Archives for April 2019

What to Know When Renting a Chiller

Adam Jacobs · Apr 26, 2019 ·

Ready to Rent

Chiller rental can be a difficult area to navigate if you don’t know what you need. From the large industrial chillers that can cool a building, to the smaller, portable chiller rentals for process cooling, understanding your exact needs is crucial.

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Get the Details

So you want to rent a chiller! In order to know exactly what type of chiller will meet your cooling needs, you have to know the following:

Let’s break that down into detail.

Determine chiller type: What is your process cooling application? Are you keeping the temperature of your product stable? Or are you trying to cool something down? Or are you trying to keep a space cool? This will help determine what type of chiller rental you need.
Determine chiller size: What is your heat load that needs to be removed? How much heat needs to be taken out of your system? What are the ambient conditions? This is critical, since not all chillers are capable of removing the required heat. Understanding your heat load will help you know what size of chiller.
Determine power needs: How much power do you have available? Are you going to need to rent a generator as well? Chillers use a lot of power, so planning ahead based on your electricity resources is important.

North Slope Chillers

North Slope Chillers has every kind of chiller you need for keeping cool. With fluid temperatures going down to 10 ºF, easy setup and a self-monitoring control system, North Slope Chillers can make sure you’re ready to take on any cooling problem.

Talk to the Experts

Not sure how to match your needs with varying types of chillers? Chat with a chilling expert to find the best chiller or chilling accessory for your needs at (866) 826-2993 or by email at [email protected].

Meet the North Slope Chillers Family

Adam Jacobs · Apr 24, 2019 ·

Cooling Solutions For Every Application

North Slope Chillers’ cooling products are top of the line and ready to meet your chilling needs. We are proud to offer several levels of industrial water chiller systems, fluid chillers, and proprietary chilling accessories to provide precise temperature control that is compact, yet efficient. Let’s take a closer look at what makes the North Slope Chillers family so special.

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Industrial Chillers

Chemical products, fermented beverages, dairy products, printed materials, plastics, jewelry, metals, technology, and the medical industry are all examples of industries that need and use process cooling.

Different types of chillers are made to operate at different temperatures with various fluids and flow rates, allowing for versatility and efficiency in process cooling. North Slope Chillers offers a variety of chiller sizes and cooling levels in order to address the varied needs of industrial chilling.

Frost

Our Frost chillers are fantastic, entry level chillers ideal for single containers or applications that require a temperature range from 45° F to 85° F. These lite, industrial chillers are portable, economical, and a breeze to install and use.

Freeze

Freeze is North Slope Chillers’ powerful standard industrial chiller and is an absolute workhorse that can provide enough flow to cool multiple containers at one time. Freeze cools fluids between 42°F and 75° F and is ideal for applications that require reliable continuous chilling.

Deep Freeze

For ultimate industrial cooling, Deep Freeze is the ideal low temperature chiller. In addition to the industrial quality interior parts as our Freeze line, Deep Freeze’s interior is fully insulated to prevent temperature loss during heat transfer. Deep Freeze has a cooling range from 10° F to 45° F and will keep your equipment and materials cool even in the hottest of conditions.

Custom Chilling

With the fastest and easiest customization process in the industry, North Slope Chillers can quickly create a custom cooling solution to fit your exact needs. We offer full customization for: temperature ranges all the way down to -112° F, alternative fluids, advanced controls, custom sizes, deionized water compatibility, heaters, additional filters, and other internal components to match your requirements perfectly.

Fluxwrap

Meet Fluxwrap, our versatile fluid channel blanket that can fit virtually any container.

With adjustable straps and flexible wrapping, the full coverage design ensures good thermal conductivity between the Fluxwrap and container. Simply hook Fluxwrap up to a chiller or a heater to provide cooling or heating to any materials or equipment.

Ice Blankets and Keg Coolers

For high performance chilling on the go, look no further than our insulated ice wraps and keg coolers. With internal pockets that place ice directly against the surface of your container, these blankets are affordable and efficient cooling for any environment. These blankets are so easy to use…just freeze your ice packs, wrap your product, and take your chill on the road.

North Slope Chillers graphic on ice blankets

Here at North Slope Chillers, we pride ourselves on providing chilling solutions that are easy to install, remove, and relocate. Contact us today at (866) 826-2993 or [email protected] to find the perfect chilling solution for your needs.

What is Process Cooling?

Emma Pollock · Apr 16, 2019 ·

Commercial environments typically utilize two types of cooling: comfort cooling and process cooling. Comfort cooling is what we are typically most familiar with– think air conditioning and other cooling systems used to keep living and work places at comfortable temperatures. While most people aren’t as familiar with process chilling, we all regularly use items that couldn’t exist without the help of that type of system.

Put simply, process cooling removes unwanted heat from processes to keep things running smoothly.

Some common products that rely heavily on this kind of cooling are: chemicals, beer and other fermented beverages, dairy products, plastic products, printed materials, jewelry, most metal items, and internet technology.

Chemical Products

Think of the chemicals you use at home. Just a few that come to mind are rubbing alcohol, antifreeze, battery acid, white-out, and glass cleaner.

The production of these goods require extreme care. One of the most challenging aspects of processing, handling and storing chemicals is maintaining a consistent temperature. Temperatures even a few degrees above “ideal” can quickly damage chemical products and create a chemically hazardous environment.

Fermented Beverages

If you’ve ever enjoyed a refreshing beer, you have process cooling to thank.

High-quality brews require careful temperature control during the fermentation process. Ideal beer fermentation temperature is between 68 and 72° F. For lager, ideal fermentation temps are between 45 and 55°F. Fermenting above these temperature ranges will create extremely fruity-flavored esters and harsh-flavored fusel alcohols. Additionally, high temps could slow or stop fermentation altogether.

Dairy

Cheese, ice cream, milk, yogurt, you name it! It all requires careful temperature control to prevent unwanted bacteria growth and undesirable textures.

Cooling is also used during dairy production to keep both the products and equipment from overheating.

Plastic

We are surrounded by plastic. Containers, toys, electronics, furniture, office supplies, beauty items and even clothing almost always have some sort of plastic element.

Process engineers working in plastics know that cooling effectiveness during extrusion and molding makes the difference between a commercially viable product or an expensive misshapen pile of spent polymers (and dissatisfied customers). Achieving and maintaining ideal temperatures is critical to high-quality plastic goods.

Printed Materials

Even in an era of e-readers, there’s still printed goods all around us: packaging, magazine, books, brochures, posters, and newspapers, just to name a few.

During the printing process heat is generated due to friction within the system. In order to avoid damage or slowed production, cooling is vital.

Jewelry, Coins, and Badges

While not everyone is familiar with electrical discharge machinery (EDM), most people probably have a piece of jewelry, decorative buckle, metal badge, or coin that’s been manufactured with the help of EDM. EDM is also used to create the intricate cuts and holes needed for certain technology.

EDM uses electrical discharges to shape the materials being cut to the desired measurements. This process is extremely accurate, and is usually used on hard materials. The water used in this process can heat up very quickly, requiring robust cooling solutions to maintain the ideal temperature for optimal performance. During the EDM process, some metal enters the water as small particles. Deionized water helps to promote a higher metal removal rate and enhances the machine’s capacity to deliver a more precise cut.

Metal Items

Welding is a crucial part of creating kitchen appliances, buildings, cars, and more. Essentially, if it has a metal element, it probably requires welding.

Because welding uses such extreme high temperatures, effective cooling is critical to a successful weld. When welding equipment is properly cooled, there is decreased equipment downtime and higher, more uniform quality.

Internet Technology, Surgery and Entertainment

Ever wondered how internet data can be transmitted from one computer to millions across the country or even the world? Internet data is comprised of a series of 1’s and 0’s which are communicated via a laser beam turning on (1) and off (0). These 1’s and 0’s from the laser are carried through fiber optic cables at close to the speed of light (299,792,458 meters per second).

Other popular and common applications of laser technology include surgery (laser eye surgery), and entertainment. DVD and Blu-Ray players use lasers to read information off of disks.

Due to the high temperatures that come with laser use, a cooling system is used to mitigate heat and stabilize equipment for optimal laser performance. Cooling helps extend the lifespan of equipment by preventing overheating. Maintaining consistent temperatures also preserves the accuracy of the laser for longer periods of time.

Cooling from North Slope Chillers

For each of the products and processes listed above, proper cooling can be the difference between a top product and damaged goods. North Slope Chillers offers high-quality, dependable chiller systems and accessories, including custom options. For more information about our product offerings, give us a call at (866) 826-2993.

Meet Fluxwrap™

Adam Jacobs · Apr 11, 2019 ·

The Best Cooling Wrap On The Market

Fluxwrap™: the most affordable, effective, industrial heating and cooling wrap on the market. Designed and produced by North Slope Chillers, Fluxwrap™ is a thermal chameleon because it can chill or warm a variety of containers, regardless of size. But is it really the best product on the market? Let’s find out!

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What is Fluxwrap™?

Fluxwrap™ is a versatile fluid temperature control solution for heating or cooling. This proprietary wrap comes equipped with fluid channels that can be filled quickly with either a heating or cooling liquid, depending on your needs. These fluid channels deliver efficient temperature control directly to any surface they surround. Fluxwrap™ is lightweight, compact, and easily wraps around containers of all shapes and sizes. It will also conform to uneven surfaces to maintain high thermal conductivity between the wrap and your container.

What sets Fluxwrap™ apart from the competition?

North Slope Chillers Diagram on how to use Fluxwrap

Full Coverage

Fluxwrap’s fluid channels are specially designed to increase the flow of temperature control fluid, without gaps, air pockets, or drops in pressure. Durable elastic straps also hold the wrap snugly around your container to further increase thermal conductivity between the Fluxwrap™ and your materials.

Portability

Here at North Slope Chillers, we pride ourselves on flexible temperature control solutions that won’t interfere with the layout of your system. Fluxwrap’s lightweight and compact design makes it extremely easy to install, use, remove, and even store for future use.

Customization

Do you have temperature control needs that don’t exactly match ready-to-ship product specifications? Not a problem! Fluxwrap™ is customizable to fit virtually any system. North Slope Chillers offers the fastest custom temperature solutions on the market. Our expert engineers are standing by to custom tailor Fluxwrap™ to your fit your needs.

Extra Insulation

Fluxwrap™ comes equipped with a heavy duty, white vinyl, insulation wrap. This added exterior fits easily around your Fluxwrap™ to reduce condensation, reflect heat, and provide extra insulation that keeps your temperatures right where you want them.

Total Temperature Control

Need to heat instead of chill? Fluxwrap™ is capable of meeting all temperature needs. Simply change the temperature of the fluid, and you have an effective medium for heating. Using glycol, Fluxwrap™ can heat containers effectively up to 120° F.

Affordability

Fluxwrap is the most affordable and efficient option on the market. It comes with a one-year warranty to protect against any defects.

If you are looking for an affordable wrap that is portable, flexible, and works well with any chiller system, North Slope Chillers’ Fluxwrap™ is ready to meet all your temperature control needs.
For more information on Fluxwrap™, click here.

The Rise of Craft and Microbreweries

Adam Jacobs · Apr 10, 2019 ·

Visit any large city in the United States today, and you’ll discover an ever-increasing amount of craft and microbreweries. Microbreweries and craft breweries are similar in almost every way, with a few exceptions.

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The American Brewers Association says microbreweries are allowed to make only 15,000 barrels of beer (460,000 gallons) per year and must sell 75 percent of its inventory outside of its brewery location. Craft breweries can’t produce more than 2 million gallons of beer per year. In addition, craft beers must be made with 50 percent malt and are independently owned.

It’s easy to mix the two up. One thing they do have in common is that many craft and microbreweries begin with people creating new beer concoctions in their own homes, known as homebrewing.

Homemade beer was, at one point, more American than baseball. When they were not establishing new countries and fighting oppressive powers, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were home brewers.

George Washington Beer — George Washington’s homemade beer recipe, written in his journal.

At that time, beer was consumed more than water. According to the American Homebrewers Association, “Beer has long been a beverage brewed as a source of potable water in areas with disease- and famine-stricken resources, as was the case in some instances in America.”

Revolutionary War-era brews were not flavorful, nor did they provide a “buzz”. These early American beers were often referred to as “soft” or “weak” due to their low alcohol content, but were popular enough that they led to the creation of craft and microbreweries, which populated many American cities until Prohibition began in 1920.

They virtually disappeared until the 1980s, when craft and microbreweries began making a comeback. During that decade, a new community of craft brewers started expanding out of their garage homebrewing hobby into commercial opportunities, giving Americans back the tradition of flavored ales and lagers. It was a revolution in its own right.

Since then, craft brewing has exploded into its own industry in the United States, with California, Colorado, Washington and Oregon boasting the most craft breweries. Compared to just eight craft brewers in 1980, there were more than 6,000 in 2018. Frankenmuth Brewery, a craft brewery based in Michigan and the oldest operating craft brewery in America, claims most Americans live no farther than 10 miles from a craft brewery. The culture of small, independent breweries has become something that drinkers can connect to, and participate in.

Craft and microbrews today are rich in flavor and are considered an art. These artisan brews contrast greatly with what some beer critics call “buzz beers,” such as Budweiser or Miller Light, which people drink more for the buzz they get instead of deep flavor. Whether you prefer sour ales or a rich lager or a stout IPA, there’s something for all beer drinkers so long as craft and microbreweries continue to thrive.