Tecoponic HY150

The Tecoponic HY150 cools the nutrient solution in a hydroponic system up to a volume of 150 litres. It is the smallest of the three, and the obvious first step once your water temperature starts running away in summer.

Why 22 degrees is the line

Water holds less dissolved oxygen the warmer it gets. That is not a small effect, and dissolved oxygen is precisely what roots need. Above roughly 22 °C the level in your tank falls to where roots begin to struggle, while the organisms that cause root rot move into their preferred range. The two work against each other: your roots get less oxygen exactly as disease pressure rises.

That makes water temperature one of the few values in a growing space that does not recover on its own. A tank that has got too warm does not cool itself, and in a closed room under lights it climbs a little further every day.

What a chiller does and does not fix

The HY150's thermostat adjusts from 18 to 22 °C and holds that value, covering exactly the range you want a nutrient tank to sit in. What it does not do is heat. If your room instead drops too far in winter, you want a tank heater, which regulates from 22 °C upward. The two meet end to end.

A chiller is also no substitute for the rest of your climate control. If the tank sits in the full heat of your lights or on a warm floor, you are working against the chiller. Move the tank out of the light, insulate it from the floor and cover it: that lowers the cooling demand before any compressor is involved.

How it is built

The condenser forms part of the structure, which keeps the unit compact and leaves little to maintain. The refrigerant is R134a. A digital display on the front shows the actual water temperature, so you are not working by feel. Inlet and outlet carry 3/4 inch threads with hose connectors supplied for 16 millimetre tubing. Design and manufacture are Italian.

Worth knowing before you order: an external pump is required to push the solution through the chiller, and it is not included. The HY150 needs a flow of between 400 and 800 litres per hour.

Technical Specifications:

• Cools up to: 150 litres of solution
• Adjustable range: 18 to 22 °C
• Electric cooling: 150 watts
• Supply: 230 V, 50 Hz
• Refrigerant: R134a
• Required water flow: 400 to 800 litres per hour
• Air flow: 160 m³ per hour
• Connections: 3/4 inch thread, 16 mm hose
• Dimensions: 215 x 361 x 315 mm (w x d x h)
• Weight: 12.2 kg
• External pump: required, not supplied

Frequently asked questions

Do I really need a pump? Yes. The chiller has no pump of its own: you circulate the solution through it with an external pump delivering between 400 and 800 litres per hour.

Can it heat as well? This version regulates from 18 to 22 °C and cools. To warm a tank in a cold room, look at a tank heater instead.

How many litres will it really handle? The 150 litre figure applies under the stated test conditions. A warmer tank or a hotter room means a lower effective volume.

Is it noisy? There is a compressor and a fan inside, so it is not silent. Tecoponic specify quiet compressors, but expect something like a refrigerator.

Where should it stand? In free air so the fan can shed its heat, and not in the warmest corner of the room. The heat it takes out of the water ends up in the growing space.