With The Spanish Office now open down the road, it has never been easier to carry out Gibraltar chiller maintenance. In this article, we will be focusing on a visit by our overseas engineer from Head Office in the UK. He visited Gibraltar to carry out training to our engineer from The Spanish Office near Malaga.
Gibraltar Chiller Maintenance Contracts
We have a three year maintenance contract for the chillers at a facility on The Rock. This was the issue that was rectified while our engineers were on site…
Water System
Our engineer from The Spanish Office had noticed that the refrigerant system readings had deteriorated in between maintenance visits. Our overseas engineer confirmed that the this was correct. The performance of the machine had gone down and it was struggling to achieve set point. The same amount of load was available from the building.
Remote Plant Room
A remote plant room is located inside the building on the third floor. It is where the BMS (building management system) panel is located which starts the pumps and other plant.
Supervisor
The BMS panel is also linked to the supervisor (a computer) in the facilities manager’s office on the first floor of the building. The supervisor is where the timers are adjusted to bring the chillers and other plant on and off according to a schedule. A low ambient thermostat is also available to hold the chillers off on cold days in the winter.
Pump Data Plate
Whilst in the plant room, our overseas engineer noticed that Pump 1, which was feeding the chiller at the time, had recently been changed. This pump was one of two pumps in a pump set. On interrogating the data plate, then reading the manual for that pump, our engineer noticed that the specifications were wrong for this particular chilled water system. Therefore, he decided to set the toggle switch on the BMS panel to pump 2 which was the redundant pump.
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Improved Readings during Gibraltar Chiller Maintenance
By the time our engineers returned to the chiller compound at the back of the building, the chiller had begun to load up. It had previously been limiting its loading to prevent a trip out. Now the water system readings had improved to optimum values, the chiller got on top of the load. It then unloaded to match the load coming from the building.
Old Pump Leaking
The customer informed our engineers that their onsite maintenance engineer had recently changed the pump with one from their stores. The one in their stores had the same mounting plate dimensions so it was a quick fix without the need to buy a new one. The old pump had been found to be leaking water from the shaft seal connecting the pump to the electric motor.
The MAXIMUS ADVANTAGE™ Any Chiller- Any Problem- Any Part- Any Refrigerant- Anywhere
Obsolete Parts
As we work on all chillers, we have to be able to do anything. This is because parts are sometimes obsolete or unavailable. Therefore, we have the technical ability to retrofit new parts to old chillers. This dramatically saves in the carbon footprint of buying new plant.
Extending Lifespan in Gibraltar with Chiller Maintenance
We can extend the life of your chillers by at least 10 years with our thorough maintenance procedures. Some problems can be rectified whilst we are on site at no extra cost. This is because each vehicle in our fleet is a mobile workshop with a treasure trove of commonly used materials. Repairs can also be carried out at the end of the visit as we carry an extensive range of parts too.
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info@maximuschillers.es
Controller Swap Out
When a controller malfunctions and is found to be obsolete, it can constitute a big problem. However, it is no trouble at all for Maximus Chillers as we have Carel controllers on the shelf.
Strip the Panel
First, we strip the wiring, the electrical components and the old controller from the panel. We keep the 3 phase wiring, the common neutral and the transformers. This is because we reuse them for the new controls.
Fit New Components
Next, we fit the new controller, the condenser fan switches, the sensors and the transducers. Electronic expansion valves and compressor variable speed drives can also be fitted at this stage if required.
Wire Up
Each wire between the controller and the various components in the panel is wired up one at a time. The external components around the chiller are also wired back to the panel.
Commissioning
The final part of the job is the commissioning phase where the program settings and the fan switches are adjusted. This process gets the machine to settle down into seamless operation. A day or two is usually taken to do this, with a courtesy visit arranged a week later to iron out any teething problems.
Supply Chain for Gibraltar Chiller Maintenance
Where a compressor needs rebuilding, it can be lift and shifted to be rebuilt at our compressor remanufacturing facility at Head Office in the UK. We can also carry out strip down and rebuilds on site using our engineers from The Spanish Office. We have suppliers in Malaga for consumables and refrigerant. We also have a weekly shuttle service from the UK to replenish the Spanish Office. This is because we have excellent suppliers in the UK who provide second to none technical support in the selection of parts. UK equipment is also of exceptional quality, so things like vacuum pumps and refrigerant gauges are replenished from the UK too.
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