Chiller Facts
The industrial portable chiller is a cooling system that
removes heat from one element (usually water) and deposits into
another (usually ambient air or water). The standard chiller design
is a system that will cool water to 45° F and water/glycol to
20° F and then deposit the heat into the ambient air at 95°
F or water at 85° F. An industrial portable chiller can be used
to cool both the process as well as the process machine. The chiller
is a self-contained unit including compressor, evaporator, condenser,
process pump, and coolant reservoir - all on casters. Our chiller
capacities range from 12,000 to 480,000 Btu/hr. They include air
and water-condensing models, models with single and multiple
compressors, and special configurations for low temperatures, hazardous
atmospheres, and different applications.
Definition: What is an industrial
portable chiller?
Applications: What can an industrial
portable chiller be used for?
Purchasing: How do you purchase
a chiller?
Definition - an industrial portable chiller
is a single pump chiller that can be supplied with either
air or water cooled condensers and can be used to cool one or two
machines. Its process water flow is limited to 2.4 gpm/ton restricting
its range of applications.
A typical industrial portable chiller has six components:
1. Evaporator - cools the water, water/glycol or air by
transferring the heat to the refrigerant which is turned into a
gas.
2. Compressor - takes this gas and increases its pressure
so that ambient air or water can remove the heat.
3. Condenser - rejects heat gained by the gas using ambient
air or cooling tower water to condense the gas back to a liquid
for use again by the evaporator.
4. Holding Tank - holds the circulating coolant, usually
water (can be water/glycol), tank is sized large enough to prevent
turbulent flow in tank causing pump cavitation.
5. Pump - circulates coolant from the holding tank to the
evaporator and from the evaporator to the machine or process being
cooled and back to the tank.
6. Control Panel - houses temperature controller, compressor
contactor, pump starter, 3-phase fuses, control transformer, safety
controls, run and fail lights.
Applications - an industrial portable
chiller has a wide range of applications. It can be used to cool
any machine or process that operates at 60° F or lower. Some
of the more common applications are listed below:
Plastics
In the plastics industry, a portable chiller can be used to cool
the hot plastic that is injected, blown, extruded or stamped. It
can also cool down the equipment that is used to create plastic
products (hydraulics of the molding machine, gear box and barrel
of the extruder) that saves on energy and on the wear and tear of
the machine itself.
Printing
In the printing industry, a portable chiller not only removes
the heat generated by the friction of the printing rollers, but
cools down the paper after it comes out of the ink drying ovens
in the process.
Laser
In the laser cutting industry, light projection industry,
etc. a portable chiller can be used to cool down the lasers and
power supplies.
Rubber
In the rubber industry, you can use a portable chiller to
cool everything from the multizone water temperature control units
of the rubber extruder barrel, the rubber mill to the calendar and
bambury mixers.
Beverage
In the beverage industry, i.e., the dairy, beer and wine industries,
you can use a portable chiller to remove the heat gained from the
process of mixing, cooking, or pasteurizing the product.
Purchasing - before you decide
to buy a chiller, the chiller manufacturer will need to know more
about your process and what kind of equipment you already have.
Process: a manufacturers needs to know certain things about
your process in order to size the process pumps and tank size.
1. What type of process or process equipment needs to be
cooled?
2. Is there one large machine or many smaller machines to
be cooled?
3. What is the lowest temperature required by the process?
4. What is the total flow required by the process?
5. Is the process flow varying or constant?
6. What is the maximum water pressure required by the process?
Plant Environment and Equipment: a manufacturer will also
need know something about the facility or plant, its general layout,
conditions and existing equipment in order to select the type of
cooling equipment.
1. Is there an existing cooling tower, and if so, how much free
capacity does it have?
- If there is enough free capacity on the cooling tower and the
process requires 85° F (or higher) water, add the new cooling
load to the existing cooling tower.
- If there is enough free capacity on the cooling tower and the
process requires 60° F (or lower) water, a water cooled chiller
should be used - add its condenser load to the existing cooling
tower.
- If no cooling tower exists, and the process will be cooled
by 85° F water or higher, a cooling tower system should be
used.
- If a cooler temperature is required, i. e., less than 60°
F, a chiller must be used.
- If chilling is required but there is no cooling tower, the
chiller must be air cooled.
2. What are the existing conditions in the plant, i.e., is it a
clean environment?
3. What is the maximum air temperature during the summer months?
4. Where is the chiller going to be located? Outdoor or Indoor,
by a loading door.
5. What is your power source: voltage or hertz?
6. Do you expect to expand your process in the future? .
Here are some more things to consider when purchasing a chiller
or even an entire chilling system
Material: The first thing you
should think about when buying a chiller is the kind of material
that is used to make the chiller. A popular trend in the construction
of chillers today is the switch to stainless steel. Chillers
can be supplied with stainless steel frames, panels, pumps, tanks,
evaporators and in some cases water piping. There is no painting
required if stainless steel is used saving our environment from
the noxious paint and solvent fumes.
Components: Try to make sure
that the components of the chiller are standard "off-the-shelf"
components from major corporations who specialized in the supply
of refrigeration components like compressors, valves, electronics,
pumps, etc. You want your chiller components to be available from
local refrigeration electrical and pump wholesalers, not only from
the manufacturer.
Efficiency: With the cost of
energy as it is, the cost of buying a chiller has to be compared
with the money you save on energy over the length of period that
you plan on using the chiller. Check the EER rating (Energy Efficiency
Ratio) of the chiller, the higher the number, the less energy will
be used to drive the compressor. Note: that in order to achieve
a higher EER rating, the chiller evaporator and condenser will need
to be oversized which raises the cost of the chiller.
Operation: Chiller controls
should be easy to read and use, the chiller should be "user friendly".
Maintenance: The major components
on the chiller should be placed for easy access for inspection,
service or replacement. Avoid small-compact units because they will
cost you more in the long run as the whole unit has to be dismantled
to get at a major component for inspection or service. Also, avoid
chillers with a "cooling coil" in the tank, these units cost less
to initially purchase but will cost you more in the long run to
service since you can not get access to the cooling coil in a sealed
tank.
Warranty: One way a manufactures stands behind their equipment
is with the warranty offered. Nowadays 5 year compressor warrantees
are standard with industrial portable chillers, 1 to 2 year parts
warranty on the balance of the unit is available. 3 to 5 years on
electronic boards, or life time flat fee for repair of electronic
boards. Check out what is being offered before you purchase your
next chiller or chilling system.
As always the decision to purchase a chiller is going to be a choice
between the quality of the chiller or the chilling system and its
price. Buying the best might cost more in the beginning but will
save you money in the long run.
Good luck with your next purchase and please call us if
you have any questions about your process cooling needs, type of
equipment required or the existing chilling equipment you already
have.
|
)