HOW DO YOU EVALUATE A CHILLER?

June 10, 2024

How do you evaluate a chiller? Not all chillers are created equal.

As a matter of fact, over 90% of chillers made don’t have the capacity a brewery, winery or distillery needs. There are a lot more computer rooms, fab shops, buildings, equipment and lasers in the world that need to be maintained at 60°F than there are breweries, wineries and distilleries. So you need to know that is what most manufacturers build for, and they try to force those units to work in our environments.

There are 4 types of compressors used for cooling.

HIGH TEMPERATURE is used for product above the 60°F range. These compressors are air conditioning parts. Think about an A/C unit for your house; this equipment wants to run at room temp, and this is what's in most chillers in the world. Over 90% of our competitors are here.

An easy way to determine if you're running A/C equipment is if the unit is using 410a.

Tanktemp starts here: MEDIUM TEMPERATURE is used for food storage and other commercial refrigeration. The temperature is 55°F to about 0°F. We can push to -4°F/ -20°C if the unit is configured for it.

An easy way to determine if you're running medium-temperature equipment is if the unit is using 404a or 407a.

Tanktemp goes even colder with the KELVIN series: LOW TEMPERATURE is used for low-temp processes like oil/extract processing. The temperature is below 0°F to -20°F. Option for -40°F

An easy way to determine if you're running low-temperature equipment is if the unit is using 404a or r-136.

ULTRA LOW TEMPERATURE is used for scientific applications like cyro-freezing. Often a cascading system when one compressor is used to chill one gas while a second compressor chills another gas, allowing chilling to -40°F/C or below. This is extremely hard and expensive.

KNOW THE DIFFERENCE.

Tanktemp only uses the best refrigeration components, designed to easily function at the 28°F degree range. Many of our chiller will reach -20°C or -40°C, whereas most chiller couldn’t even come close.

A large percentage of our business is replacing high-temp chillers that are less than three years old, and have failed. They simply can't keep up with work you do and the harsh environments you work in.

Think of it like this: a compact gas pickup truck will tow a 18,000LB trailer for a while, it just won’t do it well. You will have less control, more breakdowns, more down-time, and will never make it to 100,000 miles doing that every day. And, importantly, there will be some places you just can’t go.

But a 1-ton diesel truck will do that same job and more all day, every day, forever, give you all the power and control you want, with less down time, all while being way more efficient.

Know your equipment! High temp vs medium temp vs low temp doesn't just matter, it's critical.

Interested in learning more about what Tanktemp? Check out our website here.