Replace Your Old Chiller
Replacing Your Chiller
Consider these things when deciding to replace your chiller
A well-maintained chiller can be reliable after it has reached its end of service life (EOSL). That will primarily depend upon how well the chiller has been maintained and the operating environment. Factors which influence this include:
- Was the chiller regularly serviced at the recommended intervals?
- Did the service team strictly follow the OEM maintenance procedures?
- Were only OEM replacement parts utilized?
- Was the chiller subject to any weather extremes or repeated electrical surge events?
If your chiller has reached EOSL and any of these factors have negatively impacted the chiller reliability, then it may be better to replace your chiller now to avoid expensive down time in the future.
Examples of Poor Maintenance Service and Use of Non-OEM parts
Even the best maintained chillers will reach an end of useful life
All equipment needs proper maintenance, but even with proper maintenance, equipment eventually needs to be replaced. Eventually, repair costs will exceed the cost of a new chiller. This is due to several factors:
- Components become more difficult to find and expensive to source
- New technologies make older systems obsolete
- Outdoor equipment shows the wear and tear of the environment
- Government regulations for design changes
At some point it makes more sense to replace a piece of equipment rather than risk costly repairs and down time.
Importance of picking the right chiller
So why purchase a chiller designed specifically for MRI cooling?
- MRI’s are expensive pieces of equipment that need proper cooling to function well.
- MRI chillers are built with higher reliability requirements, minimizing the possibility of down time
- MRI chillers are specifically designed for the duty cycle of MRI scanning. Cooling is better controlled, and large temperature swings are eliminated.
An MRI can be a critical component in making an accurate medical diagnosis. Having an MRI chiller go down may result in the MRI itself being down. Just because a chiller has a cooling capacity that matches the MRI’s requirement, it doesn’t mean it will meet the total demand of an MRI. Airsys Medicool chillers are designed specifically to meet the total demand of all major MRI platforms.
Select a Qualified Installer
Even if you have picked the right chiller, you could still face problems and lower reliability if the installation is not correctly. You need to consider all of the manufacturer siting requirements, proper ventilation, proper coolant flows, and if your service team is qualified to do the work. AIRSYS' recommendations are:
- Obtain service only from an experienced installer who knows specifically about medical cooling and MRI requirements
- Know the chiller manufacturer's specific requirements for installation - distance from MRI, elevation, air flow, etc
- Read the chiller instruction manual
- Use chillers specifically designed for MRI application
- Set up regular maintenance from service teams experienced and certified to perform service on the equipment
Small investments up-front, can save huge and expensive headaches down the road.
