My Experiance with an aquarium chiller

Titan151 · 06-03-2004, 05:02 PM

Well I have worked my way through my second aquarium chiller! The Via Aqua CC25. After some tinkering I managed to bypass the thermostat and set the unit to stay on all the time. It ended up achieving a max water temp of aproximately 0 degrees C as measured before the intake of the pump. With insulation and everything installed I was able to hit 20 degrees C at the socket according to the onboard temp sensor. I put insulation over the center of the socket so the accuracy of this temp probe may not be so good. I also forgot to install my own temp sensor and now have to much gunk on the socket to put one in. This unit is only capable of 1500 BTU's. With that information it is obvious why the unit doesn't provide additonal cooling. I think my next plan will be to use an Air Conditioning unit rated at 5,000 btu's.

Out of curiousity, how does a temp difference of 20 degrees between the water and the socket look. Do other people tend to have closer values or is a 20 degree diference average. Also, should the pump be insulated? It is the only exposed component of the system. I couldn't figure out if it was better to keep the cold in and the pump heat in, or let the cold out and some of the pump heat as well.

System Specs:

Maze 4 WB
Swifty MCP600 pump
1500 BTU chiller
ASUS Deluxe E Mobo NF2
Barton 2500 Chip
3/8" tubing with 1/2" insulation.

Dgephri · 08-26-2004, 03:36 PM

I'm new to the forums here, but reading a lot lately. I am curious, at what temp on the chiller did you get condensation?

Would it be beneficial to just stay, say 10C below ambient to avoid the condensation problems?

Seeing all the work you did, and successfully, I am interested in your thoughts on the Via chiller unit.

How are noise levels on it? etc.

nikhsub1 · 08-26-2004, 03:44 PM

No way to guess your flowrate through the chiller... but yes a better block will yeild better performance. http://www.procooling.com/html/pro_testing.php is your friend.

Dgephri · 08-26-2004, 03:55 PM

I know about the comparison graph, its very handy.

My goals in my current system were quite a bit different than my questions about the ViaAqua chiller unit.

Is it loud? Does it heat up your room? What OC did you manage on your mobile chip?

JamesAvery22 · 08-26-2004, 05:02 PM

Is there any kind of guess at a MTBF for that thing if its on 24/7?

Or is this a bad idea on a system thats on all the time?

Titan151 · 08-27-2004, 03:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesAvery22

Is there any kind of guess at a MTBF for that thing if its on 24/7?

Or is this a bad idea on a system thats on all the time?

So far I have more or less got the chiller working at 10C and below. This is of course on only the CPU (no northbridge or GPU for now) The chiller has been running great for the past 4 months. I have even left town for a few weeks (leaving it in the hands of my mac using roomate). It stays on all the time and so far so good. But, as you mention this thing isn't made to run 24/7 (w/o temp controller at least). I anticipate that with this type of use it may only last 1 to 2 years. heh, hoping for two. At the moment I am building a new case that will include and AC chiller. The heatwave in Seattle has let up and my AC unit is now in pieces and ready for the big time!!

redleader · 08-28-2004, 01:06 PM

Definately consider a window AC unit. They're much cheaper, several times more powerful and designed to run for extended periods of time. And since they're not TEC based, they'll use less power.

Bigmack · 08-28-2004, 01:10 PM

So much for Ohm's Law!!!

JWFokker · 08-29-2004, 03:31 PM

Out of curiosity (because I could never spend that much), is it really worth the $300+, instead of spending $400 and getting a used Prometia?

redleader · 08-29-2004, 05:57 PM

Quote:

So much for Ohm's Law!!!

Ohm's law relates the voltage to current and resistance in an ideal circuit. Since we're talking about heat engines, the relevent law is Carnot's. Or was that not aimed at me

Quote:

Out of curiosity (because I could never spend that much), is it really worth the $300+, instead of spending $400 and getting a used Prometia?

Well a basic chiller will be a lot cheaper then 300 dollars, although unless you regas it properly it won't cool as well. You could convert an existing watercooled setup to a chiller for less then a hundred bucks, but you're not likely to get much below -15 or -20 without a regas (which can be done for virtually nothing but requires a torch + some idea what you're doing). Not to mention a prometia really isn't worth it without a regas anyway IMO . . .

Bigmack · 08-30-2004, 05:25 PM

My bad,,, I assummed you were talking about cost of operation.

Bigmack · 08-30-2004, 06:06 PM

Let me clarify my statement,

Quote:

Definately consider a window AC unit. They're much cheaper, several times more powerful and designed to run for extended periods of time. And since they're not TEC based, they'll use less power.

Even 220 watt TEC's consume much less power than 5000btu AC's.

redleader · 08-31-2004, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigmack

Let me clarify my statement,

Even 220 watt TEC's consume much less power than 5000btu AC's.

5000 BTU/hr = about 220w, so no they don't. Remember phase change is 5 to 10 times as effcient as solid state cooling.

Bigmack · 08-31-2004, 05:29 PM

Quote:

5000 BTU/hr = about 220w, so no they don't.

For reference:
1 BTU/hr = 0.293W
Btu to Kilowatt-hours Btu x 0.000293
5000btu = 1.465kwh
Watt-hours to Btu Watt-hours x 3.414
220watt-hours=751.08 Btu
6 220 watt pelters would equal almost 5000btu consuming 1320watts

redleader · 08-31-2004, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigmack

For reference:
1 BTU/hr = 0.293W
Btu to Kilowatt-hours Btu x 0.000293
5000btu = 1.465kwh
Watt-hours to Btu Watt-hours x 3.414
220watt-hours=751.08 Btu

You're confuseing power consumed with cooling power delievered. Just because work/time and heat/time have the same units does not mean they are interchangeable. Thus you cannot calculate cooling power by measureing power consumed. They're completely different things.

Heres a site explaining how the second law of thermodynamics works:

http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/Class/p...51/node63.html

Quote:

6 220 watt pelters would equal almost 5000btu consuming 1320watts

I want to see your TECs! Tell me how they work and I'll give you the first million I make on licenseing.

Bigmack · 09-01-2004, 04:18 PM

I guess my knowledge in this area is severly lacking indeed! I shall continue to lurk untill I'm better qualified to interject.

06-03-2004, 05:02 PM	#1
Titan151 Cooling Savant Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Seattle Posts: 116	My Experiance with an aquarium chiller Well I have worked my way through my second aquarium chiller! The Via Aqua CC25. After some tinkering I managed to bypass the thermostat and set the unit to stay on all the time. It ended up achieving a max water temp of aproximately 0 degrees C as measured before the intake of the pump. With insulation and everything installed I was able to hit 20 degrees C at the socket according to the onboard temp sensor. I put insulation over the center of the socket so the accuracy of this temp probe may not be so good. I also forgot to install my own temp sensor and now have to much gunk on the socket to put one in. This unit is only capable of 1500 BTU's. With that information it is obvious why the unit doesn't provide additonal cooling. I think my next plan will be to use an Air Conditioning unit rated at 5,000 btu's. Out of curiousity, how does a temp difference of 20 degrees between the water and the socket look. Do other people tend to have closer values or is a 20 degree diference average. Also, should the pump be insulated? It is the only exposed component of the system. I couldn't figure out if it was better to keep the cold in and the pump heat in, or let the cold out and some of the pump heat as well. System Specs: Maze 4 WB Swifty MCP600 pump 1500 BTU chiller ASUS Deluxe E Mobo NF2 Barton 2500 Chip 3/8" tubing with 1/2" insulation.

08-26-2004, 03:36 PM	#2
Dgephri Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Oregon, USA Posts: 9	I'm new to the forums here, but reading a lot lately. I am curious, at what temp on the chiller did you get condensation? Would it be beneficial to just stay, say 10C below ambient to avoid the condensation problems? Seeing all the work you did, and successfully, I am interested in your thoughts on the Via chiller unit. How are noise levels on it? etc. __________________ Hunt for the Loch Ness Monster P4 3.73EE 4X512Meg Corsair DDR2 @675 BFG 7800GTX 512Meg OC @ 625/1.83 WD 2X250Gig SATA300 16meg cache Plextor 716SA DVD +/- Animated Nessie Lake Dangerden Watercooling 3/8" loop--TDX--BI Xflow ProII--DDD5 pump--NV-78

08-26-2004, 03:44 PM	#3
nikhsub1 c00ling p00n Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: L.A. Posts: 758	No way to guess your flowrate through the chiller... but yes a better block will yeild better performance. http://www.procooling.com/html/pro_testing.php is your friend. __________________ :-.,_,.-:'``':-.,_,.-:'``':-.,_,.-:'``':-.,_,.-:'``':-.,_,.-: E6700 @ 3.65Ghz / P5W DH Deluxe / 2GB 667 TeamGroup / 1900XTX PC Power & Cooling Turbo 510 Deluxe Mountain Mods U2-UFO Cube Storm G5 --> MP-01 --> PA 120.3 --> 2x DDC Ultras in Series --> Custom Clear Res "Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity." 1,223,460+ Ghz Folding@Home aNonForums :-.,_,.-:'``':-.,_,.-:'``':-.,_,.-:'``':-.,_,.-:'``':-.,_,.-:

08-26-2004, 03:55 PM	#4
Dgephri Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Oregon, USA Posts: 9	I know about the comparison graph, its very handy. My goals in my current system were quite a bit different than my questions about the ViaAqua chiller unit. Is it loud? Does it heat up your room? What OC did you manage on your mobile chip? __________________ Hunt for the Loch Ness Monster P4 3.73EE 4X512Meg Corsair DDR2 @675 BFG 7800GTX 512Meg OC @ 625/1.83 WD 2X250Gig SATA300 16meg cache Plextor 716SA DVD +/- Animated Nessie Lake Dangerden Watercooling 3/8" loop--TDX--BI Xflow ProII--DDD5 pump--NV-78

08-28-2004, 01:10 PM	#8
Bigmack Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Miami Posts: 60	So much for Ohm's Law!!! __________________ A smart man won't brag about what he knows, but listens to others that may know something he dosen't.

08-26-2004, 05:02 PM	#5
JamesAvery22 Cooling Savant Join Date: May 2004 Location: Northern VA Posts: 383	Is there any kind of guess at a MTBF for that thing if its on 24/7? Or is this a bad idea on a system thats on all the time?

08-28-2004, 01:06 PM	#7
redleader Thermophile Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: The deserts of Tucson, Az Posts: 1,264	Definately consider a window AC unit. They're much cheaper, several times more powerful and designed to run for extended periods of time. And since they're not TEC based, they'll use less power.

08-29-2004, 03:31 PM	#9
JWFokker Cooling Savant Join Date: May 2004 Location: Kingston, NY Posts: 269	Out of curiosity (because I could never spend that much), is it really worth the $300+, instead of spending $400 and getting a used Prometia?

08-30-2004, 05:25 PM	#11
Bigmack Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Miami Posts: 60	My bad,,, I assummed you were talking about cost of operation. __________________ A smart man won't brag about what he knows, but listens to others that may know something he dosen't.

09-01-2004, 04:18 PM	#16
Bigmack Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Miami Posts: 60	I guess my knowledge in this area is severly lacking indeed! I shall continue to lurk untill I'm better qualified to interject. __________________ A smart man won't brag about what he knows, but listens to others that may know something he dosen't.

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