A large financial institution was having serious issues with water-scale deposits that had accumulated in their 600-ton chiller. The approach temperature per the chiller’s design specification was 3°F. This value had skyrocketed to upwards of 12°F and reduced the chiller’s capacity to barely 80%. However, while operating at this level the approach temperature was still two degrees above normal.

Previously, the chiller had been cleaned with harsh acids which had corroded the walls of the copper tubes in the condenser. This prohibited further use of corrosive acids to clean the system. A senior technician, fortunately, remembered using RYDLYME at his previous casino operation and immediately contacted Apex Engineering Products to facilitate a solution as soon as possible.

CHILLER CLEANING

The chiller equipment was identified and prescribed 110 gallons of RYDLYME to circulate a 50% solution. The RYDLYME along with a descaling system was delivered within 24 hours and set up for cleaning. The onsite engineer circulated the solution through the condenser for the recommended five-hour period. After bringing the chiller back online, the approach temperature was reduced to just 1.5°F!

The unnecessary energy cost due to the scale accumulation was recovered and the net savings from using RYDLYME were in excess of $8,000 with a payback period of fewer than three months. The senior technician was now able to draw on these results and revise the PM schedule on two other chillers at the facility to utilize RYDLYME. Another $20,000 in savings, interest-free!