Sierra Bravo Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 Well, got home to the house and tank at 83 degrees . . .my AC crapped out. The portable chiller I bought from @Dominican is doing its job and it's taking the temp back down at a good pace. I'm glad I picked it up when I did. Daughter was home playing Overwatch completely oblivious to the world around her: "Did you not realize the AC was out???" "So THAT's why it's so hot in here!" "And the alarm going off on the tank - that didn't clue you in that maybe there was a problem?" "So THAT's what that noise was!" Geesh. . . 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Bravo Posted August 16, 2018 Author Share Posted August 16, 2018 ...and now my chiller stopped chillin'. Sigh. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Bravo Posted August 16, 2018 Author Share Posted August 16, 2018 My current DIY chiller solution running off my manifold until I can get the AC tech out. Tank was at 83 degrees for no more than 4 hours or so - shouldn't turn out to be that much of an issue, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 I think you should be Ok if that's all it was. My AC went out in May and my tank was in the low 80s for several hours 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 Nice emergency chiller! Your tank should be fine. (Got no clue about your daughter but my baby sister was pretty clueless and she turned out ok. ) I don't typically see issues until the temp gets up around 86° - 88°. One warning sign though is if your fish start breathing hard. In case you haven't already thought of this leaving the lights and any uneccessary equipment off will help keep temps down. I don't know how much a fan would help in this situation, it'll cool the tank initially but as humidity climbs in the room the cooling effect from the fan will drop and the increased humidity might actually exacerbate the problem. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Bravo Posted August 16, 2018 Author Share Posted August 16, 2018 The tech came out and it seems the compressor overheated tripping the internal thermal safety switch. By the time he got out, it had set long enough to start back up. Seems like it's time to start thinking about a new AC. . .what are they? A few hundred bucks or so? 🙄 Tank inhabitants all look fine. My ice chest heat exchanger was able to get the temp down to about 80.5 degrees last night. It was back to normal around midnight. Now I need to get this drop in chiller looked at. It is probably low on refrigerant - it was operating just not cooling the coil. I'm guessing I would take it to an appliance repairman? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 Man that stinks, my AC unit blew out in August 3 years ago. It's never fun to deal with that during the hottest months of the year! I'm glad you were able to take care of it with your makeshift chiller. I always keep a block of frozen RO/DI water in my freezer now for this very reason. If the AC ever goes out I run a fan over the surface of the water and add RO/DI ice blocks to the sump. It is surprisingly effective at cooling the tank down, if not a little labor intensive to freeze RO water and add it to the sump throughout the day... I have no experience with drop in chillers. Could the compressor have gone out on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Bravo Posted August 16, 2018 Author Share Posted August 16, 2018 3 minutes ago, Gig 'em @ NDstructible said: Man that stinks, my AC unit blew out in August 3 years ago. It's never fun to deal with that during the hottest months of the year! I'm glad you were able to take care of it with your makeshift chiller. I always keep a block of frozen RO/DI water in my freezer now for this very reason. If the AC ever goes out I run a fan over the surface of the water and add RO/DI ice blocks to the sump. It is surprisingly effective at cooling the tank down, if not a little labor intensive to freeze RO water and add it to the sump throughout the day... I have no experience with drop in chillers. Could the compressor have gone out on it? It's possible but not probable. I'm not very knowledgeable in the mechanics of refrigeration, but the compressor would kick on briefly, short cycle, and stop. For the brief moment it was on the drop-in coil would get cold. Just didn't stay cold for more than 30 sec. It uses R134a so I'll just take it down to an appliance repair guy and have him pressure test and recharge it. I don't use the chiller all the time; it was bought for exactly this emergency but I have a very bad relationship with Murphy and he often subjects me to his Law. Back up equipment is only good if it is maintained and works. It's like having a flat and finding out your spare is deflated because you've never bothered to check the pressure on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 Curse Murphy and his ridiculous laws!!! I am not experienced in the mechanics either, all I have experience with is recharging the AC of my car. If the connection is the same as that of a car AC input, you could buy the recharging hoses at Harbor Freight and a can of R134a and check the pressure/recharge it yourself. Might cost the same as a technician, but at least you'd then have the tools for recharging AC in the future! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 Yikes! Glad you made it out okay Scott! And when I say you, I mean your tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominican Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 Hi Scott I feel terrible that the backup failed on you! It's possible just sitting in the garage for a while wasnt great for it? I dunno. I'm glad you got through it, and I'd be willing to cover half the cost of to repair it. Just let me know. I just got back from the Dominican Republic yesterday and had to bury my dog. After 13 years he passed one day before we got back from vacation. Ugh.Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Bravo Posted August 16, 2018 Author Share Posted August 16, 2018 15 minutes ago, Dominican said: Hi Scott I feel terrible that the backup failed on you! It's possible just sitting in the garage for a while wasnt great for it? I dunno. I'm glad you got through it, and I'd be willing to cover half the cost of to repair it. Just let me know. I just got back from the Dominican Republic yesterday and had to bury my dog. After 13 years he passed one day before we got back from vacation. Ugh. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk First and foremost - very sorry to hear about your dog. We've been through that not too long ago and it's tough. Second, thanks for the offer, but don't sweat it. I'm pretty sure it's just the coolant. I'm happy with the deal I got on it regardless. Third, please tell me you brought back enough mangu and habichuelas con dulce to share. . . 😋 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Great to hear your AC is working again! I always keep a window AC unit around for backup in case of an AC failure. Fans and ice or a chiller work great short term. But I've known it to take as long as a week to get a central AC compressor replaced. Using fans and ice for several days can make a room uncomfortably humid and the longer the AC is out the greater the effort needed as the house heats up and a chiller is in a room is essentially a space heater. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominican Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Scott, thanks. It's been really hard indeed. My best buddy's gone. Glad you're good with our deal but for the record my offer still stands if it's not just a charging issue.Lol it's so funny that you mention those things. My mom used to make both regularly. We had a bunch of mangu, some mofongo and the bandera Dominicana - arroz, habichuelas y carne. Mmmmm! Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Yates Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 I can look at your chiller if you want to bring it over, i'm by Sea World. Here are my credentials since I don't post lol. Rip maast. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Bravo Posted August 21, 2018 Author Share Posted August 21, 2018 Nathan I appreciate that! So do you hand out photos of your reef to every customer? 😀 Looks great, btw! Thanks for "officially" making a post and taking the time to reply. I agree, the MAAST forum is absolutely a desert. If it weren't for Justin and Alton talking back and forth to each other there would be no content anymore. Coincidentally I just had a guy from A-1 Appliance come by this morning, finally, and he topped off the refrigerant. It wasn't showing a leak so hopefully I'll be good for a while. I will definitely get in touch with you next time I need something. Funny, but I went through eight or nine companies before anyone even wanted to take a look. If it didn't say Amana or Whirlpool they wanted nothing to do with it. Next time you are around 1604 and 281 let me know. I need to start getting quotes to replace my home A/C and you are welcome to put in a number if you'd like. I'm assuming I can pay in chaeto and frags, right? Right??? 😋 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Yates Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 Lol, no I don't want to expose my weakness. I definately will. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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