From the September 2018 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


The best approach for avoiding this situation is preventive maintenance, utilizing a number of tactics for preserving and maintaining the operational efficiency of a chiller for as long as possible.

Keeping chillers chill
The most common reason for chiller breakdown is poor maintenance. Experts agree that preventative inspections should take place at least twice a year to check on the many features of a chiller, evaluating everything from water quality to freeze protection.

“When Filtrine customers sign a chiller service contract, they receive a start-up and three PMs (service visits) per year,” Turner Hansel, vice president of the PC Division Mgr. at Filtrine, said. “During the PM, the service agent carefully looks at the chiller, cleans the condenser, checks the fluids, and makes sure pressures, flows and temperature are correct.”

If an MR provider chooses to opt out of a regular service contract, an in-house team should be able to carry out a number of basic protocols to preserve the chillers, such as ensuring proper air flow surrounds the system and that filters are changed on time. Many tasks, however, require a degree of expertise that providers may not possess, such as parts replacement within the chiller itself.

Proper maintenance is determined by a variety of factors, including the surrounding environment and types of chiller components utilized, many of which have changed as MR technology continues to advance. “Pump seals and contactors should be inspected. The pump seal should be replaced if leaking, and the system’s water/glycol mixture should be flushed out and replaced,” said King. “All water strainers should be inspected and cleaned. If the contactors look burnt or pitted, the contactor should be replaced. Also, verify that the contactor is not chatting and the compressor is not short-cycling. Inspect chiller condenser coil and clean if dirty.”

A full inspection of the system’s refrigeration, plumbing and electrical systems should be carried out and repairs identified and completed as needed to combat the effects of age and wear on the system. The inclusion of redundancies can enhance the uptime and longevity of systems and enable evaluations to take place without shutting down the MR.

September 2018 Magazine

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