Putting a chiller in the attic

[dolfans1]

Has anyone tried putting a chiller in the attic? I am thinking about moving mine up there to get it out of the living room (it gets annoying when it turns on while watching TV, and it will probably help keep the room cooler). I would probably route the tubing through the walls, and putting a power outlet in the attic isn't a problem.

If anyones tried something like this, I'm interesting in what type of pump you used to get the water up there, and any problems/challenges you faced.

[necigrad]

I think chillers need cooled areas to work. An attic in Florida would be fine in the winter, but I doubt the summer would go well. Also, don't forget about the condensation. Don't have that problem here in Vegas, but in Fl it's gotta be bad.

[dolfans1]

I hadn't though about condensation. It would probably be pretty bad in the attic.

[jojo22]

Not to mention the heat up there, the chiller would be putting more heat (not sure exactly how much) into an area that is poorly ventilated. This can (from a roofer) be bad for your roof as the heat could break down the shingles if left long enough. Thus why we use ridge vents now ( but adding more heat could be bad depending on current ventilation).

[Fishieness]

I agree. I think it would get too hot and may cause the chiller to fail. What about plumbing it to the basement? Or even in the garage if it is close by?
Any powerful external (or even internal in the sump) would work. WHich one or how powerful will depend on how high up it is being pumped, the number of elbows, width of the tube, and how much water is being pumped. Once you decide where you want it, we can then help you decide on a pump from there.

[kcress]

No question the chiller would die a horrible death. And the power consumption would double until then.

[necigrad]

Any basement in FL would be it's own fish tank! If the garage is air conditioned that might be a better choice as suggested.

[dolfans1]

Any basement in FL would be it's own fish tank! If the garage is air conditioned that might be a better choice as suggested.

You are right there! Unfortunately, my garage isn't A/C, and it is a pretty good distance from the tank. By the time the water got from the chiller to the tank, it would have heated right back up. Guess I'll have to deal with the chiller next to the tank.

[corinna]

Ive got mine mounted on an outside wall next to the aircon motor. It works beautifully even when we hit 90plus(which is four monthes a year)pump is a 20gal/min magnet pump, whichtakes the water up 2yards to the chiller then back to the sump.No noise, and keeps the tank at a steady 55 degrees all year.

[kcress]

Whoa 55!! Cold water tank!

How do you keep it not dripping with condensate all over your floor?

[corinna]

its double glazed on the visible sides and insulated on the back with polystyrene panels.If I breathe real hard on the glass I can just about get it to mist up.

[kcress]

Neat! Where do I go for pics? :)

[necigrad]

I've got an idea. Actually more of a concept. I wonder if there's a reliable way to build a small holding tank and bury it underground. It would be like a sump, but only to store water. You'd need a way to thermostatically control the pump for it. Anyone see what I'm getting at? I can't imagine this not being theoretically possible. The temperature should stay rather cool year round, and it won't freeze in FL.

[7faces]

I've got an idea. Actually more of a concept. I wonder if there's a reliable way to build a small holding tank and bury it underground. It would be like a sump, but only to store water. You'd need a way to thermostatically control the pump for it. Anyone see what I'm getting at? I can't imagine this not being theoretically possible. The temperature should stay rather cool year round, and it won't freeze in FL.


Wow what a neat idea...a geothermal chiller...absolutely no energy use for the cooling part...just the pump that runs it.. normal ground temp is what around 65?...
I,ve seen people use this method for heating and cooling a home, but never thought about it for a chiller...

[Fishieness]

i've seen people use geothermal cooling to cool their tanks, but not actually have a buried tank. Up here in the northern parts of CT, the ground temperature is 52*s F. That would be way too cold to have something like an underground tank running all the time unless you are planning on doing a coldwater.
Actual geothermal is probably a better idea as it is easier to control and pinpoint the temperature instead of just cooling the entire tank all the time.
However it might be a little more practical in the warmer climates :P

[necigrad]

I wonder if you could constantly pump the cold water though a copper pipe wrapped around a vinyl tube or something. Have tank water pumped through that tube rigged to a thermostat somehow. That way the cold water is always pumping, not into the tank, and your tank water only goes through when needed. It's kinda the opposite of a chiller. Instead of the water always flowing and the chiller running when needed, you have the "chiller" running all the time, and the water running only as needed. If you think about it you're always running a pump with either method so no extra energy there, but the other is only running as needed. A pump has to use far less energy then a chiller, even though it would need to run more.

[pokoloco]

You would have to rig a pump to a temp. alert sensor with some logic to turn on a pump for your tank water to circulate. Seems like a good idea those geo systems are ussually just some pipes run deep into the ground (about 30 feet) or a system of pipes run into a nearby pond. you could try to get an auger to bore down about 10-15 feet and see what you get.

[Riiz]

I wonder if you could constantly pump the cold water though a copper pipe wrapped around a vinyl tube or something. Have tank water pumped through that tube rigged to a thermostat somehow. That way the cold water is always pumping, not into the tank, and your tank water only goes through when needed. It's kinda the opposite of a chiller. Instead of the water always flowing and the chiller running when needed, you have the "chiller" running all the time, and the water running only as needed. If you think about it you're always running a pump with either method so no extra energy there, but the other is only running as needed. A pump has to use far less energy then a chiller, even though it would need to run more.

I've seriously seen threads using that idea of a very long length of copper tubing buried underground to water-cool a computer's CPU. It shouldnt be too hard to google a schematic to make a temperature controlled relay, that could switch on a pump.

Found one such idea, even uses an aquarium pump too: http://home.comcast.net/~pelikan/