Performing regular maintenance on chillers ensures they will operate as efficiently, and for as long, as possible. And while maintenance plans and practices can vary from region to region, manufacturer to manufacturer, and even client to client, HVACR contractors agree that minimal maintenance is better than no maintenance.
Bob and Tim were getting set up to clean the condenser tubes in a chiller. They were doing this job at night during overtime hours because they discovered the problem earlier that afternoon and the customer said the chiller needed to be able to operate at full capacity tomorrow for a conference.
Bob and Tim were on their way to a no cooling call at an office building with a 100-ton water-cooled chiller. As always, management was in a hurry to get the problem solved because the tenants were hot.
When it comes to large equipment that powers HVAC systems, the old saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” definitely rings true. And nowhere is an ounce of prevention more beneficial than with chiller maintenance.
The FS-Series are flexible shafts for tube-cleaning machines. The series has been redesigned and improved to be 40 percent stronger and are field repairable, the company said. According to the manufacturer, the new design has the holding power of more than 200 pounds of exerted force.
ABM, a leading provider of stand-alone and integrated facility services including HVAC, announced that its ABM Building Solutions operating unit has launched a new Chiller Services Group in Southern California, expanding ABM’s national Chiller Services Group.
HVAC contractors — both residential and commercial — place a great deal of emphasis on system maintenance and how it directly relates to lower operating and service costs. Here some HVAC contractors weigh in with tips that will prevent a lot of unnecessary chiller service or replacement.