1/4 Hp Chiller With Cool Coils (4 Uc4 Systems)

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slimjimham

slimjimham

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So I have never run a chiller in my uc4xl systems. I have 4 of them each under their own thousand watt light. I have a 1/4hp chiller I got from a friend a while ago.

Things seem to be going well but noticed water was 77 the other day (I use lots of uc roots so no rot)

Is it worth running the chiller to 50gallons and setting up a pump on a manifold to run the cold water through each system individually, or should I run them all in one line... Or say fuck it because things have worked this way for about a year...

Would I notice bigger better buds with a chiller.... I was also thinking about just chilling 1 system(much easier) and seeing if the results were worth the extra electricity cost/setup of cool coils....

What do ya think
 
DirtySanchez

DirtySanchez

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UC roots should keep you pretty clean and sterile.

That whole chiller situation sounds like a mess. If anything get one chiller per unit.

Dunno how much water each system holds but I seriously doubt a 1/4hp could keep up w 4 systems
 
slimjimham

slimjimham

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Each one is 30 gallons... But obv looses efficiency in cool coil situation...

Have you or anyone started/stopped using a chiller with noticable results in the end product if there were no major issues to begin with?
 
stickyfing3rs

stickyfing3rs

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I Run 4 70 Gallon Systems With A 1/2 HP chiller. I built manifolds and a controller for each system. I have a 50 gallon insulated res that I keep at 50°f. water temps are always perfect. its kind of a pain to setup but its a walk in the park now and I don't have to trip over chillers all over the place.
 
stickyfing3rs

stickyfing3rs

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if you're interested I can point you in the right direction for parts if you go that route.
 
N

NWElite89

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You would absolutely see a big difference in yield once you hook up your chiller. Dissolved oxygen rapidly declines above 70F in water culture. Also, anything above that mark (70) will have a greater chance of bacteria starting and thriving. If your planning on running multiple systems (4-30 gallon) off one chiller I would definitely bump up to the 1/2hp at a minimum.
 
slimjimham

slimjimham

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... I think ill hook it up to one system first, see if it's a noticable yield increase and go from there. Water temp is prob normally 70-73...
 
C

Colordude

26
3
I Run 4 70 Gallon Systems With A 1/2 HP chiller. I built manifolds and a controller for each system. I have a 50 gallon insulated res that I keep at 50°f. water temps are always perfect. its kind of a pain to setup but its a walk in the park now and I don't have to trip over chillers all over the place.

I'm moving to hydro from coco. Thinking dtw on rockwool. Rooms (3) stay about 80F, 2 are sealed with CO2, a/c, dehum, 315 LECS.
Would you provide sketch on your chiller setup.
Thx
 
C

Colordude

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Run a chiller for each unit. The fact you made it a year without problems is amazing. 77 is too high. Root rot is inevitable. .......you have just been lucky.my opinion. ...and i learned the hard way.
Air was at 80. . .
Nutes abt 68, hand watered.
 
stickyfing3rs

stickyfing3rs

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I'm moving to hydro from coco. Thinking dtw on rockwool. Rooms (3) stay about 80F, 2 are sealed with CO2, a/c, dehum, 315 LECS.
Would you provide sketch on your chiller setup.
Thx
How many gallons will you be trying to keep cool in each room? Will you have top off floats in each room? I run rdwc but setting up a system like this for dtw will be even easier to keep where your wanting.
 
C

Colordude

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Thx, the design is a moving! target!
I think now, as a DTW, using rockwool, the rezs, 55 gals, will be kept in a central room where all mixing can be done. They'll stay on there own about 70? Then piped to the appropriate room. One rez dedicated to one grow/bloom room. It's what I'm doing now, but hand watering the coco pots.
Rdwc??
I want to setup drip watering on timer.
No top off floats. Just remix when rez is near empty.
I think with drip going dtw there should be minimal waste and not have to worry about recirculating nutes.
Also, am going to use rockwool, but trying to decide if I should go either cube/slab in trays or individual smart pots with loose rw with clone in starter cubes. Any ideas?
 
stickyfing3rs

stickyfing3rs

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U said this was for a uc. Then you say coco. And drip buckets. U got me way confused. Not sure about anyone else....but im gonna float away. To far above my head bro.good luck though
I don't think he mention UC once. I've never personally seen someone chill dtw nutes but if that's what ya wanna do fine by me dude. More then one way to skin a cat. It's definitely much EASIER to just go buy the separate chillers but if your like me and would rather build something interesting then I'd be glad to help. Do you have a good machine shop in your area?
 
slimjimham

slimjimham

399
43
So yeah, been running the chillers for a bit, things are looking better than ever.

Glad I have them, I ended up with one for each system, didn't seem to raise the electricity too much either, what does everyone set theirs to? I have mine all set at 65*
 
C

Colordude

26
3
Between 65 and 70 is fine for sterile. 70 to 74 if you run bennies.
I'm lost. .

Things seem to be going well but noticed water was 77 the other day (I use lots of uc roots so no rot)

Is it worth running the chiller to 50gallons and setting up a pump on a manifold to run the cold water through each system individually, or should I run them all in one line... Or say fuck it because things have worked this way for about a year...

Would

How many gallons will you be trying to keep cool in each room? Will you have top off floats in each room? I run rdwc but setting up a system like this for dtw will be even easier to keep where your wanting.

Do any of y'all use drippers with recirculating? I hear you still need ~20% runoff, so da drain to waste seems stupid waste of resources.
BTW, what is RDWC & UC?
Thx
 
Purpletrain

Purpletrain

810
143
As we like to say......too each his own. But if i was to run at 77 i would take advantage of some bennies and screw sterile. And im a cold water sterile dude.

Most of the success full hydroponic grows all over the net are from Sterile style grows ,,
Could you direct me to a actual grow that was successful in a open style organic DWC grow ??? there far and inbetween
Only systems i seen that work are aquaponics with live fish systems most grow journals on the net with trying to go organic DWC end up a massive failure
 
slimjimham

slimjimham

399
43
Buy a cooler for one system, see if the results are worth the money for you, higher do, but also good insurance and healthier roots
 
Midwestjay

Midwestjay

3,355
263
You would absolutely see a big difference in yield once you hook up your chiller. Dissolved oxygen rapidly declines above 70F in water culture. Also, anything above that mark (70) will have a greater chance of bacteria starting and thriving. If your planning on running multiple systems (4-30 gallon) off one chiller I would definitely bump up to the 1/2hp at a minimum.
If you run hydroguard you can have res temps into the 80s without bacteria or growth issues.
 
All4freedumb

All4freedumb

874
93
i run half sterile and half organic. And constantly pull 2gpw. I keep my chiller at 71 degrees. I do have to do a res change after 3 weeks in flower when i run organics .and found its not necessary when running sterile. Otherwise everything else runs the same. the only reason I have to do a reservoir change is because of pH fluctuation otherwise it would never be required.i can report better taste and flavor when adding small amounts of organic inputs.
I've seen you state 2gpw before and asked there if you are running 1,000 watt bulbs? I'd like to see a 4 p a light pic. Definitely like to see that ran consistently in the UC... how many sites per light are you running? Also how many watts a room?
 
Purpletrain

Purpletrain

810
143
i run half sterile and half organic. And constantly pull 2gpw. I keep my chiller at 71 degrees. I do have to do a res change after 3 weeks in flower when i run organics .and found its not necessary when running sterile. Otherwise everything else runs the same. the only reason I have to do a reservoir change is because of pH fluctuation otherwise it would never be required.i can report better taste and flavor when adding small amounts of organic inputs.
Hmm interesting would you have some pics ??? most system run closed loop or open loop your saying you do both ???
Gallery 11738 4816 141921
Gallery 11738 4816 87674
Gallery 11738 4816 297449
Gallery 11738 4816 339701
Gallery 11738 4816 448752
 
Purpletrain

Purpletrain

810
143

  1. As accurately as possible, calculate how much water is in your hydroponic system.
  2. During the hottest part of the day, turn everything in your garden that produces heat on. The goal is to let the room get to max temperature.
  3. Now, chill your system down to your desired temp (often 60-70F). Do this with sealed bags of ice or frozen two liter bottles so you won’t be adding extra water to your system.
  4. Once you reach your desired water temperature, remove the ice from the system and circulate the water.
  5. Start a timer and write down the starting temperature.
  6. One hour later, write down the current temperature.
  7. Subtract your starting temp from your 1 hour temp and write it down - this is your temperature differential.
  8. Now, use the following formula to calculate the BTUs you need:
Gallons of Water X 8.34 (weight of a gallon of water) X Temperature Differential

Now you know how many BTUs you need to adequately chill your system.















Example Reservoir Calculation
If you have a 75 gallon system, your max temperature is 80F, your desired temperature is 65F, and after an hour the water temperature is 70F…

75 X 8.34 X 5 = 3,127.5

Here are your conversions to the standard sizes that water chillers are sold in:

Tons

BTUs

1/10 ton

1,200 BTU

1/4 ton

3,000 BTU

1/2 ton

6,000 BTU

1 ton

12,000 BTU


It’s recommended to give yourself a bit of a cushion, especially when buying a low-end chiller. Typically, they won’t put out their actual power rating, so I would recommend adding about 25% to your total BTUs when deciding.

That means in the example above, you would want to boost up to the ½ ton chiller just to be safe.
 
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