drop-in vs in-line chillers

[wardworld]

I'm sure this has been discussed to death (I did do a search), but is there a prevailing reason or reasons to choose one over the other. I realize the drop-in is a problem if you have no sump to drop it into, but are there other issues w/ the different types of chillers?
Thanks,

[jsf668]

vvv

[jsf668]

Tagging along..Hoping someone will answer you.

[DarG]

As long as you have good flow through the sump the drop ins work fine. The probe types used to have more freon leak issues but I think that is in the past. Also, they used to be considered not as efficient. That is in the past as well, atleast with the top companies. You can also put the evaporator inside the tank if the flow is good. It's just unsightly. It is something in the sump that takes up some space so some people dont want that either.

The in line flow throughs require an extra pump sometimes or a larger pump to meet the flow requirements. I prefer the inlines just because I dont want a evap. probe in the sump and the hose can be a pain in the arse. I have had both types.

There are potential issues with both types but the top manufacturers build some good, trouble free chillers. The chiller before my most recent one lasted me 11 years +. My last one just died after aout 14 months because of a leak which, IMO, is due to a poorly designed and poorly built yet relatively inexpensive (to have been done right) and critical part. The long lasting chiller was USA built. The newly deceased unit is made in China and is not a cheap brand. Because of the design of the failed part I'm not having it repaired to put back in service. I dont trust that part not to leak again. Im buying a brand new unit, a US Made Tradewinds. Point being ... Buy the top brands if you can at all afford it whether you choose inline or drop in.

[wardworld]

DarG,
Without asking you to "bash" companies, would you mind listing, in your opinion and experience, who the top 3 or 4 chiller manufacturers are???

[Lucky-rc]

Be carefull here my friend. Chillers can be loud. I have done a lot of research on them and the noise + cost of opperation has made me continue to put it off. You will want to factor the noise more than the cost to operate because if you or one who has 2 fans on the tank and one on the sump a chiller wont cost anymore than your already spending. You will probably be told that Pacific Coast is one of the top three, But I have heard too many complaints about the controll panel going bad? They are however the top selling chiller on the market. If you compare prices it's easy to see why.
I myself would (and soon will need) a 1hp unit. Considerig the cost of the unit I plan to spend the few extra hundred about (400)
and getting the TradeWinds, It is U.S. made and the U.S. has higher standards then other mfg's. China for example is famous for their cheap prices. They can sell for less based on the fact that they can use cheap material (junk) to build their product.

Don't settle for R.C. oppinions alone, Do your research, collect your questions and then come back here to gather exprienced answers. If you run around town to the lfs in the summer you can even see some of the chillers in use to hear the noise levels.

Good luck to ya.

Lucky

[wardworld]

Thanks for the insight Lucky...I was considering Aqua Logic (I've heard good things about them). I am also concerned about noise and even emailed AL to ask about placing the chiller outside (but not directly exposed to the elements).

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

Everybody says their chiller is quiet. I had one and sent it back. It was an in-line. Simple to use, don't have to worry about leaks. They're all noisy I think. Very expensive. Replaced the whole damn thing with a $10-$20 fan. I put one on top of my tank water and overnight it went from 86'F to 72'F. I thought I killed everything but it was ok. The box said 2-4'F. It worked really well. I have it hooked up to a temp. controller now $50-$100 to turn it off and on. This was on a 90 gal tank.

[DarG]

Tradewinds, Aqualogic, Universal marine. Not necessarily in that order. The Universal Marine Chillers are nearly twice the price.
I had a UM for close to a dozen years running trouble free. But they are very expensive now. Tradewinds are USA built and have an excellent reputation. never heard a negative about them. The owner, Hal Collier is a very good man and he knows exactly what he is doing. Aqualogic has been around forever and also has an excellent reputation. I've never heard anything bad about their full size Delta Star chillers either. Im sure somebody has had an issue, Aqualogic has been around for so long, but I have never heard a complaint.

I went with a Tradewinds to replace a Chinese made chiller that lasted all of 14 months. After owning that Universal Marine and recently the Chinese made chiller, I will NEVER buy another chinese made chiller. There is always a corner cut somehwere, always, whether it is readily apparent or not. It's not worth it to save a couple hundred bucks on what amounts to an investment that should last for many years. Im not saying that they cannot possibly provide long service, I am saying that it is a crapshoot. Everything is to a degree but if you KNOW somebody will stand behind a product then it is far less of a crapshoot.

BTW, None of these 3 chillers are "quiet".

just my opinions. Im sure there a plenty of happy Chinese made chiller owners. Im not one of them and I never will be again unless there is nothing else.

[DarG]

Originally posted by SCIFI_3D_zoo
Everybody says their chiller is quiet. I had one and sent it back. It was an in-line. Simple to use, don't have to worry about leaks. They're all noisy I think. Very expensive. Replaced the whole damn thing with a $10-$20 fan. I put one on top of my tank water and overnight it went from 86'F to 72'F. I thought I killed everything but it was ok. The box said 2-4'F. It worked really well. I have it hooked up to a temp. controller now $50-$100 to turn it off and on. This was on a 90 gal tank.

I wish that were true about the leaks as well as the inference that one does not need a chiller. Not everyone can keep their tank cool enough without one no matter how many fans can be feasibly used.

[wardworld]

I agree about the fans, I've got 2 icecaps going in the canopy in my 90 and the temp still gets up to 83 or so...the chiller is my last resort, but I'm looking at a Delta Star 1/5 hp - I only hope I have enough flow from my return pump (eheim 1260) to make it work...

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

Also.. lets make sure we're on the same page about temperature. There's nothing wrong with 83'F. This like many things is controversial but the last article I read said there's a huge range of world ocean temps. where our corals come from and one could say something in the middle might satisfy most corals. And 80-83'F is a good middle range.

[DarG]

No, there isnt anything wrong with 83 degrees. But not everyone wants to run their tank at 83 degrees. But regardless, my tank runs in the mid to upper 80's when lights are on. Thats with full size fans and open rack lighting. I never need a heater, ever. Dont even own one. Im only running two T5's while my chiller is down and extra fans and Im at 83 - 84 this afternoon.

Every ones set-up is different. If I didnt need a chiller I wouldnt own one.

[jsf668]

Originally posted by DarG
No, there isnt anything wrong with 83 degrees. But not everyone wants to run their tank at 83 degrees. But regardless, my tank runs in the mid to upper 80's when lights are on. Thats with full size fans and open rack lighting. I never need a heater, ever. Dont even own one. Im only running two T5's while my chiller is down and extra fans and Im at 83 - 84 this afternoon.

Every ones set-up is different. If I didnt need a chiller I wouldnt own one.

83-84 today..Lucky you. Were do you live? We have just been above 0 and just got another 8in of snow on top of the 14 we got the other day..Never owned a heater?

[DarG]

No, the tank was at 83 - 84 degrees today, the outside high temp was about 72. And of course I have owned a heater in the past. I never use one now and no longer own one. Never need it. My tank runs very warm. I keep my chiller at 78 and even during those rare occassions maybe a dozen times per winter when it is in the mid / upper 60's in the house the chiller still cycles on occassionally.

[IanJ]

I would just like to give my experiences. Living in the tropics a chiller is a must. Over the past years I have used many, 0.5, 0.75 and 1hp of various makes and locally made as well as imported chillers, all in-line.
In all cases they have had limited lives and or needed regular servicing/gas top-ups. They also tended to run for many hours, switch off and soon switch on again.
I have used in tank temp probe controllers as well as the inbuilt controllers.(in-tank being far superior) At times they run almost continuously when the lights are on.

After the demise of my latest 0.75hp chiller I decided to get installed a drop in type, but the drop in coil being connected to a normal residential Mitsubishi Starmex compressor of 9500btu
The coil is neat and around 23m long in the uncoiled state and is copper covered with a type of heat shrink plastic.
The compressor, being an out door unit can be neatly installed outside or where ever convenient. It hardly makes any noise when running.

This thing is so impressive, firstly it’s cost installed is no more than that of some well know in line chillers, but it is it’s performance that sets it apart. It can drop the real temp of the tank by 1 DegC in about 40 mins max, at a lower set temp than I could ever achieve with a reasonable running time. It then takes up to 2 hours before it switches on again, much longer of the lights are off.

I am expecting big electricity savings both in the short and long term as well as significant savings in servicing and maintenance costs.

No idea if you have such installations available, after 18 years and 6 chillers later, I am glad I made the switch.

[corals b 4 bills]

I have a 1/3 hp. in-line Prime Current Chiller, I've had this thing for about two years now and for the life of me I can't seem to get it to cool the tank more the two degrees. When I bought it it was on my 46 bowfront and after running it for three hours it didn't drop the temp but a couple degrees I thought it was broken, I had a Refrigerator repair guy come out and check it when he opened it up I could see frost on the coils and he checked the freon it was full he said that it was working fine but I can't seem to get it to work, My point here is that I think that it's the size of pump, or the amount of flow that's not right, it might be better to buy a drop in unit because it's full-proof in operation, the only problem is noise and heat from the unit's exhaust. If anyone has an opinion on the size of or type of pump I should use on my chiller it would be appreciated, BTW here's a pic of it in my garage I put it out there to heat up the garage not the house (the tank's on the other side of this wall) thanks, sorry if i HiJacked.

[DarG]

Corals b 4 bills .... Your chiller is not working correctly. I had the same chiller on a 90 that runs near 88 degrees with the lights on. It runs for about 45 - 50 minutes to drop the temp about 2.5 degrees. The controller is set for a 1 degree drop and the probe is in the chiller probe port. The actual drop however is nearly 2.5 degrees. About a 35 minute run time when the lights are out. Nothing should be frosting up. The pump needs to push between 10 and 22 GPH through the chiller. If you are not atleast pushing 600 GPH through it, that could be your problem. It is a good chiller in terms of the compressor and other mechanical parts. Watch out though, this is the same chiller, same 1/3 hp and all that just died on me after 14 months. It never failed to cool the tank. I set it at 78 degrees and when the lights are on the tank would run at around 88 without the chiller. So it actually keeps the temp 10 degrees cooler than it wants to be. But the resevoir where the water contacts the evaporator to be cooled, the evaporator housing, began leaking at one of the endcap seams 3 days ago. It is a relatively light duty plastic compared to the heavy wall PVC I have seen used in some top chillers. It is not a well designed or well built evap. housing in my opinon and it is a leak risk because of it. My universal marine used PVC.
But anyway ... it is not working correctly if it isnt cooling your 46 gallon in a matter of minutes rather than hours. Either your flow is way too low or the unit is not running correctly. Again, watch for leaks. The way that housing is designed and built, a leak is not a fluke IMO.

Ian J. ... The length of time the the chiller stays off has NOTHING to do with the chiller. It has everything to do with the heat load of the tank itself. How ever long it takes to heat back up to the temp where you have your controller set to kick on has nothing to do with the chiller itself. As far a hours long run cycles, the standard chillers you used were either undersized for your tank or they werent correctly installed or were not running right. Drop in coil chillers arent any more efficient than in-lines. I have had both types. It's personal preference really. A properly sized chiller shouldnt run for hours. Again, my last chiller ran for about 45 - 50 minutes when all lights were on. I owned a smaller chiller before that on a smaller tank, a 1/5 hp Universal Marine. That chiller was also an inline and ran for over 11 years never needing a refrigerant charge or any maintenance. I had a check up done on it after maybe 7 or 8 years and it was running perfectly with perfect pressures. It was simply undersized for the new tank.
So, your experiences are not mine. You buy the top chillers and chances are you will be provided with a long service life from the unit. I should have remembered that when I replaced my Universal Marine with a Chinese import. Shame on me. I have a Tradewind Chiller on the way.