Cons of Interchiller - In humid environments

[Air’d outSRT]

The ones I have seen personally (FI, IC and WeaponX) are all different. And there is a difference in quality.

Ironically Weapon X and Ripa are damn near identical

 

[Al Bundy]

The ones I have seen personally (FI, IC and WeaponX) are all different. And there is a difference in quality.

Do those companies manufacture their own products, or do they source them?
I can’t confirm this, but I read somewhere that a company that I won’t name here, repurposed a beer chiller for their product. I don’t mind that they did that if true, but someone mentioned that they had refrigerant leaking and corrosion issues because of it. Are they chillers designed for the refrigerant used in the TRX, or does this even matter?

 

[AZDinoPwr]

Ironically Weapon X and Ripa are damn near identical

I haven’t seen Ripas in person so can’t comment. I’m a huge weaponx fan and used a lot of their components on my CTSV but I can honestly say their chiller was subpar compared to the FI one I installed later.

 

[AZDinoPwr]

Do those companies manufacture their own products, or do they source them?
I can’t confirm this, but I read somewhere that a company that I won’t name here, repurposed a beer chiller for their product. I don’t mind that they did that if true, but someone mentioned that they had refrigerant leaking and corrosion issues because of it. Are they chillers designed for the refrigerant used in the TRX, or does this even matter?

FI manufactures their own from what I have seen and they are designed to match our refrigerant. I believe everyone else sources and yes some are beer chillers. IMO FI and IC specialize in this product line while others just dabble in bringing some individual kits to the market. FI has been doing it for decades. Not sure how long for IC. Personally I have never seen anyone beat FI’s performance but from a longevity and bang for buck standpoint I honestly don’t know how the competitors stack up. You might be able to get 75% of the performance with a similar system at lower cost and acceptable quality.

 

[Al Bundy]

FI manufactures their own from what I have seen and they are designed to match our refrigerant. I believe everyone else sources and yes some are beer chillers. IMO FI and IC specialize in this product line while others just dabble in bringing some individual kits to the market. FI has been doing it for decades. Not sure how long for IC. Personally I have never seen anyone beat FI’s performance but from a longevity and bang for buck standpoint I honestly don’t know how the competitors stack up. You might be able to get 75% of the performance with a similar system at lower cost and acceptable quality.

That makes sense. So if I understand you correctly, FI is probably the closest to OEM build quality?

Is the compressor on the Demon the same size as the one on the TRX? Also, could there be foreseeable compressor issues with the increased refrigerant volume?

 

[Air’d outSRT]

I haven’t seen Ripas in person so can’t comment. I’m a huge weaponx fan and used a lot of their components on my CTSV but I can honestly say their chiller was subpar compared to the FI one I installed later.

I posted comparison pics in another post as well as other components ripa “borrowed” and threw his name on, like he normally does

 

[Al Bundy]

I posted comparison pics in another post as well as other components ripa “borrowed” and threw his name on, like he normally does

I see how that works now. Cool! I was thinking it was designed similar to a condenser coil. I guess no need for an auxiliary fan then, lol. Looking at the pictures those two brands look pretty similar, besides the fittings.

 

[Air’d outSRT]

I see how that works now. Cool! I was thinking it was designed similar to a condenser coil. I guess no need for an auxiliary fan then, lol. Looking at the pictures those two brands look pretty similar, besides the fittings.

Its all internal from the looks of it, kind of like my air to water intercooler on my drag lexus but ac line is the “water” and the coolant is the “air”. As for the lines being different, they are the same, just bent and routed differently on them because that condenser coil is for a different vehicle I think.

 

[4FlynLow]

You are correct. When the lines are wrapped you will get no/minimal condensation. Also yes race valve to cut cabin ac to further chill the IC coolant.

I went with the Ripatuned IC after much debate and head scratching between them and FI. My ultimate decision was based on the ease of installation and the 2.5 gallon reservoir tank (FI is releasing one soon) Ripa has a race valve as well wired to an aux switch. I am still in the process of insulating the rest of the factory lines which I should button up tomorrow.

Grey, What is the rationale for selecting the IC you selected as these are the same two I am considering? Thanks

 

[AZDinoPwr]

Grey, What is the rationale for selecting the IC you selected as these are the same two I am considering? Thanks

The difference between manufacturers is performance which is based on interior geometry efficiency and quality.

 

[Grey03svt]

Grey, What is the rationale for selecting the IC you selected as these are the same two I am considering? Thanks

For me was ease of installation. The ability to be non invasive to the truck and back to stock without a trace if needed. The 2.5 gallon reservoir tank is part of the kit too. Plus an little discount helped my decision too.

Overall I'm happy with the install process, the quality of materials, and definitely the temps on the IC coolant.

This is 78 ambient out with me sitting in a parking lot for a few mins with race valve on. I'm sure I will go lower once I complete insulating the factory blower lines.

IAT was 98° too

 

[Corporate_Thug]

There is a noticeable amount of condensation on the bricks in humid climates. It won’t hydrolock but enough that starting on e85, as others have stated, often takes a couple tries. Cold starts are fine (no condensation) or hot starts (no condensation), but the warm ones of 1-4 hours are the problem.

This is correct! I am the member that @AZDinoPwr was referring to in South Florida with the FI Stage 2 Interchiller. I have the Flex Tune through Dusterhoff and he did what he could to fix the humid startup issue, but the issue is inevitable. FI claims it can be fixed through a tune by adding fuel, but I have yet to find anyone that has done this successfully in extremely humid climates, like South Florida. The FI Interchiller works AMAZING aside from the warm start issue. It is a real PIA because it takes up to 4 starting cycles to get it to start under humid conditions after sitting for 1-3 hours. This happens on both e85 and pump when humidity is high. The only way I’ve been able to overcome it is turning off the chiller, which turns off the AC, and run the IC Coolant temp up to ambient temp and then hitting the boost to clear out the water. The problem with this, is the last thing you want to do in 90+ degree weather is turn the AC off for up to 10 mins.

One thing I am looking into is potentially switching to IC, because my understanding is that you can shut off the chiller and still run the AC, which would allow you to bring the coolant temp up to ambient without sacrificing AC, which would alleviate the warm start issue. I’m waiting to hear back on what it would entail to go from the FI to the IC. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think FI has released an option like this.

 

[WOHT]

That makes sense. So if I understand you correctly, FI is probably the closest to OEM build quality?

Is the compressor on the Demon the same size as the one on the TRX? Also, could there be foreseeable compressor issues with the increased refrigerant volume?

There’s also ICchillers which is a newer, but we’ll known company now. From what I’ve heard, it has been working very well for Florida humidity and heat.

 

[WOHT]

Looks like the FI kit claims no condensation leaks, not sure how they would be able to get around that. Plus seems like you can run normal and then have it wired up to do "race" which would then turn off cabin AC and cool charged air only. Can anyone running this system confirm?

Interchiller Ram TRX Stage 2 – Fi Interchillers Online Store

Ram TRX is a stage 2 only kit Turning any temperature into freezing cold winter! Race Track Safe Improves fuel consumption No condensation leaks Gain back ignition timing Once your intercooler fluid passes through the chiller is is supercooled to below freezing temperatures which then lowers...

fiinterchillers.com

The stage 1 works fairly well, but the stage 2 raised my cabin ac temperature higher. ICchillers is starting to make traction in the interchiller world.

 

[WOHT]

FI manufactures their own from what I have seen and they are designed to match our refrigerant. I believe everyone else sources and yes some are beer chillers. IMO FI and IC specialize in this product line while others just dabble in bringing some individual kits to the market. FI has been doing it for decades. Not sure how long for IC. Personally I have never seen anyone beat FI’s performance but from a longevity and bang for buck standpoint I honestly don’t know how the competitors stack up. You might be able to get 75% of the performance with a similar system at lower cost and acceptable quality.

ICchillers are being ran by a lot of Hellcat Redeye owners in Florida with high heat and humity with very good results. I’ve heard many good stories about the ICchiller systems.

 

[217TRX]

This is correct! I am the member that @AZDinoPwr was referring to in South Florida with the FI Stage 2 Interchiller. I have the Flex Tune through Dusterhoff and he did what he could to fix the humid startup issue, but the issue is inevitable. FI claims it can be fixed through a tune by adding fuel, but I have yet to find anyone that has done this successfully in extremely humid climates, like South Florida. The FI Interchiller works AMAZING aside from the warm start issue. It is a real PIA because it takes up to 4 starting cycles to get it to start under humid conditions after sitting for 1-3 hours. This happens on both e85 and pump when humidity is high. The only way I’ve been able to overcome it is turning off the chiller, which turns off the AC, and run the IC Coolant temp up to ambient temp and then hitting the boost to clear out the water. The problem with this, is the last thing you want to do in 90+ degree weather is turn the AC off for up to 10 mins.

One thing I am looking into is potentially switching to IC, because my understanding is that you can shut off the chiller and still run the AC, which would allow you to bring the coolant temp up to ambient without sacrificing AC, which would alleviate the warm start issue. I’m waiting to hear back on what it would entail to go from the FI to the IC. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think FI has released an option like this.

I run the stage 2 in IL. It gets humid here but nothing like FL. I don’t drive it daily but have only had one time when I had to start it twice. It does struggle but will start first time 99% of the time.

Keep us updated on what you find out because I would also like the ability to turn it off with cabin ac on.

 

[AZDinoPwr]

ICchillers are being ran by a lot of Hellcat Redeye owners in Florida with high heat and humity with very good results. I’ve heard many good stories about the ICchiller systems.

Yea as I said IC is my number 2. I saw a post awhile back stating that the only reason they don’t have as significant issues as FI with humidity is because their efficiency is lower. There was a side by side comparison with FI and FI showed about 15 deg better cooling which I think matches Ripa (makes me wonder if they use the same cores). Less delta-t equals less condensation and issues starting. Also means less performance. Perhaps IC is the good middle ground for humid climates and FI for dry.

 

[Air’d outSRT]

Yea as I said IC is my number 2. I saw a post awhile back stating that the only reason they don’t have as significant issues as FI with humidity is because their efficiency is lower. There was a side by side comparison with FI and FI showed about 15 deg better cooling which I think matches Ripa (makes me wonder if they use the same cores). Less delta-t equals less condensation and issues starting. Also means less performance. Perhaps IC is the good middle ground for humid climates and FI for dry.

IC Chiller has actually had some significant improvements over the past few months and I was actually in Seattle friday and Saturday installing a full setup on his drag hellcat and talked quite a bit about the newer setup and the ones just released for other platforms and the ones coming. Look up Charlie Link III on Facebook, he shares customer photos and information on the setups as well as the IC Chiller page itself.

 

[AZDinoPwr]

IC Chiller has actually had some significant improvements over the past few months and I was actually in Seattle friday and Saturday installing a full setup on his drag hellcat and talked quite a bit about the newer setup and the ones just released for other platforms and the ones coming. Look up Charlie Link III on Facebook, he shares customer photos and information on the setups as well as the IC Chiller page itself.

I will def check it out. Thanks for the info!

 

[FULLTHROTTLERICK]

1. So what's the verdict for us in humid climates like Fla? I'm about to have a 1-hour commute each way for work. If I go with Ripa or IC chiller, do i just shut off the chiller like 10 mins before i get to work to reduce condensation build-up and starting issues? '

2. Also, Dumb Q but I dont have to run the chiller all the time right? Like if im just running up the road to pickup take-out (5 mins each way) for example, no need
for chiller in those situations. The IC chiller site shows chiller + cabin or chiller only as the options so just want to be sure i can run no chiller...

3. Also, what is the 3-way bypass that IC Chillers sells as an upgrade for $200?

4. And any issues with an interchiller and offroading? When we rock crawl at slow speeds i have had the AC overflow drip onto the exhaust for hours until i shut off the AC for a bit. Wondering whether the interchiller would be a problem for slow speed rock crawling in high ambient temps?