Evapco Launches First Air-Cooled Plug & Play Ammonia Chiller

U.S. OEM Evapco has introduced a new packaged low-charge air-cooled ammonia chiller to complement its water-cooled models.

The new LCR-C-A model features a top-mounted air-cooled condenser. The model was officially introduced in June and will be available in several configurations. The LCR-C-A is designed for humid and cool climates where air-cooled technology can be leveraged year round.

The LCR-C series also features an opportunity to add an adiabatic condenser, instead of the air-cooled one, for moderate and dry climates.

Evapco expects the LCR-C-A model to have a lower overall cost than current solutions, according to Evapco Vice President Kurt Liebendorfer. In addition,“we expect them to be very popular due to their complete plug-and-play nature and high efficiency,” he said.

 “Evapco is leveraging the best parts of traditional stick-built ammonia systems that have served, and continue to serve so reliably, the food and beverage market, and other markets, and transforming them into this new and safer packaged industrial technology of pre-engineered, factory tested, off-the-shelf manufactured natural refrigerant products,” Liebendorfer explained.

The LCR-C-A can provide a chilled secondary fluid for many types of applications, with fluid temperatures between 5 and 50°F (-15 to 10°C). The various configurations of the LCR-C-A typically have an ammonia charge from 2.5 to 5.5lbs/TR (0.33 to 0.71kg/kW) with capacities from 40 to 225TR (141 to 791kW).

Other benefits to the new air-cooled model include zero water usage (or minimal water usage with the adibatic condenser) and the flexibility offered by its many configurations, according to a product brochure published by Evapco. The LCR-C-A can be outfitted with a number of accessories, including on-board pumps, cold-weather kits, a rigging davit for compressor and motor removal, and dual compressors. 

Additional benefits are the roof-mounted installation, meaning no chance of ammonia leaks in confined spaces, and the very low refrigerant charge. The LCR-C-A is also IIAR-2 code compliant.

Evapco formally launched both the LCR-C air-cooled and LCR-C adiabatic chiller products after two years of R&D, pilot testing and factory performance testing. "In the industrial refrigeration market, reliability is key and Evapco is committed to total customer satisfaction,” Liebendorfer said.

With the new chiller products, Evapco now has a "full spectrum" of Evapcold low-charge ammonia packaged products, including the LRC-C Chiller and LRC-P Penthouse refrigeration offerings, all of which are available in water-cooled, adiabatic and air-cooled technologies, noted Liebendorfer.

“Evapco has invested heavily over the last seven years to get to this point with continuous R&D, multiple product launches and multiple product improvement cycles in the process of introducing the growing Evapcold family of products, and with more new Evapcold products yet to come,” he said.

Want to find out more, or have something to say about this story? Join the ATMOsphere network to meet and engage with like-minded stakeholders in the clean cooling and natural refrigerant arena.