Chiller control question

[natas]

Most chillers that you buy now have built in temp controllers, so with that in mind how do you setup a chiller with a Aquacontroller?

The few questions that are hitting me now are:

Do I plug it into my DC8 and have the controller turn it on and off with a very low value set on the chiller? Example: IF Temp > 80 COL on (have the chiller set to 76, so that when the aquacontroller turns it on it goes right to work)

Does a chiller work right away when its turned on, or does it take it a good 10-15 minutes to start to cool? Would I be better off to have the chiller always on unless it goes below a threshold which then gets turned off in case it messes up?

Or am I missing something here like keep the chiller always on, but have the aquacontroller control the pump to the chiller. If the temp is to high then the pump turns on?

[kenargo]

The answer will depend on the type of temperature control the chiller include (single or double phase). If the control is a single phase (e.g., it can only control the chiller) then you would want to have the AC control the chiller. Set the chiller 1-2 F cooler than the AC3 and have the DCx turn the chiller on/off. The main reason is that only the AC3 knows the state of the heater and you don't want the AC turning on the heater when the chiller is running.

A double phase temp control will control both heater/chiller. In this case you have a choice of the above or moving the heater to the same temp controller as the chiller.

In general you want 1 device controlling both hear/cool if possible so that the 2 devices are not turning on at the same time and fighting one another for tank temperature supremacy (and wasting electricity).

My chiller has the same and it begins cooling within a few seconds of being turned on. In all cases you want to ALWAYS pump water through the chiller, you don't want the water fowling inside the chiller if the unit happens to not run for a few days.

make sense?

[natas]

Makes complete sense kenargo, thanks.

The chiller I am getting is a double phase, but I think I will set it so the AC controls it all.

[kenargo]

You just don't want to plug the heater into the chiller's heater outlet and you should be fine.