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Decision Points When Buying an Industrial Chiller

May. 21, 2024

Your company needs a new chiller for your plant's manufacturing process. How do you determine the right chiller for you? Making the right decision can be a daunting task for any plant manager or engineer. You get it wrong, and your plant and your job prospects could be in big trouble. Let's discuss some of the options you have at hand.

 

Decision Points When Buying an Industrial Chiller

The first part of the buying process is deciding whether you need an air-cooled or water-cooled chiller. Now, if you are just replacing or upgrading an older unit, you may be able to replace that unit with the same type of chiller. However, if you are dealing with a new installation, you will need to look at your options.

 

Air-cooled chillers vs. water-cooled chillers

The two most popular types of chillers are air-cooled and water-cooled. The "air" or "water" cooling name refers to the type of condenser that the chiller uses to cool the refrigerant.

 

Air Cooled Chillers

Custom screw chillers air-cooled are the most commonly used chiller system because it is a stand-alone system. No additional external components are required. These systems are less efficient than water-cooled chillers, but they are more attractive because they are self-contained. Air-cooled chillers are relatively easy to install and start-up.


Water-Cooled Screw Chiller

 Water-Cooled Screw Chiller     

 

Water-cooled chillers

Water-cooled scroll chillers Water-cooled chillers require an external cooling tower and cooling tower supply pump to cool the water-cooled condenser. If your plant already has an existing cooling tower with excess available capacity, then this is the best option for you to consider. Once you have decided on an air-cooled or water-cooled chiller, you now have to make some more difficult decisions.

 

Compare Chillers - Screw and Scroll Compressors

If you are looking for a relatively small chiller (under 30 tons), you must buy a scroll chiller. If your cooling needs exceed 30 tons, you can make the decision. Do you use a scroll compressor or a screw compressor. When comparing screw and scroll chillers, there are several things to consider when making this decision.

 

Scroll chiller compressors

Scroll compressors are limited in size. While technology is constantly improving and increasing its size, the largest scroll compressor you can buy today is 40 HP. so if you need a larger cooling load, you will need multiple compressors. While this may be a benefit, you need to make sure that you do not install multiple compressors on a single circuit. Doing so could lead to future service nightmares.

Air-cooled Screw Chillers

 Air-cooled Screw Chillers

Screw chiller compressors

Screw compressors have their own limitations. The smallest screw compressor is 30 HP. however, this is where their limitations end. At the high end, we have screw compressors with over 500HP. At that size, we don't even have an air-cooled condenser large enough to accommodate it. (It can only be installed on water-cooled chillers). Screw compressors are often seen as the true industrial process of choice. "The right tool for the job."

 

Scroll vs. screw compressors

Scroll compressors fit into a great niche market. They are well suited for smaller process applications - especially when the operating time is more dispersed (< 24 hours/day). We classify scroll units as medium-sized process chillers. Depending on the environment, scroll chillers can handle longer run times. If you plan to run your facility 24/7 and meet load requirements (over 30 tons), we will always recommend a screw chiller over a scroll system. Screw compressor systems offer better capacity control options, are fully serviceable, and have a wider operating range.

 

Choosing the right evaporator for your chiller

Another consideration is your chiller's evaporator. In any application over 20 tons, we typically recommend a DX shell and tube evaporator on a brazed plate. While a brazed plate evaporator is stainless steel with copper brazing, it does not handle fouling well. Frankly, most manufacturing plants do not have clean water. Using it with a shell and tube evaporator will provide you with a longer life and better durability. With the ability to manufacture shell and tube vessels with custom materials and thicker tube walls, evaporators can be used for direct cooling to handle corrosive or even aggressive liquids.

 

Contact the chiller supplier for more information

We hope this overview has helped you make the decision to purchase a new chiller or replace your chiller. Kendall can provide an immediate quote for your chiller requirements. Welcome to contact us today or request a quote. 


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