Submitted by admin on
While performing routine mechanical service responsibilities at the Iowa State University Research Park it was discovered that the 50 ton chiller had sustained a catastrophic failure. A condensing fan motor mount had broken causing the extensive damage to the condenser coil. Loss of refrigeration caused seizure of all 4 compressors. This 15 year old chiller provided cooling to nearly 8000 square feet of research space. Without the chiller in operation, the heat within the building was too high for research to take place.
Options were given to repair or replace the chiller. ISURP management made the decision to replace in order to have the chiller back on line more quickly. While waiting for the replacement chiller to arrive, Converse Conditioned Air disconnected all chilled water lines, electrical connections and pneumatic controls. The damaged chiller was hoisted from the roof. Additional structural steel was added to accommodate the larger size of the new chiller. This prep work was all completed during the time the new equipment was in transit.
Once the replacement chiller arrived, it was hoisted on to the roof and Converse Conditioned Air immediately began working to make the new connections. This involved chilled water, electrical and control connections. Converse Conditioned Air self-performed 75% of all crew hours on this extensive project. The project was completed within 2 weeks of discovering the initial failure. Given the intricate research performed at this site – limiting down-time was a huge win for all involved.
