It is common knowledge among large facilities that a successful preventative maintenance (PM) program saves money. But far too often, these savings are not realized due to a lack of planning. By the time a technician is scheduled for PM, the facility is dealing with equipment breakdowns. For cooling processes, the optimal time for maintenance … More What’s a PM Without the Planning?
A common mistake made by HVAC/R technicians in ice machine diagnostics is thinking ice build up in the machine is caused by low refrigerant charge. While ice build up can be a sign of low charge, it is always a sign of low pressure. Problem: The technician is called about a machine not keeping up … More Ice Machine Diagnosis
Spring is upon us and soon summer. So many people, technician and manager alike, are looking at their chiller(s) in agony, hoping this year will be better than last year. This is an unfortunate circumstance, usually stemming from years of babysitting the machine, repeated resetting, calling tech support, and finally accepting that this is just … More Chiller Woes, Going Back to the Basics
This week I would like to discuss a problem near and dear to my heart: the argument of replacing vs repairing equipment which is influenced by the technician’s ability to troubleshoot. Whether you are a maintenance manager or business owner, I will bet you have encountered this scenario in your career: You call a … More True Costs to Replace
As a follow up on the Ice Machine Diagnosis post, I would like to bring your attention to a good article I read recently in the February 5, 2018 issue of the NEWS, a multimedia publication focusing on air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration. The article, Is Frost Accumulation Acceptable?, by John Tomczyk, provides tips for larger unit … More Compressor Frost
The condenser, one of the four major parts of a refrigeration system, is designed to remove heat from the high-pressure refrigerant gas, producing a high-pressure refrigerant liquid. In a typical air-cooled system, whether chiller, refrigerator, or air handling system, this forced air process does more than just condensing. This air also serves as cooling for … More A Clean Condenser