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Falling Film Chillers
A falling film chiller distributes water across the top of a bank of Temp-Plate evaporator plates with refrigerant inside them. The water descends as a thin film, giving very high heat transfer, and collects in a sump or passes straight through on tankless models. Because the refrigerant is directly in the plate, there is no intermediate loop and no secondary heat exchanger to lose approach temperature across.
Part numbers. Every catalogued model, with the dimensions and ratings that separate them: Falling Film Chiller Model Range (17 part numbers).
- No freeze-up. The Temp-Plate evaporator design is what prevents the chiller freezing solid, which is the classic failure of ice-builder style equipment.
- No secondary exchanger. Refrigerant is in the plate and water is on it, so there is no glycol loop and no second temperature approach to give away.
- Fully enclosed. The cabinet keeps airborne particles out of the water, which matters wherever the chilled water touches product.
- Easy to clean. Plates and distribution are accessible, so sanitation is a routine task rather than a shutdown.
- 3x5 and 4x8 plates. Two evaporator plate sizes cover a wide capacity range, with cabinets typically holding from four to twenty-four plates.
- Tankless option. Where the process already has storage, a tankless chiller removes the sump and shrinks the footprint.
Falling Film Chillers
Where Falling Film Beats a Packaged Chiller
A conventional packaged chiller cools a glycol loop, and that loop then cools your water through a second exchanger. Every one of those steps costs approach temperature, and approach temperature is what determines how cold your water actually gets.
A falling film chiller removes the middle step. Water is chilled directly on the evaporator surface, which is why these units reach lower water temperatures and why they are the standard answer wherever near-freezing process water is required.
Applications
Produce and vegetable hydrocooling, bakery ingredient water, brewery liquor cooling, ice water for meat and poultry processing, sweet water systems and general process chilling all use falling film chillers.
The common thread is a need for water at or near freezing, in volume, delivered reliably and cleanly. Where the water contacts product, the enclosed cabinet is part of the specification rather than a convenience.
The Dedicated Chiller Site
Complete rating tables, accessories, controls and the full selection guide for every model in this range live on our falling film chiller site: FallingFilmChillers.org. Start here to narrow the cabinet, go there for the numbers.
Related
3x3 Falling Film Chiller
The smallest cabinet in the range, and the one that fits where floor space decided the specification: a...
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3x5 Falling Film Chiller
The smaller of the two evaporator plate formats, and the one that covers most bakery, brewery and mid-size...
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4x8 Falling Film Chiller
The larger evaporator plate format, for duties where a 3x5 cabinet would need more plates than it can hold or...
+ Learn MoreCommon FAQs
Near freezing, which is the point of the design. Because refrigerant is directly in the evaporator plate and water flows on its face, there is no intermediate loop giving away approach temperature the way a glycol-based packaged chiller does.
The Temp-Plate evaporator design is specifically arranged to prevent freeze-up, which is the failure mode that plagues ice-builder equipment. Water films off the plate rather than sitting against it.
The evaporator plate size, and therefore the capacity per plate. Cabinets are configured with a number of plates to reach the required capacity, so the two sizes together cover a wide range with sensible increments.
It depends on whether your process already has chilled water storage. Where it does, a tankless chiller removes the sump and the footprint that goes with it. Where it does not, the integral tank provides the buffer that keeps the refrigeration system from short cycling.
The cabinet is fully enclosed specifically to keep airborne contamination out of the water, and the units are built for sanitation. Where the water contacts product directly, tell us so the specification reflects it.
