Compressor size

[RiverCityBrew]

We are currently reassembling a brewery that was taken apart 1 1/2 years ago and thought that our exsisting compressors and coils would be sufficiant, but according to the refrigeration man they are undersized. Our conditioning room is roughly 550 sq feet and is extremely air tight. two layers of sheet rock, r 19 insulation, two inches of foam board, and FRP on the walls. It is on the This is the conditioning room so there will be ciping and cleaning happening in there 3 to 4 times a week. Any ideas on the compressor size we should use. we currently have a 3hp and he is recommending a 5hp.

[yap]

contact a few companies that sell walk-in refrigeration equipment. give them the details of your box and they can run load calculations to tell you what size system you need. they'll ask you the appropriate questions and run the numbers through a computer program to figure out how much BTU you need.

just make sure you get quotes from a few different companies to make sure they all come to the same conclusion. the first people i talked to sold me a 1HP for my walk-in, but after the installer said he thought it was too small i called 3 other places and they all agreed a 3 HP was needed.....live and learn....

hey look, post # 100! do i win anything for that

[ChesterBrew]

To second Scott, you really need to have the calculations run by a trained professional to verify this advice. Anyone who is unwilling to show you the paper trail of how they came to that conclusion should be taken with a grain of salt.

There are many "rules of thumb" that some people use in the construction industry which are hopelessly outdated, especially when it comes to HVAC issues.

[Bainbridge]

The coil for our cold room just arrived a couple days ago. (props to ProRefrigeration in Auburn) Our cold room is fairly small, about 240 sqft (2000 cubic) and we're estimating a load of about 20,000 BTUs for it, just FYI.

[jimvgjr]

Can you post the actual dimensions, with ceiling height. We have a room load calculation tool that we can run these numbers for you.

The software only provides a High, Medium, and Low Duty ratings- we've used the Medium for all of our room load calcs and have been pretty successful.

Your contractor could be factoring in the heat of summer and the drop in capacity you will get during this period from the 3 HP Condensing unit. I generally defer to the local service contractor, but agree he should justify these comments with some load data.

Good Luck,

Jim
Pro Refrigeration Inc.

[RiverCityBrew]

Can you post the actual dimensions, with ceiling height. We have a room load calculation tool that we can run these numbers for you.

The software only provides a High, Medium, and Low Duty ratings- we've used the Medium for all of our room load calcs and have been pretty successful.

Your contractor could be factoring in the heat of summer and the drop in capacity you will get during this period from the 3 HP Condensing unit. I generally defer to the local service contractor, but agree he should justify these comments with some load data.

Good Luck,

Jim
Pro Refrigeration Inc.

The room is about 22ftX26ft with 9ft cielings = 5,148 cu ft.
I have called several other local companies and nobody seems to get back to me. Thanks for the help Jim.

[jimvgjr]

The room is about 22ftX26ft with 9ft cielings = 5,148 cu ft.
I have called several other local companies and nobody seems to get back to me. Thanks for the help Jim.

Based on those dimensions and beer holding load; I came up with the following calculations.

LIGHT DUTY 24,100 BTU/HR
MEDIUM DUTY 28,200 BTU/HR
HEAVY DUTY 32,200 BTU/HR

A 3HP System will provide about 24,000 BTU/HR (this is a real rough estimate not knowing the model, refrigerant, age of equipment, etc), a 5 HP System at the same conditions will remove 38,000 BTU/HR.

We've worked with the guys at Market Equipment in Spokane, they are a very good refrigeration contractor and might be someone you'd want to at least get a bid from. http://marketequip.com/

Hope this helps, good luck.

Jim

[Fullcourt]

Remember it is one thing to have a walk in that holds beer, and quite another to have one where you are cleaning, carbonating, and transferring beer. The walk in door will open lots of times a day, and the condensation will be a lot higher.

Better to build in excess HVAC capacity, than to have a marginal level of cooling.

[RiverCityBrew]

Remember it is one thing to have a walk in that holds beer, and quite another to have one where you are cleaning, carbonating, and transferring beer. The walk in door will open lots of times a day, and the condensation will be a lot higher.

Better to build in excess HVAC capacity, than to have a marginal level of cooling.

I totally agree with this. And as all of us know cooling is a Major part of any brewery operation.

[Iron Goat]

hey Cody-
We worked with Don Hiller at Market Equipment. dhiller_AT_marketequip.com
Highly recommended.

Paul