by
Sean Ruck, Contributing Editor | November 24, 2014
From the November 2014 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Visual inspection is also easy enough and probably really the first line of defense. “Make a habit of performing a visual check on your systems once a week or so,” suggests Taylor. Taylor says the visual check doesn’t need to be incredibly involved — it can be as simple as taking a look at the chiller for a few minutes when it’s running at full load and noting any increase in noise or vibration from the previous check. But eying the chiller isn’t the only easy way to monitor performance.
“MR techs and others around the machines daily are used to hearing the machines make certain noises,” Taylor says. “If there’s a change, if the system doesn’t sound right, they can tell.” Image degradation can be another indicator that something is off kilter with your chiller. If your MR images suddenly aren’t as clear as you’re accustomed to seeing, it may be worth a look. Different areas of the country are going to have different issues to contend with when it comes to the health of their chillers, but it’s a common mistake to assume just because a chiller is sited in an area that doesn’t get freezing temperatures, or because it’s summertime, glycol isn’t needed.
“We always require at least a 30 percent glycol level in our chillers, no matter where you’re located,” says KR Products’ Smith. He says the glycol levels should be able to keep systems from freezing at 10 to 15 degrees below, but recommends closer to 40 percent glycol level. “The systems have plate seal heat exchangers which are very thin. They have refrigeration on one side of the plate and water circuits on the other side,” Smith explains. These plates have been substantially reduced in size from what was used three or four decades ago. “If those very thin plates have water freeze in them, they’ll break,” Smith says. “If they break, the water will mix with the Freon and if that Freon goes into the compressor, you’ve trashed your compressor.”
And with changes in weather patterns becoming more common, places that have rarely seen freezing temperatures may get a chilling reminder that change is in the air. “We have had some extremely cold winters and very spiky hot summers,” says Filtrine’s Bond. “So where we would normally have gone with our standard range of -20 to 95 degrees, I’m seeing the high side go maybe to 110. In areas where we would have previously gone to 110, we’re now setting up for 120. In the Northern New England states and the Midwest, we’re protecting for temperatures going down to -30,” Bond says.
However, Jerry Hoover, of HVAC Service Solutions Inc. says facilities that can go without glycol during warmer months may benefit from a chiller cooling more efficiently.
