AC went out

KodiakBear · 08-20-2007, 09:42 PM

Well, leave it to karma in southern Georgia that as soon as my wife goes out of town for the week, the AC goes out. Anyone have any good ideas for how to keep a 45gal with 20gal sump cool? I don't have a chiller, since I normally rely on the home's AC (which is set well below my tank's temp) to keep the tank cool. A small heater makes sure the temp doesn't drop too low. I floated all the ice my freezer could make, placed a fan next to the sump to aid in evaporation, and it still only got the temp down to 86F (started at 89F). I can't pick up the part to fix the AC until tomorrow afternoon when I get off work. Any suggestions for how to keep the tank cool while I'm at work? Or is 2 whole days of high temps nothing to worry about?

CATALYST · 08-20-2007, 10:01 PM

Time to float the peas and carrots in the freezer too. Make a trip to 7-11 for a cooler of ice. Might be a long night.

CATALYST · 08-20-2007, 10:05 PM

Is it a sump and not a fuge? If you can get the block ice in the sump and displace some water it might melt slower than cubes.

KodiakBear · 08-20-2007, 10:14 PM

It's a sump/fuge combo. I'm definatly running out of frozen things in my freezer. I never thought I'd be upset about my wife insisting on fresh veggies all the time. Just made it back from a trip to the Twice The Ice vendor... Temps still at 86F, luckily it's late, and the temp outside is coming down. I learned more about home air conditioning today than I ever thought of knowing. Fortunantly it's a pretty simple component, easy to fix. Just have to find the part tomorrow. Nearest Bryant dealer is down in Jacksonville, FL.
As for now, I'm off for a cold shower and a few hours of sleep.

Scouter Steve · 08-20-2007, 10:46 PM

Fans and kill the lights

32Bit_Fish · 08-21-2007, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scouter Steve

Fans and kill the lights

I agree on this one. I've done this to my tank during the hot summer day where there is no A/C in the room during the day.

use a timer for the light, leave the light on between 7AM - 1PM and off during the afternoon when it is the hottest time of the day. Having a fan blow right at it is makes huge difference in terms of keeping the water temp low.

AQTCJAK · 08-21-2007, 09:29 PM

Poor mans chiller, A large cooler with ice & water long hose & a pump, Go from the sump to the cooler several coils of hose & then back to the sump.

CATALYST · 08-21-2007, 09:40 PM

Did you make it? Is it fixed?

KodiakBear · 08-21-2007, 10:14 PM

Yeah, I found the part at a local ac repair company for about $17 (about a third of the fee they charge just to come to your house and look at the AC unit). Had the tank temp back into normal bands by noon today. So far all the inverts seem to be doing alright. I was having some other issues with the corals before hand, so can't really say how the temp rise effected them.

KodiakBear · 08-21-2007, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AQTCJAK

Poor mans chiller, A large cooler with ice & water long hose & a pump, Go from the sump to the cooler several coils of hose & then back to the sump.

Before all this started I had actually been looking into converting an old, unused refrigerator that's been in my garage for God-knows-how-long, into a chiller. Seems like the conversion would be pretty simple, just have to modify the condenser coils a little, and put a fresh charge of refrigerant into it.

AQTCJAK · 08-21-2007, 10:31 PM

That would work as long as the frig is in good working condition

KodiakBear · 08-22-2007, 03:45 PM

The design I found uses all the components taken out of the fridge, and cuts the coils down, and then folds them over themselves. The whole thing ends up just a little bigger than my 10 gal tank. The design is for a spot cooler, so I'm still working out how to convert it to cool water instead of air. Everything I've come up with so far would end up being more expensive than just buying a chiller.

AQTCJAK · 08-22-2007, 03:46 PM

If you are thinking of dropping the cioils in then make sure they are titanium not copper painted

KodiakBear · 08-22-2007, 03:58 PM

That was the first of the 4 options I've looked into. Titanium coils are too expensive. What I'm working on now is wrapping the existing coils around a thin-walled pipe that the tank's water is pumped through. Would make the whole system quite a bit larger if it were to be effective, but wouldn't cost much other than the time it would take to bend the fridge's coils that tight.
If we keep this up much longer, this will get moved to the DIY section.

AQTCJAK · 08-22-2007, 04:04 PM

look into powdere coating them or rubber coating

08-20-2007, 09:42 PM	#1 (permalink)
KodiakBear Plate Coral Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Woodbine, GA Posts: 795 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	AC went out Well, leave it to karma in southern Georgia that as soon as my wife goes out of town for the week, the AC goes out. Anyone have any good ideas for how to keep a 45gal with 20gal sump cool? I don't have a chiller, since I normally rely on the home's AC (which is set well below my tank's temp) to keep the tank cool. A small heater makes sure the temp doesn't drop too low. I floated all the ice my freezer could make, placed a fan next to the sump to aid in evaporation, and it still only got the temp down to 86F (started at 89F). I can't pick up the part to fix the AC until tomorrow afternoon when I get off work. Any suggestions for how to keep the tank cool while I'm at work? Or is 2 whole days of high temps nothing to worry about? __________________ Isaiah 6:8 I once prayed God would grant me patience. The next day I was starting a reef aquarium. My Confession

08-20-2007, 10:01 PM	#2 (permalink)
CATALYST Harlequin Tuskfish Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: SoCal Posts: 978 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: AC went out Time to float the peas and carrots in the freezer too. Make a trip to 7-11 for a cooler of ice. Might be a long night.

08-20-2007, 10:05 PM	#3 (permalink)
CATALYST Harlequin Tuskfish Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: SoCal Posts: 978 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: AC went out Is it a sump and not a fuge? If you can get the block ice in the sump and displace some water it might melt slower than cubes.

08-20-2007, 10:14 PM	#4 (permalink)
KodiakBear Plate Coral Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Woodbine, GA Posts: 795 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: AC went out It's a sump/fuge combo. I'm definatly running out of frozen things in my freezer. I never thought I'd be upset about my wife insisting on fresh veggies all the time. Just made it back from a trip to the Twice The Ice vendor... Temps still at 86F, luckily it's late, and the temp outside is coming down. I learned more about home air conditioning today than I ever thought of knowing. Fortunantly it's a pretty simple component, easy to fix. Just have to find the part tomorrow. Nearest Bryant dealer is down in Jacksonville, FL. As for now, I'm off for a cold shower and a few hours of sleep. __________________ Isaiah 6:8 I once prayed God would grant me patience. The next day I was starting a reef aquarium. My Confession

08-20-2007, 10:46 PM	#5 (permalink)
Scouter Steve Neon dottyback Join Date: May 2006 Location: Somers Wisconsin (Kenosha County) Posts: 683 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: AC went out Fans and kill the lights

08-21-2007, 09:29 PM	#7 (permalink)
AQTCJAK Tiger Shark Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 7,136 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: AC went out Poor mans chiller, A large cooler with ice & water long hose & a pump, Go from the sump to the cooler several coils of hose & then back to the sump. __________________ A Wiseman once said build a stage add a pole & they will dance - Jack 2007 www.aquaticaggression.com Projects & Chronicels http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...car-buffs.html http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...nts-tanks.html

08-21-2007, 09:40 PM	#8 (permalink)
CATALYST Harlequin Tuskfish Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: SoCal Posts: 978 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: AC went out Did you make it? Is it fixed?

08-21-2007, 10:14 PM	#9 (permalink)
KodiakBear Plate Coral Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Woodbine, GA Posts: 795 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: AC went out Yeah, I found the part at a local ac repair company for about $17 (about a third of the fee they charge just to come to your house and look at the AC unit). Had the tank temp back into normal bands by noon today. So far all the inverts seem to be doing alright. I was having some other issues with the corals before hand, so can't really say how the temp rise effected them. __________________ Isaiah 6:8 I once prayed God would grant me patience. The next day I was starting a reef aquarium. My Confession

08-21-2007, 10:31 PM	#11 (permalink)
AQTCJAK Tiger Shark Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 7,136 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: AC went out That would work as long as the frig is in good working condition __________________ A Wiseman once said build a stage add a pole & they will dance - Jack 2007 www.aquaticaggression.com Projects & Chronicels http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...car-buffs.html http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...nts-tanks.html

08-22-2007, 03:45 PM	#12 (permalink)
KodiakBear Plate Coral Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Woodbine, GA Posts: 795 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: AC went out The design I found uses all the components taken out of the fridge, and cuts the coils down, and then folds them over themselves. The whole thing ends up just a little bigger than my 10 gal tank. The design is for a spot cooler, so I'm still working out how to convert it to cool water instead of air. Everything I've come up with so far would end up being more expensive than just buying a chiller. __________________ Isaiah 6:8 I once prayed God would grant me patience. The next day I was starting a reef aquarium. My Confession

08-22-2007, 03:46 PM	#13 (permalink)
AQTCJAK Tiger Shark Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 7,136 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: AC went out If you are thinking of dropping the cioils in then make sure they are titanium not copper painted __________________ A Wiseman once said build a stage add a pole & they will dance - Jack 2007 www.aquaticaggression.com Projects & Chronicels http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...car-buffs.html http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...nts-tanks.html

08-22-2007, 03:58 PM	#14 (permalink)
KodiakBear Plate Coral Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Woodbine, GA Posts: 795 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: AC went out That was the first of the 4 options I've looked into. Titanium coils are too expensive. What I'm working on now is wrapping the existing coils around a thin-walled pipe that the tank's water is pumped through. Would make the whole system quite a bit larger if it were to be effective, but wouldn't cost much other than the time it would take to bend the fridge's coils that tight. If we keep this up much longer, this will get moved to the DIY section. __________________ Isaiah 6:8 I once prayed God would grant me patience. The next day I was starting a reef aquarium. My Confession

08-22-2007, 04:04 PM	#15 (permalink)
AQTCJAK Tiger Shark Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 7,136 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: AC went out look into powdere coating them or rubber coating __________________ A Wiseman once said build a stage add a pole & they will dance - Jack 2007 www.aquaticaggression.com Projects & Chronicels http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...car-buffs.html http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...nts-tanks.html

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)