Service review of plant - thermal audits
Ian Johnston

Crafting Proactive Thermal Management Plans for Electrical Enclosures

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Excess Heat in Electrical EnclosuresCooling Unit on enclosure with air flow

Excess heat in electrical enclosures is a high-stakes problem. These enclosures often contain vital electronics that are not only critical to production, but also expensive. Failing to effectively manage heat buildup can degrade enclosed electronics, leading to costly replacements. It can also shut down systems, leading manufacturers to incur even more costs from unnecessary downtime.

The high stakes of excess heat makes proper cooling crucial for effective and efficient production. Proper cooling requires manufacturers to consider heat load, ambient temperature, particles and debris, enclosure location, material, and other complex factors. Most manufacturers lack effective thermal management plans for electrical enclosures, risking significant financial losses that can easily be prevented with proper cooling.

Developing a Thermal Management Plan with Pfannenberg

Manufacturers looking to reduce costs and improve uptime by developing proactive thermal management plans for enclosures can benefit from Pfannnenberg’s 70 years of expertise. Pfannenberg can help determine if a manufacturer employs the correct cooling solutions for their unique facilities and craft a thermal management plan. The plan activities include verifying that the size of cooling methods meet the thermal loads of enclosures, identifying critical equipment, and recognizing thermal technology that may be underperforming due to poor maintenance putting steps in place to reduce downtime  Pfannenberg can also help develop a preventive maintenance plan and recommend the correct thermal technology for challenging applications.

Executing a Thermal Management Plan with Pfannenberg Solutions

Pfannenberg offers thermal management solutions for diverse manufacturing environments. These solutions can be a critical component of a thermal management plan by delivering high performance and precision.

The PKS 3000 Series Air/Air Heat Exchangers use Pfannenberg’s Kinetic Cooling System™ to remove heat from electrical enclosures using ambient air. These exchangers suit environments with cooler ambient air or dirty air. They offer reduced maintenance and robust performance across indoor, outdoor, remote, and washdown applications that demand a closed-loop system for electronics protection.

Pfannenberg’s Air/Water Heat ExchangerThermal management for electical enclosures s serves environments with high ambient temperatures or washdown areas with significant particulates. Designed for both internal and external installation, these exchangers are maintenance-free and energy-efficient, using a supplied water source to achieve cooling capacities ranging from 2,218 BTU to 34,121 BTU. This ensures safe and efficient cooling of enclosure electronics, making these exchangers ideal for a wide range of industrial applications.

Pfannenberg Cooling Units provide a closed-loop system that seals out ambient air and recirculates clean, cool air into the enclosure, which prevents overheating and critical temperature fluctuations. These units help maintain internal temperature at or below ambient levels, and also provide higher ingress protection when surrounding air is contaminated with oil or conductive dust.

For less demanding environments, Pfannenberg’s Filterfans® offer a cost-effective thermal management solution. With tool-free installation, superior airflow, and extended filter lifespan, Filterfans® provide Type 12 or Type 3R protection. This makes Filterfans® particularly suitable for clean, non-hazardous environments where ambient temperature outside the enclosure is lower than internal temperature.

Proactive Plan + High-Performance Products: An Ideal Thermal Management Solution

In fast-paced manufacturing environments, crafting a proactive thermal management plan for electrical enclosures keeps operations running smoothly and avoids costly downtime. Pfannenberg’s  experience and market-leading solutions provide manufacturers with tools they need to protect their vital electronics and optimize efficiency. By partnering with Pfannenberg, manufacturers ensure they have the right cooling systems in place, improving performance, reducing costs, and increasing reliability. Taking proactive steps in thermal management with Pfannennberg helps secure more efficient and dependable operations for years to come.

Learn more here about our service and maintenance options here.

Ian Johnston

Get Ready for Summer! 3 Steps to Prepare Your Enclosure Cooling Units for the Stress of the Summer Heat

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Don’t Wait Until it’s Too Late!

With the summer heat just around the corner we want to help you prepare your electronics enclosure cooling units to stay up and running.

We put this Preventative Maintenance Video together to help you get ready.

Avoid critical component failures by following these 3 simple steps to ensure your enclosure cooling units stay up and runing all summer.

STEP 1: Make Sure Your Condenser Coils are Clean

The condenser coils are one of the most important components of your Cooling Unit, they ensure the reliable, cost efficient and long-term operation of your unit. When dirt, dust or debris builds up on your condenser coils, it can have a major negative effect on the performance of your cooling unit leading to increased run time and energy consumption.

STEP 2: Check Your Fan Motors and Inside/Outside Electrical Components

In order to prevent failure, the cooling unit’s fan motor and fan blades need to be inspected to determine wear and damage.  All the electrical components in the control box also need to be checked to make sure all connections aren’t damaged or loose.

STEP 3: Set Your Unit to the Recommended Proper Temperature

Pfannenberg sets the dip-switches on the control board to 95°F/35°C in the factory, and recommends that the dip switch settings are not altered.

Having the dip-switch temperature set to a lower point can cause damage not only to the cooling unit, but to the enclosure as well.  Changing the set point can cause the cooling unit to run excessively, possibly causing damage to the compressor and other components.  It can also cause the enclosure to produce condensate, possibly damaging electrical components inside the cabinet.

Watch the Full Video Now!

Contact us for recommended spare parts or getting your orders in now for new or replacement cooling units.

Marine Vienney

Pfannenberg Offers 24/7 Service to Support Thermal Management Equipment Whenever Customers Need it Most

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Preventative maintenance, rapidly available spare parts, and more ensure maximum uptime!

As the days get longer and the air gets hotter, Summer season bring along its share of overheating electronics leading to machine downtimes. To help our customers dealing with the stress of summer heat, Pfannenberg offers extensive service and support program, which includes installation and commissioning, in-house and on-site repairs, preventative maintenance, spare parts, and extended warranties.

Even in the midst of the current global health crisis, the company’s international Services & Support team is available 24/7 to support customers with their Thermal Management and Process Cooling Equipment.

Of course, occasional equipment challenges and related downtime can’t be fully avoided. Pfannenberg’s goal is to minimize any downtime customer machines may experience due to a failure. As a result, the company’s comprehensive service team is guaranteed to be available whenever and wherever customers need. This guaranteed availability minimizes downtime, enabling customers to keep vital processes up and running consistently.

For customers who want to minimize downtime and reduce unscheduled maintenance, preventative maintenance (PM) is critically important. Regular preventative maintenance programs schedule service for optimal times, often during periods of planned downtime. This makes essential maintenance services more cost effective, and ensures that equipment is always performing well. Planning service needs during scheduled downtime ensures that customers can maintain efficiency and profitability. Pfannenberg can even manage the maintenance timing for customers, tracking units being maintained, spare parts needed, and more.

Quick access to spare parts is essential to optimizing uptime. Pfannenberg’s Global Parts Program ensures that spare parts are always available to customers worldwide. What’s more, spare part kits, bundled with the most frequently requested spare parts for each range of products, are always available to ensure top reliability and rapid service speed. Pfannenberg ensures fast and global delivery of spare parts to enable customers to reduce possible downtime to a minimum!

Do you need service? Fill out our Service Request form or download our Service Brochure to learn more!

Marine Vienney

Taking Advantage of Planned Downtime for Preventative Maintenance

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By Andrew Gossel, Service Technician, Pfannenberg, Inc.

There is no time like the present to perform routine preventative maintenance for your equipment. When maintenance and cleaning is not done regularly, production lines may face failures. For many companies, production lines are the lifeblood of their business. Without proper equipment maintenance, some businesses experience unexpected shutdowns. Now is the perfect time to schedule maintenance during your planned downtime to ensure your equipment is in working order so that your product output will not falter.

Failures Experienced Due to Lack of Preventative Maintenance

Recently, a customer manufacturing a felt product for automotive purposes was experiencing daily failures. The felt product is used in molds went into the trunks and fender walls of vehicles in order to reduce road noise. The product, however, gave off a fine dust that collected on all surfaces in the manufacturing facility. The air conditioning failures the customer experienced were due to the felt dust collecting on the condenser coils since they were located next to the production line.

Many companies have made drastic cutbacks in recent days, frequently to their equipment servicing. While some may try to maintain production equipment upkeep, thermal management equipment is often not prioritized.

 

What Is Preventative Maintenance?

Simple measures, such as changing fan capacitors or washing the condenser coil on a chiller, can increase the reliability and longevity of cooling equipment. Other actions could include checking fan motors for wear and damage, checking connections on electrical components, and setting dip-switches to the recommended temperature.

Proactive scheduled maintenance programs offer optimal timing and essential services. At Pfannenberg, our preventative maintenance programs include on-time, scheduled maintenance visits that will fit into your production schedule and make repairs before failures cause shutdown. Pfannenberg offers guaranteed response time in case of emergency as well as guaranteed parts availability. Our maintenance also includes replacement of parts before they fail and will fit into your annual budget.

Preventative maintenance needs will vary customer to customer. That is why Pfannenberg is committed to working with customers to determine exactly what is needed and to providing a complete solution based on each unique maintenance request and downtime schedule.

Planned Downtime is the Best Time to for Preventative Maintenance

Preventative maintenance can take place during planned downtime. Planned downtime is important because it allows each piece of equipment to run at its optimal performance rate. That way, production can run most efficiently. The time can be used to perform upgrades to machinery, warranty repairs, and preventative maintenance.

Pfannenberg will work with customers to determine what exactly is needed and provide a complete solution that is based on each customers’ unique request. Trained service partners, located across the country, are able to schedule preventative maintenance visits in advance and plan based on customer needs. Working with a Pfannenberg on routine preventative maintenance will minimize or eliminate unplanned downtime.

Regular preventative maintenance from Pfannenberg is simple and cost effective. Springtime servicing during your planned downtime will free up resources so that you can concentrate on the core profit-driving components of your business.

Marine Vienney

Success Story: DTS Cooling Unit back for service after 15 Years of use!

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At Pfannenberg, we are delighted to learn how satisfied our customers are with our products. When we received an old DTS Cooling Unit back for service after 15 years of use, we could do nothing but offer a full-service repair on the unit!

This DTS Unit was sold by Pfannenberg to an integrator back in 2004. The final customer, a manufacturer of fencing, railing and hardware has been a Pfannenberg customer since 2011 and has always been satisfied with this product. This DTS Cooling unit is used to keep the blow-molding machine cool and operational.

The reason for returning the unit to Pfannenberg was not to upgrade to a newer product, but to perform routine maintenance on the unit.  After a full evaluation, our service technician replaced all defective components to get the unit back to full running status, meeting a good refrigeration delta temperature condition. Additionally, preventative measures were taken by replacing fan motors, capacitors and relays, as well as a thorough cleaning of the condenser coil for proper heat dissipation.

 

This success story demonstrates once again the robustness and service-friendliness of Pfannenberg Thermal Management products. Pfannenberg customers can rely on reliable products and customer service to keep their application and processes up and running, even after 15 years.

Contact us for Preventative Maintenance on your units or recommended spare parts!

Marine Vienney

Spring Cleaning – 3 Steps you Can Take to Prepare your Cooling Units for the Stress of the Summer Heat

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With hotter temperatures just around the corner we’ve put together this Preventative Maintenance Video to help you prepare your enclosure cooling units for the stress of summer heat.

To avoid any critical component failure, follow the 3 simple steps below to help ensure your enclosure cooling units stay up running all summer. Don’t Wait Until it’s Too Late!

STEP 1: Make Sure your Condenser Coils are Clean

The condenser coils are one of the most important components of your Cooling Unit, they ensure the reliable, cost efficient and long-term operation of your unit. When dirt, dust or debris builds up on your condenser coils, it can have a major effect on the performance of your cooling unit.

STEP 2: Check your Fan Motors and Inside/Outside Electrical Components

In order to prevent failure, the cooling unit’s fan motor and fan blades need to be inspected to determine wear and damage.  All the electrical components in the control box also need to be checked to make sure all connections aren’t damaged or loose.

STEP 3: Set your Unit to the Recommended Proper Temperature

Pfannenberg sets the dip-switches on the control board to 95°F/35°C in the factory, and recommends that the dip switch settings are not altered.

*Having the dip-switch temperature set to a lower point can cause damage not only to the cooling unit, but to the composure as well.  Changing the set point can cause the cooling unit to run excessively, possibly causing damage to the compressor and other components.  It can also cause the enclosure to produce condensate, possibly damaging electrical components inside the cabinet.

Watch the Full Video Now!

Contact us for recommended spare parts or getting your orders in now for new or replacement cooling units.