Can't win..venting

[Djbetterly]

So with the heat, I finally bought a chiller...a used chiller. I'm gathering now that was probably a mistake. I bought a 2 year old 1/10hp JBJ Artica. The unit worked well for the first week. Woke up this morning to my whole system shut down. The GFCI was tripped on the outlet. Rebooted everything, took a look at my amp graph on apex and there was a huge spike - 24.9amps.

I restarted the chiller and now the compressor won't kick in. I ordered a new start relay and overload protector. Hopefully that fixes it.

I called paypal and they can't do anything for me since its been five days past receiving. Of course the seller won't reply to emails.

Fingers crossed these parts will fix it and I won't be $250 in the hole :smash:.
I'm killing myself right now as I watch my tank creep up on 81 degrees.

Thanks for listening...

 

[vio]

did you try to clean the condenser coil, or check.

 

[Djbetterly]

Definitely not the coil, the unit inside is actually pretty clean. The fan kicks on fine, air passes through the coil without issue. Its definitely either the relay, OLP circuit or the condenser.

 

[Dk638]

Could be compressor

 

[Djbetterly]

Thats my worry...the relay and OLP circuit were only $45 so I'm crossing my fingers that will fix it.

Pisses me off that paypal doesn't stand behind you after the fact. Now that I know that I won't be using them as often.

 

[vio]

See if this help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOE-xLI3dfw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph2p2hrapbA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RfepFb1Dx8

 

[Djbetterly]

Well the continuity checks out but these compressors are a bit different than home AC's and the schematics and compressor are not labeled very well. Hopefully its a good sign though. I did mention to the guys at JBJ that the OLP gets quite hot and shows a small spark when the compressor tries to kick in.

 

[BioMan]

I don't own a chiller, but have you toyed with the idea of rotating frozen water bottles through your sump?

 

[Djbetterly]

@bioman, yes, I have and I found out it takes A LOT of frozen water bottles to cool it. I placed a frozen 1 liter bottle in and it only cooled it down about .3 degrees before the whole thing was melted.

I have a fan blowing on the sump at the moment and that's working much better.

 

[Tonyscoots84]

Ice cubes in ziplock bags can help. A fan blowing across the water will help but will make more evaporation.

 

[Djbetterly]

Well its dead....I feel ripped off. Worst feeling ever. Note to self and others, paypal doesn't cover crap unless you basically don't receive it in the mail.

 

[noelskii]

Where did you buy it from? That's one issue when buying used...you'll never know how much life it has left. As long as the person sold it to you in good working order, you can't really hold him accountable for it.

Other people get lucky with sellers that actually give some sort of warranty or refund...Good luck! Hopefully the seller sees your emails and responds to you...

 

[Paolissimo]

I had an issue with my jbj chiller, what i did to fix it, was to reverse the flow of the water. attach the pump to the hose that returns water to the tank, let it run for a few and see if it helps.

 

[Djbetterly]

I bought the unit on ebay. When I received it there were a few signs that should have told me something is fishy. I don't think the unit was stored properly, upright like they should to protect the compressor. I was so focused on getting my tank cooled down that I just plugged it in.

Essentially the compressor is frozen or shorted. Not sure which one, but as soon the unit tried to kick in the compressor the overload protection circuit clicks.

I've never had an issue as our building AC (water cool system) is normally on by now. The problem is they are redoing the entire system right now and they are behind schedule. So currently its 82 in our apartment and with two fans running across the tank, it never gets below 81 degrees.

Aqua life is frustrating right now!!!

Anyone have a loaner?? :happysad:

 

[noelskii]

Can you temporarily put a window AC on?

 

[Djbetterly]

I've considered that, except that I'd have to buy one and the building has to approve it. Stupid commercial management companies are picky. And also, if I'm going to spend money on one of those, I'd rather just buy a new chiller.

 

[Clink51]

just a thought, what if you buy a portable AC unit, the ones were you connect the exhaust to the window. for less than 150, it may go a long way.

i am having the same issue currently. what i have noticed helps is i turned off my skimmer, my GFO and my Heater. I turn them on at night before i go to sleep and let them run over night when everything is cooler. brought my temp down from 83 to 80, which is manageable. i'm trying to stick to >81

 

[evolution21]

How big is your tank?

 

[Djbetterly]

60gallon total. Supposedly our AC is coming on this Monday, then I'll be fine. Hopefully they are telling the truth.

 

[evolution21]

If not let me know....i have a 1/10 hp chiller you can borrow til you figure it out or until i need it back.....i havent ran it since last summer when i live in a 4th story walk up....i now live in a basement and tank temp rarely goes past 78 at the moment