Troubleshooting Reciprocating Chillers
The summer season is here and it has become all the more necessary to keep the chillers running at all times. However, sometimes, you may see some problem with the chiller and thus troubleshooting will become necessary. Chillers require special care and the troubleshooting can only be done by the experts. You might see the problems even if you have bought it from one of the best chiller companies India. So, what do you do about it? Here are a few things the experts will try to figure out and troubleshoot.
As a chiller repairer, you will first need to give a call to the customer and confirm the details as to what exactly the problem is. There may also be certain codes or indicators that can be seen in the readouts during the diagnostic. If the customer is not able to give you the details, here are some questions you will want to ask:
- Is the pump able to circulate the water properly?
- What is the temperature of the water?
- How long has it been since the chiller went offline?
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- Has this problem occurred before as well? If the problem has happened before also then did it happen at the same time of the day? Also, what is the frequency of the occurrence of the problem?
- If the chiller not at all running? If it is running is it not cooling?
There are the few things you will want to be clear about before you pay the visit to the customer. However, if the customer is not able to answer the above questions then you will need to visit them anyway.
During the visit, look for any codes that might be available. Most of the modern reciprocating chillers manufacturers provide the alarm or diagnostic codes. If there is a code refer to the manual for the troubleshooting of the equipment. There would be a solution pertaining to the code. The modern chillers usually come with a memory as well.
Sometimes the chiller doesn’t run at all. As already mentioned, even the best chiller manufacturers may have faulty chillers. If the chiller is not running at all then you should look for any electrical damages. You will need to refer to the electrical diagram. This will be needed especially if the chiller is old and there is no feature of built-in diagnostics. Usually the chiller doesn’t run because of the fault in the electrical components or short — circuited wiring.
Plug the chiller in and turn the power on. Now you will need to check each wire carefully to see if there is any damage. If you do not have the electrical diagram available or in case you are not able to identify the model number, control transformer is the first place where you should start.
