How often should I service my chiller?
ATC recommends that chillers receive preventative maintenance at least once a year.
Regular maintenance helps to identify developing issues before they result in reduced performance or unexpected downtime. It also provides an opportunity to assess the overall condition of the chiller and identify components that may require attention.
For equipment supporting particularly critical or demanding applications, additional maintenance may be appropriate depending on how and where the chiller is being used.
What does preventative maintenance include?
An ATC preventative maintenance visit provides a structured assessment of the condition and operation of your chiller.
Our engineers will:
- Inspect refrigeration performance and check refrigerant circuit operation
- Check operating temperatures and temperature stability
- Test pumps and coolant flow rates
- Inspect fans and condensers
- Inspect electrical systems
- Verify safety devices
- Check for worn components and potential problems
- Provide a service report with recommendations
The aim is not simply to respond to existing faults, but to identify signs of wear or deterioration before they develop into more significant problems.
Why is annual preventative maintenance important?
Process cooling equipment can play a critical role in laboratory, manufacturing, research, and testing applications. A chiller problem can therefore affect much more than the cooling equipment itself.
Regular preventative maintenance can help to:
- Maintain reliable chiller performance
- Identify potential issues before failure
- Reduce the risk of unexpected downtime
- Maintain temperature control performance
- Support longer-term equipment reliability
- Plan maintenance or replacement of worn components
- Provide a clearer picture of the condition of your equipment
Following a preventative maintenance visit, ATC provides a service report with recommendations so that any further work can be planned.
Could my chiller need more frequent attention?
Annual preventative maintenance is a good starting point, but the appropriate maintenance schedule will depend on the equipment and application.
More frequent checks or maintenance may be worth considering where chillers:
- Operate continuously for long periods
- Support production or other critical processes
- Operate in demanding environmental conditions
- Are exposed to higher levels of dust or contamination
- Have particularly high utilisation
- Form part of an installation where unexpected downtime would have a significant impact
ATC’s Service team can discuss your equipment and operating conditions and advise on an appropriate maintenance approach.
Does ATC offer ongoing service support?
ATC offers service contracts designed to combine preventative maintenance with priority ongoing support.
Depending on the level of cover selected, benefits can include an annual preventative maintenance visit, priority scheduling, defined engineer response targets, priority technical support, and preferential arrangements for labour and replacement parts.
Service contracts can be particularly valuable where process cooling supports critical equipment, research, production, or testing, and unplanned downtime needs to be minimised.
ATC can support individual chillers as well as customers managing multiple cooling systems across a facility.
Who services ATC chillers?
ATC’s factory-trained engineers have specialist knowledge of our temperature control equipment and use genuine ATC replacement parts where required.
Where possible, faults can be diagnosed and resolved on-site, helping to reduce unnecessary disruption and return equipment to normal operation as quickly as possible.
How do I arrange preventative maintenance?
If your chiller is due a service, or you would like to discuss ongoing preventative maintenance, contact the ATC Service Team.
Provide the chiller model and serial number where possible, together with information about its application, operating environment and any current performance concerns.
