Small Water-Water Temperature Control

[DanDwig]

I am currently working on a system that uses two small (400 w

http://www.customchill.com

CRAL400R) thermoelectric rack-mount chillers to control the temperature of two independent water baths. We are getting some negative feedback from the customer on the heat output of our system, and need to consider ways to reduce this load.

Our customer is willing to provide us with plant chilled water, but we can't run that directly into our water bath heat exchanger, both for temperature control and contamination reasons. Is anyone aware of a water-water heat exchanger with controlled output that handles something in this size range? Rack mount would be ideal, but I won't insist on it. The smallest unit I've been able to find seems to be about 4kw, ranging rapidly upwards from there.

If not, does anyone have any suggestions on a more effecient chiller unit to replace our current solution?
Thanks

 

[KiwiMace]

Don't let your horse ride your jockey. Cool the rack with the chilled water, leave the precision temperature control to the specialist equipment.

 

[DanDwig]

That is our fallback position, but I was hoping there might be a solution with one system instead of two separate ones. Water-Water units are certainly capable of the precision and power required, so I don't see a reason not to switch if one is available.

 

[IRstuff]

I agree. Somewhere, inside your existing cooler, the TEC modules are attached to the hotside heatsink that is cooled by fans inside the box. If you replace the heat sink with a cold plate fed by the house chilled water, then you can dump all that heat directly into the chilled water and eliminate the fan noise from the unit.

This is something that should be easy to work out with the manufacturer, who might already have an existing cold plate for your unit.

TTFN

FAQ731-376