The full loop is compatible only when the pump can deliver a real flow inside the chiller's accepted range after filter, plumbing and chiller restriction.
1. Start with chiller flow limits
Active Aqua publishes model-specific flow windows. Penguin advises a measurable minimum after system losses for its standard chillers. These are the first hydraulic gates.
2. Add filter restriction
A filter adds pressure drop and that drop grows with flow and fouling. The clean-filter case should not be your only passing case.
3. Intersect the pump and system curves
The pump operating point is the flow where the pump's available head equals the system's required head. ChillSizer solves low- and high-resistance cases to produce a range.
4. Strong vs marginal
A strong pass requires the conservative flow result to stay inside the chiller range. If only the midpoint passes, the result is marked marginal. That is deliberate: uncertainty should not be rounded into confidence.
5. Validate after assembly
Measure actual return flow if possible. Re-measure after a filter has been in service long enough to collect debris. A good design has margin, not just a one-day pass.
6. Low-flow symptoms
- Cooling performance degrades as the filter gets dirty.
- Chiller may alarm, ice or cycle abnormally depending on design.
- Return flow visibly weakens.
- Pump noise changes due to air/priming problems.
Primary technical references
Run your exact setup
Use your real tub, temperature, ambient, exposure, pump, filter and plumbing. ChillSizer checks thermal capacity and real operating flow together.
Open the System Designer