Market warms to Chiller back-up
The technology utilised in Hitachi Chillers is first class. But what happens when a three-year-old installation unaccountably “misbehaves”? That’s the situation that confronted the Temperzone service team a few weeks ago – but it wasn’t long before we came up with the answer. Temperzone News talked to National Service Manager Mark Howcroft about the solution.
When a reputable service company contacted Mark Howcroft recently, they presented him with an interesting problem. The issue concerned a Hitachi RCUP102 AU (360kw) Air Cooled Chiller which had been installed and commissioned some three years earlier.
Mark says that when he discussed the problem with the service company, there didn’t seem to be an obvious answer.
“The problem being faced by the building owner was that the compressors were short cycling... ...No sooner had they started than they’d stop again.”
Although the compressors were short cycling, it became clear that the required operational conditions were being met within the building. “The service company wasn’t only concerned about the unexplained and so far incurable short cycling problem,” says Mark. “They were particularly worried about the possibility of damage occurring to one or more compressors under the short cycling conditions.”
Together with Product Manager, James Su, Mark Howcroft decided to visit the site to help the contractor diagnose and hopefully resolve the short cycling problem. Mark points out that if a problem can occur once, it can occur again elsewhere – so the best course of action is always to understand what can cause a perfectly serviceable piece of equipment to malfunction. “It gives us the depth of service insight customers have come to expect from Temperzone,” says Mark, “so it’s important to get it right as soon as possible.”
A simple solution to a vexing problem
When Mark and James visited the site, the solution soon became clear. “It turned out to be a simple capacity issue,” says Mark. In this case it wasn’t a typical example of a product being underspecified for the job at hand – if fact, it was quite the opposite.
“The building did not require anywhere near the capacity that the Hitachi Chiller was delivering... ...No sooner would the Chiller load up, that the required temperature would be met and the unit would switch off.”
The simple solution was to reduce the capacity of the Chiller by around 30%, via the Chiller’s programmable Controller. So the gratifying fact was that the Hitachi product’s technology included a built-in solution to the problem being experienced. Reducing the Chiller’s capacity resulted in a much longer running cycle time, thus eliminating the short cycling problem. Mark says that the service company was extremely grateful for the back up service from Temperzone and of course even more so when we eliminated the site problem.
Leading edge technology across the range
“Hitachi’s Chiller technology is excellent,” says Mark Howcroft. “The Hitachi range of air and water cooled chillers utilises Hitachi’s world-renowned screw compressors to deliver industry leading features.” These include low noise, small footprint and high efficiency – all sought-after advantages in today’s market. The units also utilise R-407C refrigerant, which has a zero ozone depletion potential thereby minimising each unit’s impact on the environment.
The latest range, which is now exclusively distributed by Temperzone in Australia, includes air cooled screw chillers from 200 to 652 kW and water cooled screw chillers from 125 to 300 kW.
Mark Howcroft concludes, “The product range is excellent and the quality that goes into it outstanding. Our mission is now to ensure the marketplace is confident in the service back-up provided. As Temperzone’s reputation for service is very highly regarded in the industry, the Hitachi product should soon be enjoying the profile it deserves.”
