Some advice for prolonging water chiller life.

An article published in the ACR Journal focuses on the importance of water treatment to improve the performances of water chillers and extend their life.

• First advice: Prefer inhibited glycol to uninhibited glycol. Indeed, glycol is necessary to prevent water from freezing, but unhibited glycol is too corrosive and its use is then risky.


• Second advice: Water should be regularly sampled in different points of the system, and not always at the same point. Indeed, corrosion and degradation can happen anywhere.

• Third advice: Take advantage of the water samples to test fluid pH levels. Limits of 8.0 to 8.5 are recommanded by Brent Hall. The pH level can reveal a lack or an excess of glycol.
  

• Fourth advice:  Check the clarity of the sample controlled. If it's unclear, it means there is already internal system damage.

• Fifth advice: When a new chiller is installed, it is recommended to flush the system immediately to avoid contamination.

• Sixth advice: If any doubt about how to efficiently take chilled water samples, consult experts.

About the author: Brent Hall is Technical Manager at temperature control specialists ICS Cool Energy.