Chiller Teco Tank TK 150: in depth review

Useful Tips

The most important precaution to make sure our TK 150 works at its best is surely to set it correctly and to put in it in the best conditions to work.  One of the most frequent criticism is that the chiller cools down the sump water quickly but this is not distributed in the sump quickly and constantly enough.

To this purpose is important that the water flow entering the refrigerator is equal to that of the return pump of the tank. Unfortunately we cannot just compare the technical features of the pumps as they are usually lower than the ones stated because of the height that the pump needs to deal with to push the water in the tank (I recommend you read this article: how to choose the return pump)

At last, and most importantly, to optimize the functioning we should try and position the chiller pump right under the water coming from the tank, so that it would always work on this warm water, avoiding the risk of cooling down the sump water too much without actually managing to return it to the tank.

Creative alternatives could see the use of the same pump for the chiller and then to return the water in the tank, or to put the outflow tube of the chiller directly in tank like it was a second return pump. In the first case we’d definitely need to bost the pump to counterbalance the loss of prevalence caused by the refrigerator, in the second we would still need to use a very strong pump to function as a return pump as well.

I obviously prefer the first method described, a two-prong circuit in sump.

Conclusions

Teco Tank TK 150 can be found at the maximum price of € 440 (for example at Tropical Nature or Hobby Acquari in Bologna). A price that reflects the unit value and is not excessive. The real price can obviously vary from shop to shop.

The chiller manufacture is exquisite and flawless, and we really liked the Teco Body – Condenser System design which sees the chiller body as the actual cooling unit, this also totally eliminates maintenance a part from assembling and reassembling.

We know that our conditions are not in the standards, LED lighting, cooling fans and 400 l tank, but anyway we loved the TK 150 and it worked just how we wanted it to. During the 15 days of holidays it managed the whole tank and the values remained unchanged.

As for the other units of the Teco line, the cooling coil is in titanium and the chiller is provided with a protective fuse in case of short circuit or excess current.

The manufacture quality is, as always, at the top level and we don’t have anything to say to the plastics choices. Maybe, if we really want to find something uncomfortable, the in & out tubes are different, smaller than all other TKs, 1/2″ instead of the more useful 3/4″.

With the help of a tank chiller, Teco or any other, water evaporation is reduced to a minimum, with several effects: less need of top-off water resulting in longer autonomy in case of holiday or other long periods of absence, and less water waste as a result of less RO water needed. All these benefits are achieved together with a more stable tank water temperature and with an “affordable” price, if we consider that 8 hours functioning per day for 4 months of summer (June-September) in Italy would result in around 39 euros in total (8h*150w*120gg/1000*0.27€/kwh), obviously considering a tank that is compatible with this size chiller.

In our opinion the suggested tank size of 150 litres for this chiller is rather small, with LED lighting we think it could work on up to 200 litres of water with an adeguate return pump in order to maximize the refrigerator efficiency.

Obviously the cooling power of the refrigerator is conditioned by the environmental temperature and by the temperature we set for the tank.

Nevertheless the chiller is always a suggested item to buy, and the Teco TK 150 is a small but big hearted refrigerator, so silent we almost can’t hear it, very well designed and with a good efficiency.

The only negative point is a consequence of its design, it becomes in fact difficult to make an opening in the cabinet for direct air  exchange, which is easier to practice in the case of TK 500, 1000 and 2000 like you can see in our TK 500 review.

PRO

Affordable Price
Teco Body – Condenser System Design
Easy to use
Small Maintenance
Strategic and Functional Temperature Probe Position

CONS

Inability to create a channeled air flow in the cabinet

Teco Tank TK 150 Water Chiller

Manufacture Quality
Quality
Quality/Price Relationship

We’d like to thank Teco for providing us with the chiller TK 150 subject of this trial. You can find it in the best shops or directly from one of our sponsors: Hobby Acquari in Bologna or Tropical Nature.