Chiller in cabinet with open space?

[foxngn]

Hi all,

Would like to ask is it viable, if i left a backboard open from the back of cabinet & place my chiller inside my cabinet?
The tank is an AIO tank so there won't be sump in the bottom.
But the cabinet gap between the wall is just a few inches. Does the heat still able to circulate out? OR i should just put it outside of cabinet?

 

[CasperOe]

Open or closed, I don't think it makes much of a difference. Arguably you'll have more room and more circulation if the back is not on right?

 

[foxngn]

Ya. That's what led me to believe.
But also at the same time there's a power point behind, i don't think by getting hot air constantly blow out towards the power point ain't a good thing either.

 

[CasperOe]

Ya. That's what led me to believe.
But also at the same time there's a power point behind, i don't think by getting hot air constantly blow out towards the power point ain't a good thing either.

Don't think the power outlet was mentioned in the original post mate I don't have a chiller, never had one as it is already a wee bit chilly here in Scotland. As to how much heat they generate, I am not too sure!

I will leave that one up to your judgement- and to the rest of R2R! If you're not planning on plugging anything in to that outlet, I wouldn't think twice though.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

What chiller are you using? Gonna depend on that

 

[GlassMunky]

I used to have a 1/10hp chiller in a cabinet with lots of holes in it for ventilation, but it still got hot inside.
I recently just installed one of these into my electronics cabinet (holds all the power bricks and apex and everything) and its helped ALOT in keeping temps down.
fans automatically ramp up/down based on cabinet temp and only about $100
Maybe see if something like this is doable?

Home Theater Entertainment Center AV Cabinet Cooling Fans

Quiet Cabinet cooling fans designed for home theaters, entertainment centers, and AV cabinets.

acinfinity.com

 

[mfinn]

Having a chiller inside a closed cabinet/stand could cause heat issues with the chiller itself. If the back was open enough you might be able to use it.
Better yet the fan suggestion GlassMunky posted about or something similar.

 

[foxngn]

What chiller are you using? Gonna depend on that

I'm using a hailea hs66a.
1/4 hp.

I used to have a 1/10hp chiller in a cabinet with lots of holes in it for ventilation, but it still got hot inside.
I recently just installed one of these into my electronics cabinet (holds all the power bricks and apex and everything) and its helped ALOT in keeping temps down.
fans automatically ramp up/down based on cabinet temp and only about $100
Maybe see if something like this is doable?

Home Theater Entertainment Center AV Cabinet Cooling Fans

Quiet Cabinet cooling fans designed for home theaters, entertainment centers, and AV cabinets.

acinfinity.com

Unfortunately i don't have a budget on this setup, i guess the only thing i could do is to install a dc fan to suck out the air from cabinet.
Say if extension cord with socket sharing inside the cabinet will the heat from the chiller spoil it ?

Having a chiller inside a closed cabinet/stand could cause heat issues with the chiller itself. If the back was open enough you might be able to use it.
Better yet the fan suggestion GlassMunky posted about or something similar.

I'm not sure how much is consider open enough. I can move the cabinet away from the power outlet so the heat doesn't blow that way.
The only solution inside cabinet i think of was to remove half of the board(as picture attached), and leave a gap on the front door.

 

[mfinn]

I think you will get tired ( spouse will too) of having that door open.
I would leave the back open and look for a set of fans and mount them on the side.
Or, can you put the chiller in the room behind the tank? Or beside the tank?
If it's not the drop-in style chiller you can move it to another room. When I used a chiller on my 240 I put it outside and ran piping to it and back. Worked great.

 

[Reign1]

Chillers do generate a fair amount of hot air and also need good airflow in order for them to function properly. If possible I would have outside of cabinet if not have good mesh vents in front and back of where chiller installed . For example I had a 450gallon commercial display that had the sump and chiller under the server/drink stations. it had some venting in back but had a vent in front for a 1/2 hp chiller. If there was any restriction of air or dust obstructing the air flow the chiller did not work properly. Give it as much space as you can and keep it clean.
Hope that helps.

 

[jda]

If you want the chiller to run at peak capacity, I would not obstruct the airflow one bit. Outside the stand it better. In another room is best, but this is hard for most people.

I once had a chiller in a stand and I had to keep the doors open all of the time. The back was completely open. In the cooler months, I could close the doors since it never ran.

 

[foxngn]

Noted on that guys, I think my final decision would be on an open space either beside or in front of the tank.
Just a quick one just to clear off my mind. what if I totally remove the door? Half of the front door & Half of the back panel, does that still consider good airflow ?

 

[gbroadbridge]

Chillers are like air conditioners, they are heat pumps that remove heat from the tank and transfer it somewhere else.

The best chiller setups are either placed outside (like an A/C unit) with the water pumped from the tank and back
so that the hot air is outside, or you vent the heat out though a air vent pipe to outside.

I see little use in removing heat from the tank water and then pumping the heat into the same room as the tank where it will raise ambient temperature which will raise the temp in the tank again. - it's like using an air cond and venting the hot air back into the room you are cooling.

 

[KrisReef]

If you don't have circulation to remove the hot air from under the tank then the hot cabinet will conduct heat into the tank and the chiller will have to work extra hard to keep the tank cool.

IF there is a fan pushing the air through the cabinet then you may have enough circulation to run the chiller ok. The room is still going to be heated by the hot air which will move back into the tank. If you have a skimmer, that will also be impacted by the warm air, acting like a force air heater in a residential space.

edit
@gbroadbridge beat me to it.