Drop-in vs. In-line water chillers

[Observer Tom]

I did a search but couldn't find any comparisons between in-line and drop-in water chillers. What do you guys think?

In-line chillers require a pump = more electricity and heat.

Drop-in chillers you would need your own water circulation, I have that, but how effective are they?

I can read the box and see the stats on paper, I'm hoping someone has tried a drop-in chiller and can give me some feedback on if they work as well as they sound.

 

[WeeD22MaN]

Hey Observer Tom

Good question. To be honest I couldn't answer it. But Im guessing it all really depends on the size of the system you're cooling.. Do you require a huge inline chiller? Or could you get away with making a cheap chiller from a cooling coil off a water dispenser?

Anyone with some experience let us know the best route We might be looking into a chiller for this summer.

WeedMan

 

[Observer Tom]

It looks like with the drop-in chillers, very few actually have a digital thermostat so I would need to rig my own on/off. Also, the average price seems to be higher than the in-lines, though I'm not sure why. It seems like a drop-in would be easier to make?

I don't get why these are so expensive in the first place. I can go out and buy a regular window AC unit for less than $100, but a water chiller is $400+?

I wonder what would happen if I just put a regular window AC unit's radiator underwater. Not the electrical part of course, just the radiator on some extended refrigerant lines.

 

[Observer Tom]

Hi WeeD22MaN, it's not a huge system, I figure maybe 250 gallons including what's in the pipes, and that's if everything was topped off completely.

On a side note, I figure 1/4 would be light, 1/3 would be about right, and 1/2 hp would be really safe for hot days. Does that sound about right? I don't run a ton of air cooling, just huge exhange with outside air.

 

[MASHUP]

I always oversize my chillers so they run less, saving you money in the long run and guaranteeing optimal performance for even the hottest of days. Plan for the worst as they say.

No clue about drop-in chiller probes, but that's the design behind most commercial chillers.

 

[been]

Seems like drop-ins would be easier to clean/maintain.

 

[MASHUP]

That sparked an interesting idea. How about submersing a pump in a gallon of reduced ISO and have that strip out the salt build up, kind of like we clean our bongs.

 

[RedReign]

I have a Prime 1/3 hp drop in chiller. Ordered mine from Dr.'s Foster and Smith (or something like that).

Has worked great for 4+ years.

 

[Philosophelon]

I can't speak for drop-in chillers, but we had in-line chillers for our water-cooled lights at the shop, and they always worked well. Just make sure to get a big enough chiller for your application. I agree with Mash regarding sizing.

 

[Arlen]

It looks like with the drop-in chillers, very few actually have a digital thermostat so I would need to rig my own on/off. Also, the average price seems to be higher than the in-lines, though I'm not sure why. It seems like a drop-in would be easier to make?

I don't get why these are so expensive in the first place. I can go out and buy a regular window AC unit for less than $100, but a water chiller is $400+?

I wonder what would happen if I just put a regular window AC unit's radiator underwater. Not the electrical part of course, just the radiator on some extended refrigerant lines.

What would happen there is the acidic solution cannabis prefers in hydro would start to eat the copper and the aluminum of the window ac's evaporator, then it would enter into solution with your nutes and poison your plants. Thats why quality chillers have heat exchangers made of titanium.

 

[WeeD22MaN]

Ive herd of people covering them with bags and putting them in the res.. Check the DIY Chiller in my signature Tom, it might be what you're looking to do

WeedMan

 

[bass ackwards]

I have used 1/4hp drop in chillers for each of my two grow rooms for several grows and I am satiafied with their performance. Each of my rooms have six 600wHPS lights,and I ran a recirculating aeroponic system with 25gals. With a/c I could hold room temps below 80*F,and easily hold nutrient temps at 68*F. From my experience I would say it would be easier to keep the drop-in chillers clean than the in-line,although I have never used the in-line. Just pick up the chiller coil out of the reservoir and clean it with a paper towel. Noise was never a problem as they run quiet. You could hear them if you were within twenty feet or so but not much further away. In my opinion they are a must for any hydroponic system. You can set the desired nutrient temperature and forget about them. Hope this helps

Respect bass

 

[Observer Tom]

Thanks for the tips guys. Weed22MaN's sig led me to search aquarium sites and it looks like there are a ton of cheap DIY solutions, especially for small reservoirs.

Because I don't use much AC I think my chiller will need to work that much harder, so I'll probably play it safe and buy one with temperature control and enough hp to guarantee low water temps.

 

[Arlen]

Thanks for the tips guys. Weed22MaN's sig led me to search aquarium sites and it looks like there are a ton of cheap DIY solutions, especially for small reservoirs.

Because I don't use much AC I think my chiller will need to work that much harder, so I'll probably play it safe and buy one with temperature control and enough hp to guarantee low water temps.

I don't want to sound redundant guy, but insulate, I see so many pics of large grows and such and its amazing to me how many people don't insulate they're res / buckets. If they took the time to do it, they would probably be amazed at the savings in electricity. I insulate EVERYTHING , I run bio-buckets and the buckets, res, supply lines, return lines are insulated. My chiller doesnt work hard at all. Black bucket or anything black under the lights will absorb tons of heat. If you can't get foil backed insulation, astro-bubble ( that silver shit with bubbles in it) can be picked up at Lowes or the Depot. I actually prefer that over fiber glass because if you get a leak, it won't get soggy. If you use the bubble, double layer it with an air-gap, meaning wrap the bucket, then spray glue 1 inch strips onto the the bubble you just wrapped, them wrap another layer, you will be amazed at the diffrence.

 

[Arlen]

I have used 1/4hp drop in chillers for each of my two grow rooms for several grows and I am satiafied with their performance. Each of my rooms have six 600wHPS lights,and I ran a recirculating aeroponic system with 25gals. With a/c I could hold room temps below 80*F,and easily hold nutrient temps at 68*F. From my experience I would say it would be easier to keep the drop-in chillers clean than the in-line,although I have never used the in-line. Just pick up the chiller coil out of the reservoir and clean it with a paper towel. Noise was never a problem as they run quiet. You could hear them if you were within twenty feet or so but not much further away. In my opinion they are a must for any hydroponic system. You can set the desired nutrient temperature and forget about them. Hope this helps

Respect bass

Are the drop in chillers less expensive than the built in? They would save the price of buying a chiller pump.

 

[bass ackwards]

Arlen,I don't remember for certain if the drop in's were cheaper or not, I don't think so. I chose them because I would not have to route my feed lines through the in-line's. For my situation it was easier for me to use the drop in's.

You brought up a good point about insulation. My reservoirs were simply 20 gal. insulated picnic chests which I bought from Wal-mart. They were not in the grow rooms and even though I wasn't able to close the lid completely I never had a problem with heat.

 

[Observer Tom]

If you can't get foil backed insulation, astro-bubble ( that silver shit with bubbles in it) can be picked up at Lowes or the Depot. I actually prefer that over fiber glass because if you get a leak, it won't get soggy. If you use the bubble, double layer it with an air-gap, meaning wrap the bucket, then spray glue 1 inch strips onto the the bubble you just wrapped, them wrap another layer, you will be amazed at the diffrence.

lol that's EXACTLY what I use. I looked at foam boards first thinking they would be easy but then I found those big rolls of silver bubble wrap. I'm using a single layer, maybe I should double up and see how much of a difference it makes.

When in doubt I hit Lowe's or Home Depot and see what jumps out at me. I'm thinking a res chiller will be much more useful later in the summer and I don't want to wait until the last second to try to get the kinks worked out.

 

[Arlen]

Arlen,I don't remember for certain if the drop in's were cheaper or not, I don't think so. I chose them because I would not have to route my feed lines through the in-line's. For my situation it was easier for me to use the drop in's.

You brought up a good point about insulation. My reservoirs were simply 20 gal. insulated picnic chests which I bought from Wal-mart. They were not in the grow rooms and even though I wasn't able to close the lid completely I never had a problem with heat.

You can't beat those damn ice chests /picnic chests for a res, some of them are guaranteed to hold ice for 5 days in the sun!! I coudn't use one for my bio buckets cause I coudn't obtain the needed height for the waterfall. I do use one for a combo vegger/ cloner though . Mabye I'll post some pics of it later. I hear soo much about guys buying off the shelf aero-cloners and such and having heat probs, you could buy 5 80 gal chests for what you pay for an aero cloner and make it yourself, throw in a 1/10 hp chiller and you have zero probs,and very little expense for additives, I use superthrive and a bit of aquashield in mine, some cheap powdered nutes when vegging in the cooler and canna-aqua when in the flower room. yeah I wrapped my return lines from the buckets, I used 3 inch black DWV pipe, in astro-foil, and I used this foil backed plumbing insulation, it comes in a roll, is about 3/16 inch thick, is insulating foam with one side foil, one side sticky. I just wrapped the feed lines with it and it works great. I used to do a lot of ac work, and of course these days insulating is a science, so I kind of learned by doing.