Chiller and Pump Size for 10 site UC Dwc

Hey folks need todial in on mysizes so i can go ahead and purchase them. Ill be going with 8-10 gal buckets total of 11 including controlbucket. Was including a rez not sure size probably 25-30 gal, ill be using 2in pvc with a raindrip irigation inline filter. My questions are.

1. Would 1/4 hp chiller suffice in chilling 100-130 gals of water when its alloted at 80gals or would i have to jump to a 1/2hp? Trying to be conservative on cash.

2. What size pump? I was looking at a 550 ecoplus. Also my filter is rated for 40psi will this exceed that?

http://chiller.jbjlighting.com/prod_chiller_size.asp
Try this, it's for tanks but should be good!

WorkinMan420 said:

Hey folks need todial in on mysizes so i can go ahead and purchase them. Ill be going with 8-10 gal buckets total of 11 including controlbucket. Was including a rez not sure size probably 25-30 gal, ill be using 2in pvc with a raindrip irigation inline filter. My questions are.

1. Would 1/4 hp chiller suffice in chilling 100-130 gals of water when its alloted at 80gals or would i have to jump to a 1/2hp? Trying to be conservative on cash.

2. What size pump? I was looking at a 550 ecoplus. Also my filter is rated for 40psi will this exceed that?

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Based on the amount of water, yes. A 1/4hp chiller is the one you want.

I'm a few steps ahead of you in my research, so let me tell you what I now know:

You can chill your res in one of two ways, as an inline chiller (single pump) or a closed-loop chiller where it would have it's own pump.

With an inline chiller, you need to get a chiller with a titanium heat exchanger. These are generally "aquarium" chillers. The titanium heat exchanger is durable enough for salt water and nutrients. From all of the research into chillers I did, the Coralife 1/4hp chiller is the one I'm going with for my 80-100 gallon RDWC-UC. But it also depends on ambient temps as well. I am going with 2" pipes for my manifold and using a Danner Supreme 12 mag drive pump. I am going to have my tent about 4ft away from my reservoir so I went with the 1200gph Danner instead of the 950gph, which is the next size down. But really, you can't go too big on your water pump from what I gather. Also, the price difference is so little between them, why not. Also, it's better to run your pump inline rather than submerged for heat reasons.

If you want to run a closed-loop system, you can get a cheaper chiller like an Active Aqua, but you will also have to buy a stainless steel wort coil (25' should be fine for your res), and a lightweight pump at around 250 to 350gph. My alternate setup was going to be closed-loop and the pump I was going to use was a Danner 250gph mag drive pump.

Hope that all helps.

And this is the filter recommended to me here...

FILTER

The formula I was given is x*12=GPH required, where x=Gallons.

For my 72 gallons, for example, it would be 72*12=864gph required. "12" is the number of complete circulations per hour

JSB99 said:

The formula I was given is x*12=GPH required, where x=Gallons.

For my 72 gallons, for example, it would be 72*12=864gph required. "12" is the number of complete circulations per hour

Click to expand...

Not sure about aquarium chillers but water source A/C & heat pumps require 2-3 gpm.

Budley Doright said:

Not sure about aquarium chillers but water source A/C & heat pumps require 2-3 gpm.

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I'm not familiar with A/C and heat pumps. The Danner 1200gph pump would be pumping 20 gallons per minute.

The formula above is for the whole system but does not account for a water pump, which is the main reason I went larger (forgot that that's why I made that decision)

Also, don't forget to account for pressure loss from fittings (sharp elbows and tees) as well as any rise over 1ft. Better to go larger on the pump.

After looking at the amount of flow the 1/4 hp chiller needs, I'm thinking of going up to the danner 18 (1800 gph), But I don't know if that's overkill for a 4-bucket, 72 gallon system.

Also, I changed my mind about the chiller to get. The Hamilton Tech Aqua Euro Max has really good reviews. A bit more expensive, but you pay now or you pay later I guess.

I forgot to add per ton lol. They seem to require a huge amount of flow, if I ran that through a GEO I wouldn't get a water temp difference lol. It would be going way to fast

Budley Doright said:

I forgot to add per ton lol. They seem to require a huge amount of flow, if I ran that through a GEO I wouldn't get a water temp difference lol. It would be going way to fast

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I hear ya. With the amount of water you're going to be maintaining and a 1/4hp chiller, you'll be good.

Are you leaning one way or another on running your chiller in a closed-loop? I found that a closed-loop setup was a little cheaper than the inline, but I decided I didn't want to have the extra parts. Inline seemed a little easier.

BTW, I'm going with these buckets/lids (cheapest price I found) and I'm going to either use this 27 gallon tote for my controller, or one of these 50 gallon totes.



That's why I'm up in the air now about what size pump to get. right now I'd have 72 gallons or so, with a chiller demanding at least 158 gph. But if I go to the larger res, I'd be at 100 gallons.
Here are the specs on that 1/4hp chiller:
Tank size up to: 170 Gallons
Dimensions 17.5"L x 13"W x 17.5"H
Rating 1/4HP
Ideal tank size 150 Gallons
Inlet/Outlet 3/4" & 3/4"
Chilling Capability 100 Gal:30ºF / 170 Gal:10ºF
Rated Voltage 110-120V
Working Current 3.0A
Frequency 60 Hz
Refrigerant R134a
BTU 3200
Suggested Pump Size 158-670 GPH



If anyone's following this, is an 1800gph pump overkill for a 4 bucket uc-rdwc with a chiller containing 72 to 100 gallons?

or is more flow always a benefit with a uc setup?

JSB99 said:

I hear ya. With the amount of water you're going to be maintaining and a 1/4hp chiller, you'll be good.

Are you leaning one way or another on running your chiller in a closed-loop? I found that a closed-loop setup was a little cheaper than the inline, but I decided I didn't want to have the extra parts. Inline seemed a little easier.

Click to expand...

I chill my setups with a outdoor copper loop with glycol (cold here in winter lol), this is run through a heat exchanger that has an open loop to the Res, I run three with digital controllers. I will probably get a compressor in the loop as well before spring but will DIY with shit I pick up in the job.

Do you have fresh water and a drain in your grow area? If so I can show you how to build your own chiller for less than $300. Holler if your interested.

AKGrowAreo said:

Do you have fresh water and a drain in your grow area? If so I can show you how to build your own chiller for less than $300. Holler if your interested.

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No drain but I'm always interested in ideals. I have a 1/4 hp compressor sitting in the garage just waiting for a home so may use that and still run the refrigerant through the tube in tube heat exchanger for the condenser, if I wanted to get real fancy I could rig it up with a rev. Valve and run it as a heat pump to warm water if needed.