Frequently Asked Questions

Thank you for submitting your question about preventing algae growth in your system.

Absolutely you can add an algaecide to your system to help.

Since I don't know exactly what equipment that you're asking about you will want to be careful with any chemical that you add to be sure that it doesn't attack the metals in the system. Generally that would not be expected from an algaecide.

If you have algae in the system now and you add something to kill it you will want to be sure to have a filter installed to catch the dead algae or it could plug components and cause even more problems.

We recommend consulting a professional water treatment company for a recommendation for your system. If you want to try yourself here is a product that might work. A product designed for industrial use is probably better than an algaecide used for a pool.

I hope this information helps.

Advantage uses R134A in limited applications, 1/4 - 1.5 horsepower chillers only. Phase out in chillers is scheduled for January 1, 2024 which provides adequate time to update those products with a different refrigerant. Until then, R134A is a good choice for use in industrial chillers.

Shown here is a summary of the primary differences between a purpose built Industrial Chiller and a typical Commercial or HVAC (air-conditioning) Chiller.

Click here for Specifications and Pricing for Industrial Chillers

• Industrial chillers have independent water and refrigeration circuits.
• HVAC chiller suppliers offer only the chiller and often aren't able to provide reservoirs, pumping systems and controls.
• Industrial chillers include water manifolds with service valves for the evaporator and condenser (water cooled products) as standard.
• On industrial water-cooled chillers, condenser water regulating valves are included and are pre-piped at the factory.
• Industrial chillers include a labor warranty as standard.
• Industrial chiller manufacturers provide start-up and training for central chillers and pumping systems.
• HVAC chillers are often sold through distributors or agents that don't understand your process and aren't able to help you decide the best chiller capacity or chiller configuration to meet your needs without hiring an expensive consulting engineering firm.
• Industrial chillers are designed to operate in all weather conditions while HVAC chillers are often idle in the winter since air-conditioning is not required.
• Industrial chillers have specific integrated controls that allow them to operate in both hot and very cold weather conditions.
• Industrial chillers can be serviced by a wide range of technicians while HVAC chillers are often limited to service providers that are brand specific
• Most industrial chiller manufactures have readily available support personnel available for phone consultation long after the warranty period expires while HVAC chiller support can be difficult and expensive once the warranty ends.

Deionized water is very corrosive to metals such as steel, cast iron, brass, bonze & copper. Since both Advantage standard chillers and water temperature control units contain these materials , deionized water should never be used in them. This includes most current and older models. Advantage can build units compatible with deionized water when necessary. When built for use with deionized water, units are typically constructed using wetted surfaces of all stainless steel, plastic and rubber hose or PVC piping and using nickel brazing material in the chiller heat exchangers.

Advantage Sentra Series water circulating temperature control units with VE, G Series and Temptender microprocessor controls have a set point range from 20°F-250°F. Units with the G300 and T300 control instruments have a set point range from 20°F-300°F.

While the unit set point can be placed at any point within this range, there are limitations to what the unit can achieve. Since cooling is accomplished via an external water source, the temperature of the water source has a direct impact on the obtainable lowest temperature. Generally, a good rule of thumb is that the unit can cool to within about 20°F of the supplied cooling water temperature for direct injection cooled configured units. For example if your cooling water is 50°F, the unit usually can control at temperatures as low as 70°F. Small cooling loads or a larger cooling valve can reduce the temperature difference.

Likewise the process to be heated will influence the highest temperature that can be achieved. If the heater within the Sentra unit is not large enough to heat and overcome ambient losses of the process it may never achieve the desired set point.

Knowing important process information, your Advantage representative can help you choose the correct unit and components for your application.

Temperature stability often depends on the process and how well the pump, cooling valve and heater are selected for the application. Too low of flow or a greatly oversized cooling valve or heater can lead to temperature swing. Generally the stability is +/- 1°F for most processes.

For relatively normal flow rates (3 gallons per minute per ton) we generally use a rule of thumb that the tank capacity in gallons should be 6 times the system rated capacity in tons.

For example a 100-ton cooling system would require a minimum tank capacity of 600 gallons. For higher flow rates we usually size the tank capacity to have at least 1 minute of water stored in the tank. For example a system circulating 1,000 gallons per minute should have a volume of at least 1,000 gallons. Generally chilled water systems can get by with less volume than cooling tower systems because a longer residence time is required in cooling tower systems to allow for the air introduced in the cooling process to separate before being pumped to process.

A BTU is the amount of cooling/heating required to lower or raise 1 pound of water, 1°F at one atmosphere.

Assuming that you are near 1 atmosphere (you aren't on top of a mountain or something), 400 gallons of water is about 3,335 pounds so to cool this from 70°F to 45°F (25°F change) requires 3,335 pounds x 25°F change = 83,375 BTU. To change 400 gallons of water just 1°F requires 3,335 BTU.

You might need or want to apply a time factor to your analysis. Perhaps you want to cool 400 gallons of water from 70°F to 45°F in 2 hours. The cooling system would then need to remove only half of the 83,375 BTU's each hour so your cooling system could produce one half of the cooling it would need to cool the water in 1 hour.

Here is a handy formula for calculating the cooling requirement of water:

BTU = Gallons x Temperature Change (°F) x 8.33

You are correct that the same register is used for both reading and writing the set point. One thing that you should do is only do a single register write.

Also make sure your 'scan' rate is not too fast. You should only read the registers every 2 seconds or longer. Most messages will generate a reply in 500mz or less. This in not guaranteed.

Also, be aware that the values written via the Modbus interface are always in English units (F) regardless of the instrument display mode. The High and Low alarm values are deviations. So, they are typically set to 5 or so.

For more information on Modbus and Advantage, see FYI 277 : Modbus RTU and Modbus TCP/IP Communications and Components.

Advantage HE Series microprocessor controls use SPI or Modbus protocol to communicate data between devices. Specific information to answer your question can be found by following [L=http://www.advantageengineering.com/fyi/277/advantageFYI277.php]this link[EL] or search our site for FYI-277 for downloadable information.

We do not have an online ordering system. We prefer to speak to our customers directly just to be sure that we are providing the correct parts. Please call our Service Parts Manager at 317-887-0729.

The sensor probes in the Sentra temperature control units are solid state sensors not thermocouples. They provide good accuracy and consistency in the range that the Sentra operates.

The probes are calibrated by using a known temperature and comparing. An ice bath is good since we know that the temperature is 32°F. You can also use some other calibrated temperature display that you trust to be accurate.

If you have a thermocouple calibrator you might consider the probe as described in FYI #292.

"int" is used to calibrate the flow meter. It is calibrated before shipping. Do not adjust the "int" unless you have a known flow meter to calibrate to. If you have questions about your specific unit can you provide the serial number of the unit so that our service personnel can know exactly what you own. Feel free to call us at 317-887-0729 and ask for service.

Flow is not adjustable from the unit.

Since the unit uses a centrifugal pump it will automatically adapt to the restrictions in your piping. You can adjust the flow by installing a valve on the discharge of the unit and opening and closing it to obtain the flow that you need.

If you have questions about your specific unit can you provide the serial number of the unit so that our service personnel can know exactly what you own. Feel free to call us at 317-887-0729 and ask for service.

Advantage chillers are not FDA approved for direct cooling of ingredients that will be used for food production.

Advantage can provide a chiller with an FDA approved heat exchanger that isolates the ingredients from the chiller's cooling water. This heat exchanger is often a double wall type so that the cooling water cannot contaminate the ingredients.

See this illustration: Once Through Cooling.

Advantage water chillers, both portable and central chillers can be used in food and beverage processing applications.

In fact, the Advantage OACS outdoor central chiller is popular with winery and vintner facilities in the mid west and along the west coast.

Advantage water chillers can supply chilled water for jacketed vessels and tanks where product requires pre cooling before blast chiller or general chilling along the processing route. Any cooling of food or beverage products can be provided by Advantage chillers

All Advantage include an internal reservoir and pump. This provides high turbulent flow to the trough or vessel. The turbulence in the water flow greatly increase the transfer of heat from the product into the water, saving time and expense. Otherwise, there will be longer product cycles.

The Advantage easy-to-use control instruments with large temperature display are preferred to the small controllers offered by others. Advantage controllers are designed specifically for chilling applications and are not 'off-the-shelf' instruments.

Contact the Advantage Sales Department for more information at 317-887-0729.

For more information: Portable Chillers and Central Chillers.

A typical spare parts list is provided in the product service manual. This is typical for the broad range of models that the product manual covers. In most cases, the list is complete and current.

However, if you want a spare parts list particular to your unit, please contact the Advantage Service Department at 317-887-0729. Please provide the Model # and the Serial #. We can email or fax a copy of the spare parts list to you.

Spare parts lists specific to a model are not available online at this time. However, you can obtain a typical spare parts list by looking at the manual. Typical Service Manuals are available here.

Service Parts for all Advantage products, including mold temperature control units, portable liquid chillers, central liquid chillers, pump tank stations, cooling towers and systems, and filters are available from our Service Parts Department.

Please call 317-887-0729 during normal business hours and ask for Service Parts. You can send your parts order via email with this link. Our Service Parts personnel will response right away.

To make the service part ordering easier and more efficient, please provide the model and serial number of the Advantage unit.

Discounts up to 2.5% are available when ordering with a credit card. We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover.

In most cases, service parts are shipped via UPS Ground. Next Day and Second Day delivery are offered. Shipping expenses are charged to the customer.

Advantage provides Spanish translations of the Corporate brochure and the Sentra Series mold temperature control unit literature.

A link for the Corporate brochure is here.

Currently, there are no available product manuals in the spanish language.

All products are shipped with a unit specific electrical drawing. A typical electrical drawing for the product type is included in the instruction manual. However, if you need a reprint of the electrical drawing for your specific unit, you can contact the Advantage Service Department via phone or email. In most cases, the Service Department can send a PDF copy of the electrical drawing via email. The PDF file can be viewed in any version of Acrobat Reader and printed by your desktop printer. Printed electrical drawings can be sent by the US Postal Service if desired. Contact the Advantage Service Department at 317-887-0729.

During the calendar months of April to September, many localities can experience periods of hot weather, when ambient air temperatures exceed 85°F. In many cases. hot weather can cause your air-cooled and water-cooled liquid chillers to decline in performance, and in some cases, not work at all.

The technical reason that this occurs is the design value of the chiller is exceeded during hot weather. Advantage chillers are designed to provide full capacity up to 95°F for air-cooled chillers and 85°F for water-cooled chillers.

There are some simple things that you can do to keep your chiller operating near full capacity when the ambient air temperatures exceeds the chiller's designed capacity.

• Air-Cooled Chillers:
• Keep the condenser coil clean.
• Keep proper air circulation around the chiller. At least 4'-6' of clearance for the air inlet and discharge.
• Keep adequate ventilation in the plant.
• Keep good maintenance on the the fan, blowers and motors.

• Water-Cooled Chillers
• Keep proper GPM through the condenser, at least 3 GPM at 20 PSI per ton.
• Keep the condenser clean by preventing debris and biological growth from clogging the small tubes.
• Keep the condenser water regulating valve (if equipped) is good maintenance.

More information is available on our web site. If you have any questions, please call the Advantage Service Department at 317-887-0729.

[CL=images/refrigerantCans.jpg]right[LC][bd]2009 marked the final year of using R22, a refrigerant that has served industrial cooling systems well for many years, in new production of chillers.[db] As a refrigerant that has ozone depleting potential, R22 cannot be used in new equipment manufactured after December 31, 2009. For many years, R22 was the standard refrigerant used in all Advantage and most competitive chillers. Other than the ozone depleting potential (which is important only when the gas is released) R22 is and was an efficient refrigerant. Don’t worry about your chiller that uses R22 being immediately obsolete. R22 will continue to be manufactured in restricted quantities until 2020 and recycled R22 will be available far longer. Service companies will still be able to service your R22 chilling equipment for many years to come. As a manufacturer of chilling equipment, Advantage has transitioned to non-ozone depleting refrigerants in all of our new systems. The refrigerant switch over is an important issue to understand. If you have any questions, please contact Advantage. Additional information on HFC-410A and other refrigerant begin used by Advantage is available on our web site at [L=../fyi/246/advantageFYI246.php]FYI #246[EL].