Chiller Maintenance Checklist

What is a chiller maintenance checklist?

A chiller maintenance checklist is used by maintenance technicians to evaluate the operating condition of a commercial refrigeration system during a scheduled inspection. It is also used by operators and maintenance personnel for daily temperature measurements. A chiller maintenance checklist is a useful tool for taking preventive measures to avoid costly breakdowns.

Which regulations must be observed?

The chiller maintenance includes, according to general regulations, scheduled inspections of commercial or industrial equipment with the aim of extending the service life and maintaining optimum efficiency. Insufficiently maintained refrigeration systems lead to poor performance and increased costs.

This article deals with the following topics:

1. Components of the chiller maintenance

2. Difficult failures of chiller systems that should be rectified immediately

3. Digital technology for trouble-free, daily temperature measurements

Components of chiller maintenance

The cooling system to function properly, the pressure, temperature, superheat, and subcooling of the cooling system must be controlled. Thanks to digital applications, e.g. a leak test of refrigeration systems with a form, abnormalities and sources of error can be quickly detected and corrected. Thanks to the digital software solution, you can be sure that you minimize sources of error and save yourself a lot of paper chaos. The main components of maintenance for refrigeration systems are listed below:

1. Finding leaks

   Leaks in the cooling system often lead to serious damage to the cooling system and ultimately to the environment. The prescribed and necessary cooling capacity is no longer available, which can also extend to other areas of the chiller system.



2. Measuring temperature

   For the maintenance of refrigeration systems, the temperature of the device itself must be measured without errors, as well as the ambient air or the core temperature of the refrigerated goods.



3. Measuring humidity

   Measure, record and document relative humidity in the storage room precisely. The humidity in the storage room has the same effect on the refrigeration system as the temperature of the system itself.



4. Checking electrical system

   Multimeter, current clamp, current tester and voltage tester are subject to regular inspection. Electronic parameters such as current, voltage or resistance must be carefully checked during maintenance for refrigeration systems.

3 often indicate inefficiency of chiller systems

Even professional technicians and operators of chiller systems make the mistake of neglecting regular inspections. It is significant for the efficiency of a system that all employees carry out maintenance tasks carefully. In this way, minor problems are immediately detected and solved before they get worse. The three most common signs of refrigeration system inefficiency are:

1. high start-up temperature

If the temperature difference between the supply and return water is higher than intended, impurities may accumulate in the evaporator and condenser tubes. One measure can, therefore, be to improve the current water treatment system or to subject the cooling tubes to regular chemical cleaning. Since the efficiency of heat transfer is directly related to the efficiency of the cooler, all pipes should be kept free of sludge, scale and algae.

2. stepwise pressure increase

If the condenser pressure rises continuously within a month, the water flow rate may be incorrect. This reduces the efficiency of the cooling system. The control system can be calibrated by regularly removing deposits on the internal parts with a low-pressure fan. Condenser pressure and compressor capacity are also increased by non-condensable materials or trapped air and moisture, which ultimately leads to higher power consumption.

3. limited cooling load

If a chiller system permanently fails to reach full cooling load, the oil may have migrated into the refrigerant, which harms the refrigerant level. If the oil properties change, this means considerable compressor wear. If liquid refrigerant enters the compressor and evaporates, this will result in reduced refrigeration capacity, an overloaded motor and damage to the compressor impeller.

Digital solution for the maintenance of chiller systems

The daily chiller maintenance systems according to regulations usually includes the manual keeping of maintenance logs - this is stressful and time-consuming. With Lumiform, the powerful inspection platform, technicians never miss a maintenance check again. Equipped with new temperature sensors, responsible personnel can now perform the following more efficiently:

Individual digital forms

The flexible form construction kit makes it possible to create new individual checklists at any time and to adapt them again and again.

First class customer service

Lumiform’s excellent 24/5 support will reliably answer all your questions about the app when you need assistance using the tool.

Scheduling and notifications

The Lumiform App ensures that the schedule is kept. All employees receive notifications about the procedure and due dates. Managers automatically receive notifications when assignments are overdue and problems have occurred.

Time-defined work steps

Keep an eye on your schedule and use the information to identify opportunities to increase your efficiency.

Faster identification and resolution of problems

The data you collect from inspections is collected under the Analysis Tab. Here you can access all data and view your performance reports broken down by time, location and department. This helps you quickly identify causes and problems so you can fix them as quickly as possible.

Track inspections in facilities over time

Monitor your team’s inspection performance and identify opportunities to improve the process and efficiency of your operations.

Integrations

Connect Lumiform’s Software to enterprise software systems.

Time-defined targets

Keep an eye on what’s happening and identify insights from the information gained to increase your efficiency.