If you own a chiller......

Since I added Metal Halide lighting, my chiller is working a little harder now. I thought it might be a good idea to do some maintenance, since I want the chiller to run at peak efficiency. I got out the manual (imagine that!!!) and read that the condenser should be vacuumed or blown out. It was a little dusty, but not that bad. The part I did not do last time was clean out the exchanger (where the water goes through) I took the chiller out to the garage, and blew out the exchanger....WOW>>>It had so much nasty sludge in there. I also blew out the condenser with air. It was amazing how much the vacuum missed. Just a reminder. Dont take your equipment for granted. It does need maintenance. 8)

 

mmm nice call on that! good thing you thought to clean it!!!
is it working better now?

 

Has not come on yet...I will know in about an hour or so. I am up to 6hrs on the halides as of today.

 

WOW!!!! What a difference!!!! Last night it took the chiller 2.5 hrs to bring the temp down 1.3 degrees with the Halides on. After doing the cleaning today. It brought it down 1.2 degrees in 55 min. I was hoping it would be better, but I didnt think it would make THAT big of difference. And it wasnt that dirty!

 

Back when I still used a chiller I would run a vinegar solution through the coils every 6 months or so to clean it out, amazing the gunk that it breaks loose!

 

6 hours! Good, only a little over a week left
so is the chiller able to handle the halides now? Or is there still overheatig problems :-/

 

I recommend vacuuming monthly and flushing at least yearly. When vacuuming, be careful not to bend the fins.

 

Yeah, the chiller can overpower the halides. Since cleaning, even faster now. I still am a little worried to see what the high temps of Summer bring, but serious improvement in the chiller's performance.

 

Yes, I was very careful!!