Drop-in vs. Flow Through Chiller

[hurrifan]

I am getting a chiller and cannot decide between drop-in or flow through. What is your experience between the two? Does it really matter? Space is limited, so I am leaning toward the drop-in. Are they less efficient? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Ritteri&Bubbles]

I personally like the Inline which I have, but I also have the extra space too. But I dont think it really matters either way,the only thing is that an inline needs extra plumbing and possibly an extra pump. Just make sure you have plenty of flow going directly over the coil for maximum cooling efficiency. And go with CSL, nice and compact, good pricing and the best built of em all, including the Aquanetics which I feel is a complete rip off at double the price of your average chiller. If you have a controller already(Like an Aquacontroller etc)then save yourself a few extra bucks and grab it without the controller option. ANd remember the larger the unit you get, the less it will need to turn on and run.

 

[danmhippo]

I used to have inline and now owns drop ins. The biggest drawback I have for the inlines are reduced flow thru rate probably due to accumulated detritus coating the tubes inside the chiller, which makes chilling less efficient, in theory. I tried to use brush to clean the tubes inside, I can see lots of stuffs comes out with the brush, but the awkward position of the inlet and outlet and close proximity to electrical components, I cannot do a flush to thoroughly clean it.

In comparison, I prefer the drop-in's for ease of cleaning. But beware, the drop-in coil is bigger then I think they are and take up quite a significant amount of space in the sump. It's not just the coil space you need to allocate, but also the big thick tube that attaches to the coil that's also taking up space.

I still prefer the drop-in's.

 

[Anonymous]

Another advantage of the drop-in is ease of installation, if you are adding it to a system that is already up and running. But ditto Hippo's comment about the size of the coil - I almost blew that one. I have the 1/4 hp Custom Sea Life and it barely fits in the last chamber of my Ecosystem sump; I had to work it in diagonally.

 

[suckair]

chillers are all noisy! I located my inline chiller in my basement! I can't hear it unless I walk by the basment door and stick my head in. I ran a closed pressurized loop to the basement so I did not need a pump to run it.

Would be hard to do that with a inline.