Chiller and Fan at same time ?

[jestronix]

Ive been trying to think about how to control and the inefficiencies.

So evap cooling is effective up to a point, then you need the chiller to kick in, but what if your fan is also running. once evap is no longer effective it would be blowing hot air over your cool aquarium right, or does it still help bring the temp down ?

How are others controlling their fan and chiller setup ?

[alton]

A fan cost pennies to operate, chiller cost dollars. With the fan running it should help to limit the amount of time the chiller does, saving you money?

[jestronix]

A fan cost pennies to operate, chiller cost dollars. With the fan running it should help to limit the amount of time the chiller does, saving you money?

Dont worry im aware of this thus why im asking about using both at the same time.

Say evap cooling has an effect of 2c drop, which is fine when its say 28c and you want to bring it down to 26c, great, this is cheaper than a chiller. But what happens on a 35c day and you need your tank at 26. Well your tank is gunna push 33c at some point, but large tanks never really reach this as they have mass. but you get the idea.

Now if i push 35c air over my tank, im going to heat that tank up quicker, just like a wind on a hot day with ice cream. So I have my chiller running and doing its thing, the fan in essence will be working against the chiller. and in really humid climates its worse.

there must be a point where we say yep turn off the fan and turn on the chiller.

Ive seen 43c in my lounge room, and my tank at 26c has frost on all the glass surfaces, i have to wipe the tank to see in it, thats how jungle like our temps get here in Brisbane. Running the fan would be nuts.

For a few weeks my chiller will run almost 24/7, I run two chillers and keep a heap of frozen 3 litre jugs in the freezer. just incase.

[Windy2]

Dont worry im aware of this thus why im asking about using both at the same time.

Say evap cooling has an effect of 2c drop, which is fine when its say 28c and you want to bring it down to 26c, great, this is cheaper than a chiller. But what happens on a 35c day and you need your tank at 26. Well your tank is gunna push 33c at some point, but large tanks never really reach this as they have mass. but you get the idea.

Now if i push 35c air over my tank, im going to heat that tank up quicker, just like a wind on a hot day with ice cream. So I have my chiller running and doing its thing, the fan in essence will be working against the chiller. and in really humid climates its worse.

there must be a point where we say yep turn off the fan and turn on the chiller.

Ive seen 43c in my lounge room, and my tank at 26c has frost on all the glass surfaces, i have to wipe the tank to see in it, thats how jungle like our temps get here in Brisbane. Running the fan would be nuts.

For a few weeks my chiller will run almost 24/7, I run two chillers and keep a heap of frozen 3 litre jugs in the freezer. just incase.

Running the fan would not be nuts. It will still help with evaporative cooling.

[Sounds Fishy]

My chiller works at peak capacity,by using a fan in front of the condensor and a fan at the back of the chiller drawing heat away from the chiller.This does not increase the cooling capacity of the chiller but it helps it to max. out it's capability.My chiller(1/10 hp.) is way undersized for my 220gal.Plus the lights are a combination of 6 T5 54 watt lamps and a big LEDset up.I am able to keep it under 82 degrees during muggy summers,using fans,in this fashion.Just an alternative suggestion!

[jestronix]

Running the fan would not be nuts. It will still help with evaporative cooling.

id be keen to know more on this, if you could explain the science on it a bit more for me.

[ca1ore]

The warmer the air, the better the evaporative cooling. It's ambient humidity that is the problem. I cannot recall exactly, but I think anything above 60% renders it ineffective. So as long as the humidity is below that point, it's worth running the fans.

[jestronix]

Yeh always pretty humid here, any thoughts on really hot days and Surface contact.

[TangingOut]

Is AC not an option? I wouldn't be able to stay in a room warmer than 85 for an extended period.

[iClown2]

I was going to ask them same about AC. Fans will work to an extent, remember evaporated cooling also requires that air to be placed some where else and frsshair back to continue the process.

[Windy2]

id be keen to know more on this, if you could explain the science on it a bit more for me.

These numbers are approximate. Lets say you have a 1/4 hp chiller rated at 2500 BTU/hr. Running it for three hours will pull 7500 btu from your tank. If over the same three hours, you lose 1 gal. of water to evaporation, you remove 8700 btu from your tank at almost no cost. So even with high humidity and high temperature, a fan will still help evaporation.

[Steve Atkins]

Do you pay for your fresh water by the litre?

If not then something I used years ago might work more cheaply than a chiller - effectively a simple heat exchanger.

I put a large coil of plastic pipe in a drum and pumped aquarium water through it with a small aquarium pump. Then I filled the drum with fresh water which was continually replaced from the main fresh water supply via a flow restrictor and a solenoid actuated valve. The aquarium water was being pumped through the system all the time but the fresh water supply only got turned on when the tank go to a certain temperature. Since the fresh water supply was always cooler than the tank this worked very well (on a 2000L system) and only really cost the electricity to a small pump.

Of course if you pay for your fresh water usage then this might work out a bit expensive.

Steve

[outssider]

in the united states almost everyone pays for water, even if you have your own well there is still some expense to run the pump.

[Steve Atkins]

Some cities in NZ charge by consumption but they don't here yet. Only a matter of time.

[jestronix]

I have though of the ground water before, on a really hot day is always cold, cooler than the tank, but Dunno if the cost of water would be more and well the environment :(