Thermex Solutions is Australia’s largest manufacturer of small specialised industrial water chillers
Industrial process chillers are designed to circulate water to a heat producing process via a water pump. The water brings the heat back to the chiller where the compression cycle cools the water before it is returned to the heat process.
The unit will usually be supplied with a primary circulating pump as standard
THERMEX has the ability to customize the pump for particular application and these should be specified at the time of order
The unit has an internal water bypass designed to protect the heat exchanger – it should not be closed under any circumstances
The flow/ pressure charts for the pump are shown below
Process chillers are typically not for potable water applications although the chiller can be designed to supply potable water.
All Thermex chillers up to 50kW are supplied with a buffer tank – the buffer tank is an important feature in all chillers and the bigger the better. The buffer tank in a process chiller has many benefits such as
• helping protect the compressor from excessive starts
• preventing thermal spikes impacting on the compressor
• allows closer temperature tolerance to the process
• having stored chilled water to allow a managed shut down of a process should there be a problem with the cooling cycle
• allows for a vented design and prevent the need for a hydronics kit
All Thermex process industrial chillers are supplied with high efficiency scroll compressors supplied by Copeland. The scroll compressor is the latest in compressor technology
All Thermex water chillers use R134a refrigerant – R134a is a contemporary refrigerant with a low global warming potential. R134a refrigerant also has the benefit of being a low-pressure refrigerant gas – this allows Thermex chillers to operate in extreme ambient conditions- up to 52°C. Chinese and European manufactured chillers are rated at 35C ambient condition and are generally supplied with condensers that are not suited to these extreme conditions.
There are certain guidelines that need to be followed to ensure the chiller operates properly and reliably. When considering the purchase of a chiller the site should be prepared so the chiller can be installed an operated reliably
The chiller should also be installed on a level firm surface and should be bolted down to prevent the unit moving. It is not necessary to install the chiller with spring vibration eliminators – waffle pad is sufficient to prevent vibration from the unit
The water pipe work too and from the chiller should be properly insulated to prevent sweating and to ensure the chiller operates as efficiently as possible
There should be adequate space around the chiller to allow proper ventilation of the cooling fans – the chiller should not be installed under an awning or installed indoors if there is not proper ventilation.
All operational cooling capacity, power consumption and current draw data shown above is based on the chiller operating at the limit of its design and is intended to be an indication only.
Each chiller will be individually designed to customer requirements and a detailed product specification will be supplied at time of order including installation instructions and dimensions. The power consumed by the unit and the current it will draw vary depending on how the chiller is constructed. The chillers performance may also vary slightly from the figures above again based on customer requirements.
THERMEX Solutions product range is subject to change without notice