I am starting this thread because I see way to vague water flow specs from manufacturers. of course they want to sell you another one in a few years but this hobby is way too expensive for that. I also get calls from people to work on there chillers and I find they are running the recommended flow but it's normally too high. it's a trial thing but one major factor in refrigeration is making sure the refrigerant comes back cool enough to keep the electric motor inside your compressor from overheating. inside the compressor is a thermal overload that can trip when the windings get too hot. it is a high temp before it actually trips and you want to keep it much cooler. failure to do so will result in a shortened life span for your chillers compressor and will cost you more electricity to run. the temperature of the refrigerant coming back to the compressor should never be above 65 degrees F. so if you take the panel off your chiller to allow access to the compressor you can locate the suction line and use a thermometer to check it's temperature. the suction line is the larger of the 2 lines attached to the compressor. normally towards the top unless it's a scroll . the other line will be very HOT so BEWARE. I am not responsible for burns or hands in fans. parts are moving be careful.
50 degrees F should be a good point to shoot for. adjust the water flow more or less until you get this temperature. now some will be fine at 45-65 and maybe even as low as 40. also make sure you are using a decent thermometer and get a good conection. wrapping a towel or something around it and the pipe can help insulate it and make the ambient temperatures have less of an effect on the reading.
different manufacturers use different amounts and types of material so it's hard to recommend a specific amount of flow. I would just put a ball valve after the coil to keep water from leaving to quickly. you always want the coil completely submerged for proper operation.
50 degrees F should be a good point to shoot for. adjust the water flow more or less until you get this temperature. now some will be fine at 45-65 and maybe even as low as 40. also make sure you are using a decent thermometer and get a good conection. wrapping a towel or something around it and the pipe can help insulate it and make the ambient temperatures have less of an effect on the reading.
different manufacturers use different amounts and types of material so it's hard to recommend a specific amount of flow. I would just put a ball valve after the coil to keep water from leaving to quickly. you always want the coil completely submerged for proper operation.
