SteinarN
26-03-2009, 08:15 AM
Some years ago I made an ice water based cooler for hot packed food products for one of my customers.
It is made from scratch, 1,25mm stainless brushed steel plates and PVC foam at 80 kg/m3 glued together under vacuum. I did this job at my former employer which have a vacuum table and the necessary sheet metal machines. The individual panels, sides and bottom was then glued together on site as it was not possible to get the finished cooler in place in one piece. Evaporator and other parts was also brazed and installed in the basement. Old building, small passages in a basement.
Total volume is 1.600 liter, 800 liter for refrigerant tubes, ice and sorounding water and 800 liter above the perforated plates for products and sorounding water.
Capasity is 300 kg products in one batch. Max ice volume is 280 liter. Cooling time for 300 kg products from 95C to below 4C is dependent of bag sizes and whether the products is liquid or semi solid. Practical cooling time is under 1 hour for a full batch of small bags/liquid products and maybe 1,5-2 hour for large bags with semi solid products. Water temp stays below 1C except the first ten or so minutes after loading a full batch.
The continous cooling capasity of the evaporator is above 15 kW at -8C evaporating, not to thick ice layer on the evaporator tubes and 1 to 1,5C water temp.
Water circulation is steppless adjustable by the user adjusting a pot-meter conected to a VFD and a 3-phase pump. Circulation between tiny and 10,5 l/s at full pump speed.
The ice/temperature control makes sure the ice thickness on the evaporator tubes never becomes to thick stopping the water flow, neither to thin causing loss of instant cooling capasity when a full batch is loaded.
The cooler is connected to a centralized system servicing all the various small equipment like small cold rooms, small fridges and cooled restaurant equipment in addition to the ice water cooler, 18 in total.
Many pictures here:
http://s684.photobucket.com/albums/vv206/SteinarNo/Ice%20water%20based%20%20food%20cooler/?start=all
It is made from scratch, 1,25mm stainless brushed steel plates and PVC foam at 80 kg/m3 glued together under vacuum. I did this job at my former employer which have a vacuum table and the necessary sheet metal machines. The individual panels, sides and bottom was then glued together on site as it was not possible to get the finished cooler in place in one piece. Evaporator and other parts was also brazed and installed in the basement. Old building, small passages in a basement.
Total volume is 1.600 liter, 800 liter for refrigerant tubes, ice and sorounding water and 800 liter above the perforated plates for products and sorounding water.
Capasity is 300 kg products in one batch. Max ice volume is 280 liter. Cooling time for 300 kg products from 95C to below 4C is dependent of bag sizes and whether the products is liquid or semi solid. Practical cooling time is under 1 hour for a full batch of small bags/liquid products and maybe 1,5-2 hour for large bags with semi solid products. Water temp stays below 1C except the first ten or so minutes after loading a full batch.
The continous cooling capasity of the evaporator is above 15 kW at -8C evaporating, not to thick ice layer on the evaporator tubes and 1 to 1,5C water temp.
Water circulation is steppless adjustable by the user adjusting a pot-meter conected to a VFD and a 3-phase pump. Circulation between tiny and 10,5 l/s at full pump speed.
The ice/temperature control makes sure the ice thickness on the evaporator tubes never becomes to thick stopping the water flow, neither to thin causing loss of instant cooling capasity when a full batch is loaded.
The cooler is connected to a centralized system servicing all the various small equipment like small cold rooms, small fridges and cooled restaurant equipment in addition to the ice water cooler, 18 in total.
Many pictures here:
http://s684.photobucket.com/albums/vv206/SteinarNo/Ice%20water%20based%20%20food%20cooler/?start=all