The center had a new 88-ton air-cooled chiller with two reciprocating compressors installed as part of a 1996 upgrade, but that retrofit didn't go as smoothly as planned. Numerous problems kept occurring over the years, including continually failing compressors, excessive noise, and significant amounts of oil in the refrigerant.
In April 2005, one of the reciprocating compressors failed again, and the replacement cost was estimated to be $12,800. Instead of once again replacing the failed component with another reciprocating compressor, the chiller was retrofitted with one R-134a, 80-ton, oilless, centrifugal Turbocor compressor. Ever since the changes were made, the chiller has been running smoothly