Drop in coil condenser vs chiller

[[V]tEc]

why not consider aquarium chiller if you intend to place it near your tank

1 of the few advantages for compressor is heat and noise, but you must place further away from tank

Not true. A few of us have the compressor next to our tank. I had the chance to compare between the performance of a hailea 1hp and my current 1hp daikin compressor.

Hailea: kick in for 45min (29 to 28 degrees), sounds like a plane taking off, very warm air

Daikin: kick in for 20min(28 to 27 degrees), i have to stand maybe 2m from the compressor to be able to hear it running, Air is only slightly warmer than normal room temperature.

[Happy13]

tEc" post="1118264" timestamp="1373399586"]Not true. A few of us have the compressor next to our tank. I had the chance to compare between the performance of a hailea 1hp and my current 1hp daikin compressor. Hailea: kick in for 45min (29 to 28 degrees), sounds like a plane taking off, very warm air Daikin: kick in for 20min(28 to 27 degrees), i have to stand maybe 2m from the compressor to be able to hear it running, Air is only slightly warmer than normal room temperature.

Fully agree. I have a 1hp compressor running, and I could hardly hear anything when it kicks in. Last time had a artica chiller, and when kick in got the jerk sound. And as for the warm air, just bout the same I feel. And chill much faster.

[mohun_singh]

Drop in-coil more efficient. For 1 HP, below 1K(got mine 2 yrs ago). Abt 65% faster in cooling down a 4 by 2.5 by 2.5 FT tank as compared with a 0.75 HP chiller. Been there.

Quiet operation and minimal heat.

Hi,

I am upgrading my 120g system to 300 g system, earlier I was using Hailea 500a chiller but due to bigger tank and performance I want to use Drop in coil. for that may I ask you more details pics of Drop in coil .

Thanks in Advance.

[dragoncube]

Drop in coil also remove the need for a feeder pump?

[youdontnowm]

Drop in coil also remove the need for a feeder pump?

Yup, no need feeder pump

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[oceanviper]

The source of heat comes from equipment and lighting.

The less equipment inside your tank, the temperature increase slower.

Of course if have deep pocket, then can spend on better brand that generate less heat during operation.

I would said most of the heat comes from your return pump or water pump.

For me, I'm only using one return pump and the pump from the skimmer

Furthermore I have just changed from Resun 1HP chiller to 1HP compressor with drop-in titanium coil.

[dragoncube]

Is the drop in mode better?

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[cpn]

Which type is more economical in the long run in terms of power consumption?

[domvonn]

My thinking is it all depends on the vol of ur tank . Big tanks 422 and up I will suggest drop in smaller tanks can use aquarium chiller . Just my tots

[cjh]

I got another question. i got 2 tanks at home is it possible for me to use 1 compressor but for 2 tanks?

[kfc]

more energy saving for compressor

[reef garden]

Dear brothers and sisters,

I'm sorry for dredging this topic out from the depths for your advice.

I understand that generally it is recommended to use aquarium chillers for small tanks and volumes and drop in coil for bigger ones because of factors such as cost. The pros of a drop in coil are mainly it generates less localized heat, is quiet, doesn't need to be next to tank and doesn't need a feeder pump. If cost is not a consideration, then would it still be better or more economical to have a drop in coil even for small tanks up to 2 or 3 feet or the cons still far outweighs the pros?

My 3 feet aquarium sits in the living room and I'm using a chiller for it. As my house is not air-conditioned, the chiller kicks in frequently and generates a lot of heat around the area. This is especially so with climate change whereby we are experiencing more warm days compared to the past. It is like a vicious cycle where the room temperature is high to begin with, the chiller gives out heat to cool the water and this heat in turn raises the room temperature, causes the water temperature to rise faster and prompting to chiller to kick in frequently. Fans do not help much to dissipate the heat. I also realized the chiller's life span is further shortened when it has to work so hard under such conditions and high end chillers are not that cheap either.

Under such circumstances, would you still recommend chillers over drop in coil?

Can I also ask if the compressor for the drop in coil can similarly be placed on the air-con ledge? In terms of maintaining the compressor, is it similar to servicing an air-conditioned unit?

Thanks a lot!

[Harlequinmania]

Dear brothers and sisters,

I'm sorry for dredging this topic out from the depths for your advice.

I understand that generally it is recommended to use aquarium chillers for small tanks and volumes and drop in coil for bigger ones because of factors such as cost. The pros of a drop in coil are mainly it generates less localized heat, is quiet, doesn't need to be next to tank and doesn't need a feeder pump. If cost is not a consideration, then would it still be better or more economical to have a drop in coil even for small tanks up to 2 or 3 feet or the cons still far outweighs the pros?

My 3 feet aquarium sits in the living room and I'm using a chiller for it. As my house is not air-conditioned, the chiller kicks in frequently and generates a lot of heat around the area. This is especially so with climate change whereby we are experiencing more warm days compared to the past. It is like a vicious cycle where the room temperature is high to begin with, the chiller gives out heat to cool the water and this heat in turn raises the room temperature, causes the water temperature to rise faster and prompting to chiller to kick in frequently. Fans do not help much to dissipate the heat. I also realized the chiller's life span is further shortened when it has to work so hard under such conditions and high end chillers are not that cheap either.

Under such circumstances, would you still recommend chillers over drop in coil?

Can I also ask if the compressor for the drop in coil can similarly be placed on the air-con ledge? In terms of maintaining the compressor, is it similar to servicing an air-conditioned unit?

Thanks a lot!

For your case , the compressor chiller will be idea since it chill faster and can be placed outside of the aircon ledge. Perhaps you can also call the air con compressor guy to check with him on advise where to place your compressor.

Check also what maybe the reason why your existing chiller is kicking in so often ?

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[reef garden]

Wow,

I'm so honored to get a reply from our SRC's shifu!

Thanks for the recommendation. When I mentioned that the chiller kicks in frequently, I didn't mean that it's faulty. It's just that comparatively, in an air-conditioned room or area where there's better ventilation, the chiller will not need to start and stop as often.

In this corner where I have my aquarium, the chiller's warm air gets trapped and circulated around the localized area. So even if the aquarium is chilled to the temperature I set, the ambient temperature will cause the water temperature to rise quickly again. Moreover, I'm not sure but I have a feeling that the replacement of the chillers would likely be more frequent than the drop in coil given that it works so hard all the time!

Thanks for spending time to share your experience with me.

[patricklhc]

What's the average running time of the chiller? And how long does it take to kick in again?

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[Harlequinmania]

Wow,

I'm so honored to get a reply from our SRC's shifu!

Thanks for the recommendation. When I mentioned that the chiller kicks in frequently, I didn't mean that it's faulty. It's just that comparatively, in an air-conditioned room or area where there's better ventilation, the chiller will not need to start and stop as often.

In this corner where I have my aquarium, the chiller's warm air gets trapped and circulated around the localized area. So even if the aquarium is chilled to the temperature I set, the ambient temperature will cause the water temperature to rise quickly again. Moreover, I'm not sure but I have a feeling that the replacement of the chillers would likely be more frequent than the drop in coil given that it works so hard all the time!

Thanks for spending time to share your experience with me.

I am not shifu, there are also many master and grand master here as well

Any help you need you can just check with me again.

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[reef garden]

Patrick,

I didn't actually measure the running time etc but will find time to do that and update here.

Thanks.

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[Patrickmaniac]

Is condenser system more expensive than a conventional chiller considering same HP output?

[SubzeroLT]

The smallest condenser unit is 1HP.

A new set with coil & installation is typically around $1.3k locally.

An equivalent 1hp Hailea chiller is around $800-$900.

Artica does not have a hobby grade 1hp chiller. The largest they have is 1/3HP.

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[Patrickmaniac]

Good info

Thanks for sharing

[equiox]

nice

[Frosty Reef]

I’ve thought long about this topic. I just bought a new flat and I’m designing the entire cooling solution into the home renovation.

It’s a 4 room flat, and the 300g tank is built into the wall partitioning the dining area and one of the rooms used as a study.

A large tank like that would need quite substantial BTU. Using a compressor is easier to reach setpoint temps, more energy efficient and can vent directly outside the flat.

I am intending to install 2 compressors, 1 system 4 for inverter coils for rooms, and 1 dedicated split system for the aquarium.

The reason is because the dedicated aquarium cooler has to run on external thermostat and controller, and not compatible with inverter-linked units. I might be wrong, but I’ve racked my brains and scoured the net and consulted aircon installers, and I cannot find a reasonably safe and desirable solution without complicated controllers circuits.

Second, its because if the dedicated aquarium compressor fails, I can rely on study/dining aircon to provide ambient cooling to the tank, which would provide some buffering time while the compressor is being fixed.

As for the coils, make absolutely sure that its inert, like titanium or glass, copper will not work, the livewater will corrode and worse, leech the metal into the water. Also, ensure that you are using metallic fins to passively transfer the heat into the coils. Do not submerge the vapour connections into the water. You absolutely do not want refrigerants to leak into your aquarium. It is instant death for everything. One solution is to hang the coil from the outside of the sump, and ensure the aircon evaporator line is connected to the coil AFTER a drip loop. This is to ensure that any leaking from the evaporator/coil junction drips down the evaporator line OUTSIDE the sump.

Hope this helps. I will post more on my build process together with the reno, and would appreciate if you guys give me pointers from time to time.