Pacific Coast Chiller

[Aquattro]

Well, I'm down to my last of 10 fuses. I've sent a note to the manufacturer to ask what's up, but this is getting silly. I'm going out of town for a few days and I'd like to know my chiller is working while I'm gone.
It's sitting on a table beside a wide open window with a fan blowing on it. I can't get it any cooler than that. We'll see what pacific Coast says, but reliability is becoming an issue.

[kari]

Kind of strange with all the fuses blowing. Mine is sitting in a partially enclosed area under my tank without any fans other then the one built in. Haven't had any fuses blow yet. There's got to be some kind of a flaw in the later models.

[Aquattro]

RC only has one thread (that I could find) on a fuse blowing in one of these. I'm not an electronics wiz, so anyone know why a 10A fuse would blow due to heat outside the unit? I'd love to put this thing on the floor, but there's no way with this problem.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by kari

Kind of strange with all the fuses blowing. Mine is sitting in a partially enclosed area under my tank without any fans other then the one built in. Haven't had any fuses blow yet. There's got to be some kind of a flaw in the later models.

Kari, what type of fuse are you running in yours? The same 10A?

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by reef_raf

RC only has one thread (that I could find) on a fuse blowing in one of these. I'm not an electronics wiz, so anyone know why a 10A fuse would blow due to heat outside the unit?

as the temp gets hotter it becomes harder for the unit to remove the heat. so in simple terms the freon pressure on the discharge increases because there isn't enuf cooling medium. the causes the motor to work harder and *BAM* new fuse please.

the problem I have is why is something that is designed to cool water in a hot enviorment tripping so easaly? do you have to live in the artic for them to work right?

anyways as soon as they reply to your e-mail Brad let me know because if this is going to be a reocurring thing I might have to look into returning it and moving up to a different brand.

Steve

[Aquattro]

Steve, I agree. As someone pointed out to me, we need a chiller in the first place due to elavated ambient temperature around the tank to begin with. A unit designed for this purpose should operate in that environment. If it doesn't, it's pretty much useless.

[Aquattro]

So I spoke to Steve and Tim from Pacific Coast Imports and they had the following to say..

The fuses I'm blowing aren't factory fuses, so that may be the issue. They are sending me some of "their" fuses.
They also felt it could be a load problem, but the chiller is on it's own cicuit (15A) that previously powered 2 400W ballasts plus pumps. I can't see that being the issue.
Over heating; It seems that this unit blows when it gets too warm. However, it sits on top of an end table directly beside an open window with a 19" fan blowing across the room to circulate the air around the chiller. To increase the air circ around it, I'd have to hang it outside the window!!
Improper house grounding is another cause, they say. If my house isn't grounded properly, this could cause the problem.

I've run this thing for up to 7 days without a fuse blowing, and it seems the primary cause is heat (if the kids close the blinds or something, it blows). At this point I'm not sure where to go with this, as I'm certain that the fuses won't be the issue. The fuses I bought come from a reputable electronics supplier and I'm sure they are as good as any other fuse I can get from PCI. I'm not a fuse expert though...

Overall, I'm not as happy as I was at the beginning of this thread, although PCI did state they have sold over 4000 of thse exact units without issue. I can't find any online reference to match my own experiences, so either A) my unit is defective, or B) My house wiring is defective.

Any electricians have any thoughts or diagnostic ideas to try?

[LostMind]

I dont think the problem is related to just you Brad.

Steve and I are both having the same problem it seems?

My unit didn't blow a fuse until the temp in the room rose past 80 because I have my AC on all the time. So the one time the chiller really needed to be there, it blew a fuse.

Not happy with it either.

[Aquattro]

Here is a pic of what I consider "adequate" ventilation around the unit! The fan is normally set to medium to provide enough air flow...

[StirCrazy]

Brad after seeing that picture I don't think your fan is doing anything to help you realy. maybe if you move the fan inbetween the tv stand and the chiller so it directly blows into the front of the chiller it might be a bit better. I just got home and mine hasn't blowen yet so I guess turning my fan on hi seams to have helped as today was hotter than the day it blew.

as for the problem I have only blowen 1 fuse but I am a bit irked that I cannot find replacments here in town so I am waiting to hear if we can upgrade the fuse holder to a standard size with out voiding the warenty.

my other question I have is as we discussed are the fuses undersized for this application. If Darren was here maybe he could help set this straight in my head but I have always been taugth to size a fuse 2X the MAX current of the unit. if this is a true guestimate then as "Pacific Coast Imports" stated it has a start up amprage of over 7 amps, should we not be using 15 amp fuses? maybe ask "Pacific Coast Imports" about this and see if any harm would come of using a 12 amp fuse in conjunction with upgrading the fuse holder to a standard size.

Steve