A food and beverage company had 316SS NEMA 4X (IP66) electrical panels inside their facility. The reason for the stainless-steel construction and NEMA 4X or IP66 rating was for the periodic washdowns with an aggressive cleaner.
This particular company had a bottling process and inside each panel, sensitive electrical components would control the operation of the system. The panels were fitted with Freon type air conditioners to keep the electrical components cool. One day, they had an A/C unit that failed, and it shut down their system for half a day. For a bottling company, a shutdown for this long stopped many bottles from being processed which costed much money from loss of production.
They had four panels that were setup similar right next to each other. They were fitted with 1,700 BTU/hr freon system on each panel. In this situation, one of the refrigerant compressors failed. They had to hire a mechanical serviceman with a license to work on Freon systems. Because of the length of time to get their system restarted, they were losing money every minute. This emergency call really hindered the entire bottling process. In fear of another shutdown, they contacted EXAIR to see if we could help them.
Even with constant maintenance, the life span of a Freon system is only around five years. (It can be even shorter if preventative maintenance is not scheduled regularly). Any mechanical system with moving parts will wear out and fail. EXAIR Cabinet Coolers use the power of a Vortex Tube which only needs compressed air to generate cold air. With no moving parts to wear or unsafe Freon to leak, they are designed to keep your electrical components cool and operating for a very long time. Trying to predict failures with refrigerant systems is very difficult to determine; but, with the EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems, it takes that worry away.
EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems are manufactured in a variety of options and types to meet different application requirements. For the food and beverage company above, I recommended the model 4830SS-316 Cabinet Cooler System to replace each of the A/C refrigeration systems. The model 4830SS-316 would meet the cooling requirement with 2,000 BTU/hr capacity, the NEMA 4X (IP66) rating of the panel, and the 316SS construction to withstand washdowns. The complete system includes the Cabinet Cooler, a filter, cold air distribution kit, a thermostat and a solenoid valve. The thermostat is preset at 95 deg. F (35 deg. C), and it operates a solenoid valve to only turn on when cooling is needed. EXAIR has this model in stock as well as many others for quick delivery, reducing any downtime. After the installation of the Cabinet Coolers onto the panels, the worry of production stoppage due to a failure with an A/C system was alleviated.
Maintenance departments have many concerns in keeping a system running smoothly and uninterrupted. Why add additional worries with coolant based panel coolers? If you have electrical panels that can stop your operation like the bottling company above, an EXAIR Cabinet Cooler will be a reliable solution. You can fill out the Cabinet Cooler Sizing Guide and an Application Engineer can determine the best model for you.
John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb