Tips for Keeping your Glycol System running smoothly during Summer Heat

Summer is upon us, and whether you’re a brewer trying to keep up with the summer rush, a winemaker preparing for harvest, or in any other application where a chiller is used, keeping your chiller running at peak performance is critical. Here are a few tasks you can do yourself to aid in this endeavor.

Summer temperatures cause high head pressure, which reduces your chiller’s capacity. To get the best efficiency and capacity from your chiller, it is essential to keep its condenser coils clean and ensure unrestricted air circulation.

Cleaning the condenser is easy. First, shut down the chiller and turn off the power. Then, with a water hose, gently rinse the coils from the outside to remove any dirt and debris collected on the coil. Make sure to clean the area around the chiller so that any debris you just rinsed off the condenser does not get sucked back into it once you walk away. If the condenser is excessively dirty, a coil cleaner you can find at a hardware store might be needed. Of course, if you go that route, follow the directions on the package.

It is crucial that your chiller has unrestricted airflow and that the hot air exhausted from the chiller does not recirculate through the chiller. Make sure that nothing is stored in front of your chiller. Move any pallets, barrels, or totes somewhere else and make sure that any fencing surrounding the chiller doesn’t effect the airflow; a wire fence with privacy slats should have the privacy slats removed if at all possible.

Once you’ve cleaned your condenser, wipe down the inside of your chiller. Watch for oil residue and if you see any, note where the oil came from. If there’s an oil leak, there’s also a refrigerant leak, and this should be addressed by a refrigeration technician right away.

Make sure your condenser’s fans are fully operational. If outdoor temperatures are above 80°F, your condenser fans should probably run constantly whenever the compressor is on. If they don’t, you may have a problem. Call our tech support team and they can help you diagnose and correct the issue before it affects your process.

Check your glycol! Even though you’re not seeing freezing temperatures outside, a proper glycol mixture and reservoir level is still critical. The refrigerant temperatures in your chiller are commonly 15-25°F colder than the glycol temperature, so even if you’re running a 40° setpoint, the temperature in the evaporator could still be well below 32°. Take a small sample from the reservoir, and use a glycol refractometer to check the mixture. It should be 35% propylene glycol for all applications above 20°F. Contact us if your application runs at lower temperatures, and we can recommend the correct mixture.

These are just a few tasks you can do to keep your chiller in tip-top shape. Refer to the manual that came with your system for more in-depth information on maintaining your chiller. And, for extra peace of mind, hiring a professional to check the refrigerant pressures and electrical components is never a bad idea. If you have any questions or need help with your chiller, please give us a call. We’re always happy to help!