Bells and Whistles

While almost all chillers have a condensing unit, recirculation pump, reservoir, temperature controller and pressure gauge as standard features, add-ons can include things such as a remote temperature sensor or remote start/stop and temperature alarm.


"Our philosophy is to keep as many bells and whistles off as we can," says Chris King. "Take a doctor's office. You can give him a chiller that shows him all the fault lights-no water flow, high pressure limit switches, over temperature-and it's fine if he sees a blinking light, but what's he going to do about it? They can make it more difficult to work on because you may know what the problem is but then you have to work on the electrical level or get special parts."

Problem Solving

Chillers are not immune to problems, although a great number can be prevented with a proper preventative maintenance program.

"The chiller has motors in it and every motor no matter what it's on has a given life expectancy and the pumps, compressors and fans can wear out after a specified amount of time. You need to be aware of those expectancies and offer maintenance programs letting them know they are approaching that time," Bernard says. "So before the breakdown, we will schedule a replacement so there are no emergencies."

One of the most common problems is customers who are not using the proper freeze protection as the chillers will freeze up from ambient temperature.

"What most people don't understand about chillers is that they can freeze water on themselves," Chris King says. "A lot of people ignore that freeze protection -something malfunctions or water goes off-and they can be ruined."




Another problem associated with chillers is contamination of the heat transfer solution with tap water, which can cause internal choking of the heat exchanger coils. Other problems include refrigerants running low, filters getting clogged, dust and dirt build-up and pumps breaking down.

"If you have no water treatment you can get bacteria and it can clog the MRI's heat exchanger system," Bernard says. "You need proper filtering and water treatment. We recommend a twice a year plan where one of our techs comes out and goes through from top to bottom all the parameters, checking that all electrical fittings are still tight. Those are key and critical to ensure top performance."

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