Commercial chillers hold onto hundreds, sometimes thousands of goods. The last thing you want is a mechanical failure that spoils food and leaves you with a huge headache on your hands. If it’s acting up right now and has you on your toes, it could be for a few reasons.
Your commercial chiller in Winnetka, IL could be fighting against a good amount of problems right now. Let’s run through as many of them as possible so you can know what to look out for and how to fight against them.
Lack of Maintenance
Like any other HVAC system, chillers require maintenance to run smoothly. Neglecting regular maintenance can result in complete failure or breakdown of the unit. It still uses evaporator coils and a condenser like your air conditioner does, and if you’ve read our blogs on air conditioning in the past, then you know that dirty evaporator coils are a big cause for concern. It can cause overheating in your chiller and prevent it from cooling goods altogether.
Poor Water Quality
Chillers use water circulation as part of how it works. If the water quality is poor, it can take its toll on your chiller. Mineral buildup, dirt, and debris can all cause issues for its efficiency.
During maintenance, you can have these lines flushed to remove buildup and excess debris. This helps your chiller run much more smoothly.
Over time, and with enough hard water running through your chiller, it can build up excess scale that can greatly hinder performance. Eventually, it can block the flow of water entirely. The water quality in your chiller matters more than you think.
Electrical Problems
There’s nothing crazy about the electrical systems in chillers, but like everything else, they are susceptible to inefficiencies and failure over time. If your chiller’s electrical system runs into problems, it could be anything from some bad wiring to worn-out components.
Most of these issues can be seen ahead of time with due diligence and proper maintenance. Component failures tend to have telltale signs, such as odd noises or power spikes out of nowhere, which your technician should become aware of during maintenance.
Refrigerant Leaks
Refrigerant leaks are always a bad thing. Your chiller still uses refrigerant even though it has a water circulation system. As refrigerant leaks, it causes problems with your chiller’s ability to cool entirely, as well as health concerns if the refrigerant leaks into a common area where guests and staff walk.
Refrigerant leaks could potentially leak into your chiller’s electrical system as well. If that happens, it could fry the system entirely. Refrigerant leaks cause more issues than just a faulty refrigerant line.
Maintain Them All Year Long
Add a point to your usual workflow to inspect your chillers and make sure there are no obvious problems. Water quality can change, and refrigerant leaks can start at any time–it’s always good to be on top of things like this. Make sure you call us and schedule regular chiller maintenance.
Contact Roberts Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. today to schedule your commercial chiller repair and ongoing maintenance plan as soon as possible.