Help with ecoplus water chiller please!

So I got tired of my 75ish temps in my reservoir, so I decided to purchase a water chiller to not have to worry about temps anymore. I picked up the ecoplus 1/10hp water chiller with the following ratings:

1/10hp
280watts
pump size: 132-264
can chill 93 gallons down 10 degrees
can chill 35 gallons down 30 degrees

So I set it up in my reservoir, and let it run overnight as it takes a few hours to get to the chilled temp. I get up and the temps are still in the 75ish range, so I let it run for few more hours and still no chilling. I decide to grab a 10 gallon bucket and fill it up with room temp water, set it up with chiller (under no lighting) and let it go to see if I can get the water down to 60 as this should be no challenge. The water is currently at 70, which is only 5 degrees lower than room temperature.

I've read over the manual 3 times now to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong. I've let the chiller sit rightside up overnight before I installed. I have a small vornado fan blowing across the front of the unit, as suggested by the manual. There's nothing in front of or behind the unit for at least 4 feet, so not blocking the airflow through the unit.

The only thing i'm not doing by spec is the fact that i'm using an ecoplus 396gph pump which is above the maximum reccomendation. Could the stronger pump be causing the water to move in and out of the chiller too quickly, and not getting adequate cooling because so? Or could I possibly just have a bum unit?

Thanks!

Bump............

"The only thing i'm not doing by spec is the fact that i'm using an ecoplus 396gph pump which is above the maximum reccomendation. Could the stronger pump be causing the water to move in and out of the chiller too quickly, and not getting adequate cooling because so? Or could I possibly just have a bum unit?"

No idea......thought I 'd give this a bump for you.........but what I just quoted from you, that makes sense to me........ Is there a 1-800 # you can call?

Good Luck!

growinman

I appreciate the bump. I just got it last Thurs and figured I'd give it the weekend before I started bugging the company. Just wanted to make sure I was not doing anything wrong. Anyone have any ideas?

d4mth3m4n said:

I appreciate the bump. I just got it last Thurs and figured I'd give it the weekend before I started bugging the company. Just wanted to make sure I was not doing anything wrong. Anyone have any ideas?

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I know this post is a little old, but i thought i might add that its important that you let the chiller sit upright for at least a 30 mins before you power it on for the first time, or after storing it on its side. Also the pump having to high of a flow rating is also a problem, because the water doesn't have sufficeant time in the chiller to cool, before being mixed back in the res.

I use the same chiller on a 50 gal reservoir. I also use a 65 gph pump and have no problems keeping my reservoir at 70 degrees.

Also, you say you read the manual 3 times? You may have missed this part.....

Pump Size:
Minimum 132 GPH
Maximum 264 GPH

You're pumping 130+ gph more than recommended. I think your solution is quite clear....

just put a ball valve off the pump to slow the flow down,i had the same prob and rob was right,your pump is running to much water tru the chiller to fast, get a ball valve, there great for trottling flow, for 2 bucks youll be set

I, like the first poster, followed the instructions EXACTLY. I even have the specified pump size. I first tried the 1/10, as I'm only dealing with between 50 & 65 gallons in an Aeroflo2 60-site x 2. It didn't work, so I exchanged it ... two more times! Then the nice folks at my local shop exchanged it for a 1/4, and I had to buy a bigger pump to run it (I bought a 700 gph, it calls for 600 - 1200). And, again, no chilling. I moved it out of the grow room (82 degrees) into the cool dark basement (70 degrees). I have a fan on the radiator. It's level. I let it sit for an hour prior to turning it on. NOTHING! Not one single degree of chilling. And I'm sure I'm paying a fair size PG&E bill to run the thing continuously. WHY doesn't this company have a freaking tech support line?!? Did I forget to say a magic word? I've spent over $500, and a very stressful week, for nothing. I'm very exasperated. If anyone knows anything about these, I'd be so grateful.

the only thing i can comment on is that what is the ambient temperature in the room where the chiller is.. i have a 1/10 hp chiller that was made by AquaChiller, and i also think I am pumping too much through it.. i am using a 290-300 sump, but my temps are COLD.. it doesn't get much below 72-73 but its in the flower room with the ballasts, and several 600 watters. the ambient temp runs about 85 on average with lights on, but the res is cold to the touch at 72-73. my friend was arguing with me saying turn it down to 65 or something, and i responded it won't go that low.. even if you set it for that temp, and leave it on 24/7 it just can't. it uses fans to draw out the heat, and also fans to draw in cold air to assist the cooling system. when my toom temps are low, the water is lower, and when the temps get up to 85 and once 90, the water rose to 74-75.

so, my quetion for you guys is.. what is your room temp currently? seems crazy that this device can't cool your res.. i am only using a controller and not chillin my water res. but since i have 16 x 5 gallon buckets in a RDWC, it doesn't matter as much since we are talking about 16 x 3.5 gallons and about 10 in the res. total.

-jas

My problem initially I'd like to say was just a bad unit. I replaced it and it works ok. I've never been able to hit the rated specs of the chiller as it just seems to have a hard time chilling lots of water.

I've since got a 1/4hp chiller and that worked like a charm on the aeroflo 60 site reservoir, though I've since ditched the system.

Some things that helped me with temps were to run the chiller in another room with lower ambient temps, let it sit for a day upright after moving before turning it on, and using a lower spectrum rated pump.

I have a theory on why my chiller isn't working ... as I had said previously, I had resorted to a 1/4 hp to chill only 40 gallons of water with almost no success. I can tell you that if I turned of the pump, but left the chiller working, the water in the unit would cool very quickly. That tells me the unit works, but not in my environment. My theory is this: If you have a reservoir that has downtime, or is periodically static, such as an ebb-n-flow, you'll have better luck with a chiller. If, like me, you have a system where the water is always in play - in my case an AeroFlow2 120-site setup - then all of that water is spread thinly under the lights as it moves through the tubes. Even though my lights are vented, the chiller just can't compete with the "heater" effect of the system. I will have to focus on more air exchange, or even an air conditioner, if I'm to be successful with this unit in the summer months. And my summer days rarely top 70 degrees on the coast, but it gets over 80 in the room.

Disposition 84, I had tried all of those same tactics - different and cooler room, the upright resting period, etc., but wasn't successful. I'm glad to hear you were!

I have 2-55 gallon reservoirs just for my 1000w liquid cooled light(these get up to 85*F), under those sit 3-18 gallon nutrient reservoirs(only 2 are filled up) in the bathtub of my bathroom, in the bathroom I have a 14000 btu portable AC unit mounted to the wall, I seal up the bathroom, ran intake/ exaust for the AC so only cold air is blown into the bathroom. my nutrient reservoirs stay at 63-68*F all day long with the AC on max. My bathroom is where every flower room is piped to(1-1/4" pvc) and 1-3600gph sump pump cranks the cold water to the roots of each room.

Use the correct size pump and your chiller should be able to cool the water as it requires surface interaction to transfer heat. You are trying to move the water through the chiller cool too fast. If you use a 186 gph via aqua pump your 1/10th hp ecoplus chiller should be optimized for most anything you want to do with it. You can also use a cheap ball valve like the man says and slow down the flow from your 400 gph pump.

If your chiller is still not working correctly after slowing down the flow rate, then you have a bad chiller. If not still under the 1 year warranty then have an air conditioner guy check it for leaks. The compressor itself might be bad, but it is more likely you have a seal that has leaked and might just need to put a set of vacuum gages on it and pump out any air in the system and refill it with a good charge of refigerant and refigerant lubrication oil. Make sure the guy puts the oil back in the pump after he vacuums it out the system. I have seen many of these guys vacuum out a system for me only to refill the refigerant without first adding back in the lubrication for the pump. Factory builds almost never leave out the oil, and if your pump is working at all then it is more likely just a loss of refigerant. One thing is for sure, you can not run the water through the coil twice as fast and expect it to chill well.

I'm in the process of trying one. An EcoPlus 1/4 hp in a 20 gal system, rdwc in 7 buckets, 6 grow sites. It's under a 1000w water cooled on a 100 gal reservoir.

I have the room exhausting through a carbon filter and up thru the bathroom vent. Today I built an insulated exhaust box for the chiller and will vent that, also through the carbon system.

I've never had one. I'll pick it up on Tuesday. There is something about a tank that can be cleaned?

IAC, I got talked out of the 1/10 hp. We will see.

Yep, that works. 1000 gph pump, 1/4 horse chiller, 22 gals. 63 F. I think I have enough power to run a heat exchanger for the water cooled light, also.

Highly recommended. All thumbs up!

Place a fan on it to blow away the warm air it creates , dropped mr temp by 10 when I did yhst

Like post #6 and post 13 says you are moving the water to quiick for the heat to be removed from the water, Ask yourself this Why does a lake or pond freeze faster then running brook or river.

Check how many pumps you have inside the reservoir. They create heat possibly as much as your sucking out. Try using a inline pump. Maybe try to remove as many "appliances" from the res.

SmokesDogHouse said:

Check how many pumps you have inside the reservoir. They create heat possibly as much as your sucking out. Try using a inline pump. Maybe try to remove as many "appliances" from the res.

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Im sure he fixed the problem by now

Oh yea I'm sure he has. But people still read this thread with that same question and may not like those answers. Not to mention the people who stumble on this thread like you and me and still took the time to read it even tho its old. Figured I'd share my ideas as well, No?