How To Enhance The Working Of Lab Water Chiller


Lab water chillers are the large energy users in many laboratories. It is necessary for the comprehensive maintenance of this equipment to ensure their reliability and efficient operation.

Generally, there are five essential areas that should be considered to maintain the proper working of a water chiller.

Maintain a Daily Operating Log

The performance of the chiller should be analyzed daily and must be documented in a detailed log. It helps in comparison of its efficiency and detection of problems, if any. This also helps the operator to maintain a history of the operating condition and in detecting any upcoming potential problems.

Keep the Tubes Clean

Large chillers contain several miles of tubing in their heat exchangers. The efficiency and performance of lab water chiller mainly depend on its ability to transfer heat that begins with clean evaporator and condenser tubes. But with time mud, algae, sludge accumulates on the water side of the heat transfer surface that deteriorates the efficiency of the chiller. Therefore, it is essential to keep these large surfaces clean in order to maintain its excellent performance.

Check for the Leakage

A leakage in the compressor allows air and moisture (non-condensable) to enter the unit. This increases the condensing temperature, thus reducing the efficiency of the system.

Air and moisture in the chiller also lead to the corrosion of motor windings and bearings and rust inside the shell. The rust particles called fines float in the vessels and get trapped inside the heat-exchanger tubes thus decreasing the effectiveness of the lab water chiller.

The working can be checked by tracking the purge-unit runtime and moisture content in the purge unit. A high value on any of these points towards the leakage. To maintain its proper functioning get it check by technician time to time. A technician detect the leakage by monitoring the refrigerant charge level and evaporator pressure.

Maintenance of Proper Water Treatment

Generally, water is used as a heat transfer agent in chillers, so make sure that the water used is properly treated and is free from any biological growth. A water system should be chemically treated and provides with full-service maintenance to facilitate water systems. For proper working get your water system check every three months. You can also clean it using sand filters and side steam filters.

Analyze Oil and Refrigerant

Regular analysis of oil and refrigerant helps in detecting chiller contamination problem. A testing can be done using spectrometric chemical analysis that detects contaminants like moisture, acids, and metals. A pressure drop in oil analysis and a moisture content in oils signals towards the problem in chiller and development of unacceptable compressor wear.
A regular and technical testing of lab water chiller can prevent you from heavy costs.

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