Commercial chillers are vital, but operations must be done well to prevent any issues that could cost a company down the road. Therefore, there’s a need for regular chiller maintenance. Thanks to new developments, such as remote monitoring technologies, this becomes easier. It has paved the way for remote monitoring that increased the demand for more efficient maintenance programs.
Whether it’s for your own chiller or a temporary chiller hire, it pays to have the unit regularly maintained. Here are some tips to help you maintain centrifugal chillers:
Have a Regular Record
The first step in maintaining a commercial chiller efficiently is to have a regular record. It will let you build a history of operating conditions, such as temperatures, pressures, fluid levels and flow rates. With the help of remote monitoring technology, you can inspect machines continually instead of monthly. Moreover, it will provide trend reports to identify maintenance needs before they turn into a big problem.
Make Sure Tubes are Clean
To ensure optimal commercial chiller performance, you need to have proper heat transfer. Clean heat transfer is vital to maintaining high efficiency. Contaminants like scale, minerals, algae and other impurities increase thermal resistance, affecting the chiller’s overall performance. Your condenser tubes must be brush-cleaned every year or depending on the demand maintenance schedule to ensure they’re free of contaminants.
Treat Condenser Water
Water loops that use open cooling sources need water treatment to remove corrosion, biological growth and scale. However, it can affect heat transfer and decrease tube and piping effectiveness when it’s not maintained properly. Therefore, make sure to inspect chilled water loops every year, or you can rely on remote monitoring for general water quality and evidence of corrosion.
Keep Chilled Water Flow Rate Right
Did you know that changing the chilled water flow can affect the performance of your chiller? Therefore, you need to ensure it stays within optimal levels. When the flow rate is too low, it can affect the chiller efficiently.
Your chiller’s ideal chilled water flow rate must be at 3ft per second. On the other hand, too high of a flow rate will lead to vibration, noise and tube erosion. With that, the maximum recommended flow rate is at 12 FPS.
Ensure Enough Refrigerant
It’s essential to maintain a proper level of refrigerant. When there’s a refrigerant leak, it can affect the efficiency and reliability of the system, while a low refrigerant charge may cause the compressor to work harder for less cooling effect.
Analyse Compressor Oil
Take a sample of your compressor oil and send it to a laboratory for a spectrometric chemical analysis every year. The oil must only be replaced if the analysis shows it’s necessary.
Conclusion
Commercial chillers are a significant investment, and understandably, you don’t want to get into any major issues with them. Problems with your commercial chiller hire can cause inconvenience and cost you a lot of money, therefore, proper maintenance is crucial. Take advantage of new technologies to implement reliable and efficient chiller maintenance to help increase the life of the equipment.
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