewhat old and I am thinking of moving to a coil in the sump over the inline and hoses. My question is always how much louder are the coil versions over the inline like the Teco? Has anyone ever gone from an inline to a coil? and what was the noise difference if you did? Sorry if this sorta hijacked the thread a little.

 

[ek9vboi]

Sharing is caring, feel free to take the light. My question has been answered.

 

[atreis]

Not to jump the thread yet about the noise issue. I have been using an inline for several years (Teco & a great chiller and quite silent in general yet they all make noise when on). The chiller is getting somewhat old and I am thinking of moving to a coil in the sump over the inline and hoses. My question is always how much louder are the coil versions over the inline like the Teco? Has anyone ever gone from an inline to a coil? and what was the noise difference if you did? Sorry if this sorta hijacked the thread a little.

I went the other way. The drop-ins are neither more nor less quiet, unless your major source of noise is the pump pumping water through the chiller. Obviously, that part goes away. (There is no noise from the drop-in part itself.)

Otherwise, you still have a fan and compressor and, all else being equal, those things will make the same amount of noise.

 

[Gotcha!]

I went the other way. The drop-ins are neither more nor less quiet, unless your major source of noise is the pump pumping water through the chiller. Obviously, that part goes away. (There is no noise from the drop-in part itself.)

Otherwise, you still have a fan and compressor and, all else being equal, those things will make the same amount of noise.

Ty, I just want to eventually minimize hoses that can leak and I am happy with my Teco yet as it gets older I think I want to go the drop in coil yet I have yet to find many that use one anymore that had hands on with noises from both types.

TY