Air Cool Chiller

put a set of gauges on it, wait 10 minutes, set up a 60 second video, fire it up......show me the video and I'll tell you(that its overcharged for your condition)

Hello Dinesh,

It would be a lot easier to give you advice regarding your chiller problem if you provided more information!

- What is the chiller tripping on? Overcurrent (overload), High Pressure, Low Pressure, Oil Pressure?

- What are the operating pressures?

- Condenser in & out temperatures?

- I understand this is an air cooled condenser - at what pressures/temperatures are the fans set to operate and is the condenser clean?

- Has this problem just developed or has it been a problem since installation?

- Have you checked why you have a difference in your line currents? Is your supply voltage balanced?

- Does the tripping only occur when the ambient temperature is high and not at night or during cooler times?

Your Delta T (temperature difference) across the chiller of only 1,5 deg C points to a very inefficient system. Was this a new or second hand chiller? Is your water flow correct? Are the tubes clean?

The solution to a problem normally becomes much clearer when you look at the complete system and take readings so that you not only see the effect but also the cause.

Hope this is of assistance to you.

Good luck!

Hi Dinesh,

Why are you cleaning the condenser so frequently? Is this installation in an area where the condenser fouls quickly?

You didn't answer the question as to what the chiller was tripping on but from your post it would appear as if the chiller is tripping on overcurrent (compressor current increasing and its tripping).

You need to follow the pointers given in my previous post and provide answers to those questions of which the most important is the operating pressures i.e. when your ambient temperature goes up the high pressure will also increase. The low pressure reading will also give an indication as to whether the chiller may be overcharged. An overcharge of R22 will result in a dramatic rise in head pressure. Before making any pressure readings ensure your manifold gauge set has been reset for your altitude. Also your system should be charged correctly for the installation altitude (a system charged at sea level and installed at higher altitude would be undercharged and charged at altitude and installed at sea level would be overcharged).

A rise in operating current is an indication of the compressor having to do more work (in this case working against a rising head pressure) and from what you wrote about having only a 1,5 deg C drop in chilled water temperature this rise in current is not being translated into cooling.

The rise in current could also be caused by a rise in the cooling load which results from the higher ambient temperatures.

- Was this chiller sized correctly for the application?

- Was any heat load calculation done for this installation?

- Is the chiller used for comfort air-conditioning or process cooling?

- Is it possible to reduce the load on the chiller by switching off some of the loads during which you can monitor what happens to the chiller?

- Have you tried starting the chiller earlier when the ambient temperature is lower which would allow the chiller to bring the chilled water under control before the ambient temperature increases?

- Have you consulted the suppliers/installers of this chiller regarding this problem?

My recommendation is to start dealing with the facts of what is causing this problem - the rising current is one of the results not the cause. You will need to take all the proper measurements in order to be able to identify the cause and indicate a solution.

Hope the above is of assistance!