Preventive maintenance
Also known as: periodic maintenance, planned maintenance, annual service
Short definitionCleaning, measuring and adjusting done to a calendar, without waiting for a fault. The condenser is washed, leaks are searched for, terminals are tightened, defrost and oil are checked; the bill goes down and the equipment lasts longer.
The reason for offering the customer a maintenance contract after handover is this: before it fails, a system gets worse for a long time without anyone noticing. The condenser collects dust, a few hundred grams of gas seep from the flare joints every year, the contacts blacken. The room holds its temperature but the compressor runs longer. The breakdown then comes on the hottest day, with the room full. The cost of maintenance is small beside a burnt-out compressor or spoiled product.
The monthly jobs can be done by the operator’s own staff: cleaning the condenser fins and checking the frost on the evaporator, the drain, the door gasket, the fan noise and the alarm log. Once or twice a year a certified technician measures pressures, superheat, subcooling, currents and safety settings, and records the leak check at the frequency the F-gas rules require. If the values go on the same form every time, a rising condensing temperature is seen months ahead. Spring is the best time.