Water chiller

[xX24nuggetsXx]

I’ve just purchased this system and it states that I need a 1/4hp water chiller but I’ve seen on other sites that I’d get by with a 1/15hp to 1/10hp chiller can someone point in the right direction as I don’t want to over kill it and get one that’s to big and then under do it and have the chiller just constantly working not reaching the desired temp.

 

[smokey0418]

The 1/10 chiller say up to 40 gallons.

I would think it would hold something like that, can’t be just 36litres and or 10 gallons.

Personally I just made one from a used air conditioner 25 bucks and used the extra funds to isolate on a wort coil and to get a inkbird temp gauge.

 

[J232]

Just get a 1/4hp and run whatever you need now and later efficiently. You won’t regret the purchase, just don’t cheap out.

 

[rkymtnman]

run a stand alone system and just chill the control res.

 

[futurebanjo]

Haliea do 3 sizes, the smallest one 100amp (dunno what that is in horsepower lol) says its suitable for 4-8 pots r-DWC.
You'll have to buy an inline filter, pump and hoses though. as it just comes as the plain unit.

They are not cheap, but you set the water temp so they basically switch off, or just go into temp sensing mode unless temp rises, but you have to keep the pump pumping water through it all the time.

Hailea Nutrient Chillers - Nutrients & Boosters | GroWell

Hailea Nutrient Chillers - Simple to Use, 3 Simple Buttons. Precise Thermostat & Digital Display. Keep your Nutrient Cool. Fast Shipping! Buy it Now

www.growell.co.uk

 

[Drop That Sound]

The 1/10 chiller say up to 40 gallons.

I would think it would hold something like that, can’t be just 36litres and or 10 gallons.

Personally I just made one from a used air conditioner 25 bucks and used the extra funds to isolate on a wort coil and to get a inkbird temp gauge.

That's what's up!

Just get a 25ft stainless wort chill coil (or pull the titanium coil from a free burned up chiller), some tubing, a cooler for a res, a pump, digi temp controller, and some RV antifreeze.

Then, all you need is any old second hand or even cheap/free dehumidifier/window ac, and good respect for electricity when you take them apart.. Even a small one will give you like 1/2 ton of cooling.

Bend the cold evaporator coil down into the cooler, submerging as much as possible under the antifreeze.. carefully, without kinking the copper lines. If you do crack the line, go get another free window banger or dehuey, lol.

Get a bigger hydro system? Well, then get a bigger unit to hook up to it. Get more hydro systems? Get more wort chiller coils and pumps, and use a bigger cooler for chiller res.

 

[xX24nuggetsXx]

The 1/10 chiller say up to 40 gallons.

I would think it would hold something like that, can’t be just 36litres and or 10 gallons.

Personally I just made one from a used air conditioner 25 bucks and used the extra funds to isolate on a wort coil and to get a inkbird temp gauge.

many the whole system is 180L but obviously that’s with the buckets completely full so I’d assume with the water being roughly an inch below the net lots the system would probably be 130-150L in total running so it’d be 35-40 gallons of water

Yeah I’m not that smart when it comes to that sort of stuff maybe if there’s a video I could watch I might be able to do it but I’d be clueless doing anything like that hahaha

 

[xX24nuggetsXx]

Just get a 1/4hp and run whatever you need now and later efficiently. You won’t regret the purchase, just don’t cheap out.

Yeah my issue is the power consumption though does it run at full power all the time or when they go into sensing mode does it cut back to say next to no power and then when it kicks back in it goes back to full power? If I could get one that say runs at half the power but still does the job I’d rather do that. I get what your saying though about cheaping out though cause it usually doesn’t end well

 

[xX24nuggetsXx]

run a stand alone system and just chill the control res.

I’ve never done Rdwc before i assumed that the control res was the 5th bucket that you add all the water and nutrients to or is it something else?

 

[xX24nuggetsXx]

Haliea do 3 sizes, the smallest one 100amp (dunno what that is in horsepower lol) says its suitable for 4-8 pots r-DWC.
You'll have to buy an inline filter, pump and hoses though. as it just comes as the plain unit.

They are not cheap, but you set the water temp so they basically switch off, or just go into temp sensing mode unless temp rises, but you have to keep the pump pumping water through it all the time.

Hailea Nutrient Chillers - Nutrients & Boosters | GroWell

Hailea Nutrient Chillers - Simple to Use, 3 Simple Buttons. Precise Thermostat & Digital Display. Keep your Nutrient Cool. Fast Shipping! Buy it Now

www.growell.co.uk

Yeah I live in australia so we have a few more options with the Hailea chillers which is good.

so when they switch into sensing mode do the cut back all power until the temp rises again and they turn back on? Or do they constantly run a full power 24/7? Yeah I thought the pump would have to stay running which isn’t an issue cause they cost next to nothing to run

 

[futurebanjo]

Yeah my issue is the power consumption though does it run at full power all the time or when they go into sensing mode does it cut back to say next to no power and then when it kicks back in it goes back to full power? If I could get one that say runs at half the power but still does the job I’d rather do that. I get what your saying though about cheaping out though cause it usually doesn’t end well

If it's any way decent, it won't use any power other than temp sensors, and it will only start chilling the water if the temp rises above what you set the target temp at.
You do need to run the pump 24/7 through the chiller though, so it knows how hot or cold your water is, so whilst it's always 'on' it wont be doing any chilling unless the water gets too warm, and it's the active chilling that uses the lions share of electricity. OK it will use a tiny bit for the temp sensors and the pump will use whatever the pump uses.

 

[xX24nuggetsXx]

That's what's up!

Just get a 25ft stainless wort chill coil (or pull the titanium coil from a free burned up chiller), some tubing, a cooler for a res, a pump, digi temp controller, and some RV antifreeze.

Then, all you need is any old second hand or even cheap/free dehumidifier/window ac, and good respect for electricity when you take them apart.. Even a small one will give you like 1/2 ton of cooling.

Bend the cold evaporator coil down into the cooler, submerging as much as possible under the antifreeze.. carefully, without kinking the copper lines. If you do crack the line, go get another free window banger or dehuey, lol.

Get a bigger hydro system? Well, then get a bigger unit to hook up to it. Get more hydro systems? Get more wort chiller coils and pumps, and use a bigger cooler for chiller res.

View attachment 5230302

I wish I understood any of this hahaha I’d have to do a lot more research into it as this will be my first doing it so I don’t really know nothing about anything to do with this sort of stuff I was more looking for a plug and play type system but I’d definitely like to learn more about making this stuff myself

 

[futurebanjo]

Yeah I live in australia so we have a few more options with the Hailea chillers which is good.

so when they switch into sensing mode do the cut back all power until the temp rises again and they turn back on? Or do they constantly run a full power 24/7? Yeah I thought the pump would have to stay running which isn’t an issue cause they cost next to nothing to run

Yes that's the idea. The unit itself will use a tiny bit of power for the LCD screen and temp sensors, but it won't kick in until the water gets too warm, and once the water is cooled, it will pretty much go to sleep again.

 

[xX24nuggetsXx]

If it's any way decent, it won't use any power other than temp sensors, and it will only start chilling the water if the temp rises above what you set the target temp at.
You do need to run the pump 24/7 through the chiller though, so it knows how hot or cold your water is, so whilst it's always 'on' it wont be doing any chilling unless the water gets too warm, and it's the active chilling that uses the lions share of electricity. OK it will use a tiny bit for the temp sensors and the pump will use whatever the pump uses.

Yeah ok sweet I was just more concerned if I did buy the 1/4hp system if it was just going to use 500w of power constantly I get with this method of growing they’re pretty much required in the warmer months but it’s a massive chunk of power especially with electricity prices in australia

 

[Drop That Sound]

You'll use a lot less power if you insulate your whole RDWC system. Your right about having the chiller cycle more often if it is made for a smaller system than you are using it for. Then again, insulating the system could make a 1/10th more like a 1/4, because it doesn't have to work as hard.

 

[xX24nuggetsXx]

Yes that's the idea. The unit itself will use a tiny bit of power for the LCD screen and temp sensors, but it won't kick in until the water gets too warm.

Yeah sweet that makes me feel a bit better about the purchase! This might be a dumb question but does it take long for the chillers to bring it back down those couple degrees as the water gets warmer or does that more depend on air temp and other factors?

 

[xX24nuggetsXx]

You'll use a lot less power if you insulate your whole RDWC system. Your right about having the chiller cycle more often if it is made for a smaller system than you are using it for. Then again, insulating the system could make a 1/10th more like a 1/4, because it doesn't have to work as hard.

Do you mean with the silver reflective bubble wrap or is there something more effective?

 

[Drop That Sound]

Bubble wrap is pretty much worthless and has no r-value unless you add a 1 inch air gap between it and whatever. Its still decent for reflecting light, and radiant types of heat.

 

[xX24nuggetsXx]

Bubble wrap is pretty much worthless and has no r-value unless you add a 1 inch air gap between it and whatever. Its still decent for reflecting light, and radiant types of heat.

Well when you say insulate the whole system what do you suggest?

 

[futurebanjo]

I just used aluminium tape on the top of mine, it seems to have made a good difference.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aluminium-Temporary-Exhaust-material-ventilation/dp/B018KEHB22/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2R4AWER9KKI6J&keywords=aluminium+tape&qid=1669323043&sprefix=alum%2Caps%2C76&sr=8-5

Whether you need extra insulation .. for example an air gap/bubble wrap is kinda down to your personal heat/cold issues - remember insulation works both ways, but it will make for a more stable temp, so in theory, the chiller will have less work to do, reletivley speaking.

Check out my grow diary in my sig below to see what I did.