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North Slope Chillers

Industrial Water Chiller Systems

Adam Jacobs

Glycol Chiller Systems in Process Cooling

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Glycol: A Critical Chemical

Glycol is a common liquid used in process cooling across many industries. But is it the right one for your chilling needs?

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Process Cooling

Process cooling systems are a critical part of most manufacturing industries. Heat energy is built up as materials are put together and chemicals are combined. Process cooling allows those materials to be held at a stable temperature while the manufacturing process around them continues without heat becoming a worry.

The use of process cooling is widespread. These are only a few examples of the ways process cooling systems are used across the globe:

  • The plastic industry needs cooling to reduce the time it takes to create products using injection molding.
  • Cooling is used in the creation of pharmaceuticals when removing heat from medicinal vats as products move from the manufacturing stage to the containment and packaging stages.
  • Newspaper, books and magazine printers require process cooling to lower ink temperatures and in removing heat from friction caused by print rollers.
  • Home brewers, craft breweries and microbreweries use process cooling to make sure their brews are kept at the right temperatures while fermenting.

Different cooling liquids

Not all process cooling systems are created equal. There are a number of different types of heat-removal liquids that are used to effectively control temperature. These include water, deionized water, dielectric fluids and glycol. Let’s go over the pros and cons of using each cooling liquid:

Water

The most common liquid used in cooling, water is cheap and easily obtainable. An additional benefit is that water is a stable, nontoxic liquid, making cleanup easy in the event of spills. On the downside, water is extremely corrosive thanks to impurities in it such as chlorine, a common additive to tap water. Calcium buildup is also likely due to the fact that it too is generally found in tap water. Using filters, corrosion inhibitors or pure water can help remove these impurities.  

Deionized Water

Basically water without additives, deionized water has all of the ions removed from normal water via filter, reverse osmosis membrane and deionization system. The only real advantages deionized water has over other cooling liquids is that it’s safest to use for electrical manufacturing, due in part to the water having high resistance properties. However, this same feature also causes the water to be acidic upon exposure to the open air, leading to non-stainless steel pipes corroding.  

Dielectric Fluids

These fluids, such as castor oil, liquid oxygen or mineral oil, are also mainly used in electronics to keep equipment cool while providing electrical insulation. Dielectric fluids are often tailored to the material they serve and are very expensive as a result.

Glycol

A toxic liquid, ethylene glycol is mainly used as an antifreeze and for corrosion prevention. In addition, glycol has a low viscosity, negating the need for high-powered pumps that other cooling liquids might require. Glycol is the chemical of choice in process cooling due to its ability to reach extremely low temperatures without thickening or freezing. When combined with water, the freezing point of the collective chemicals reaches well below zero.

water and ethylene glycol chart

For most companies, a glycol chiller is the cooling system of choice to keep the heat away. Chillers pump cold liquids, usually water, glycol or a mixture of both, through heat-creating machinery via pipes or wraps. The cooling liquid absorbs the heat and brings it back to the chiller, which removes the heat and sends the liquid back out at a low temperature in order to draw away more heat.

Other chemicals can be used in process cooling. However, these chemicals don’t have the same temperature reach that glycol does, are less effective for general use, or are too expensive for most businesses.

Glycol in Chillers

North Slope Chillers recognizes the unique requirements that individual businesses have in process cooling, especially when using glycol. Glycol heaters and chillers are tantamount to achieving the best result. That’s why each chiller system is created to be the solution to specific temperature control problems. Chillers can be custom ordered according to size, flow rate, fluid variations and more.

Other issues that might arise in process cooling might be more along the lines of storage cooling, an issue that Fluxwrap was born to take care of. Fluxwrap is a cooling wrap that works with a chiller system to encase a container or drum in a blanket of cold, keeping your material at a stable temperature.

Learn More

North Slope Chillers is here to meet your process cooling needs. Even if your cooling problem is uniquely specific, our team of custom chiller builders are here to find a solution and get you back in control of your temperatures.

What is Glycol?

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Chemically Critical

Glycol is a chemical commonly used in process cooling to reduce the temperature of materials for manufacturing. It’s used everywhere from lasers to dairy, and is often paired with water to hit freezing points well below zero. But don’t drink it!

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Fluxwrap
Glycol can be used in cooling wraps to help bring down temperatures to desired levels.

Glycol: Keeping Things Cool

If you work with chillers in your industry, you likely have used glycol before. But what is it?

ethylene glycol molecular structure
Molecular structure of ethylene glycol

Chemical Uses

Glycol (HOCH2CH2OH) is a mildly toxic chemical that alters the freezing temperature of water. According to the American Chemistry Council, ethylene glycol (commonly referred to as glycol) is used for process cooling in many industries:

Ethylene glycol, a derivative of ethylene oxide, is used for the manufacture of polyester fiber for clothes, upholstery, carpet, and pillows and the blending of automotive engine antifreeze and coolant. Ethylene glycol is also used to manufacture fiberglass for products such as jet skis, bathtubs, and bowling balls. A major use is in the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin, a recyclable plastic, such as soda and water bottles.

ethylene glycol
Ethylene glycol is toxic, but handled properly, it is a great asset in the manufacturing industry.

Glycol and Water

When it comes to using glycol heaters or chillers, propylene glycol is the most important chemical when you have to balance cooling a product and preventing water from freezing. When mixed with glycol, water freezes at lower temperatures, allowing for cooler liquids to flow through a chiller system without the danger of the system freezing up.

The freezing levels of glycol by itself is 9°F. Mixing glycol with water lowers the new mixture’s freezing point, but that freezing point depends on the ratio of glycol to water. For example, an ambient temperature of -50°F can be reached with a 55% glycol, 45% water ratio.

Glycol in Chillers

Chillers use glycol-water mixtures to provide cooling to products and materials that need to be kept at a low, stable temperature. Glycol manufacturers such as Du Pont are required by law to provide a glycol level recommendation chart to consumers.

Learn More

Though not a glycol manufacturer, North Slope Chillers is an expert in the use of propylene glycol in chiller systems. For more information about glycol concentrations, click here.

What to Know When Renting a Chiller

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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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chiller

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:

chiller rental guide

Let’s break that down into detail.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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

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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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North Slope Chillers

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.

North Slope Chillers graphic about Frost chiller

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.

North Slope Chillers graphic on Freeze chiller

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.

North Slope Chillers graphic on Deep Freeze chiller

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.

North Slope Chillers graphic on custom chilling

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.

Meet Fluxwrap™

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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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North Slope Chillers Fluxwrap

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.