Choosing the right medical chiller can often make the difference between uptime and downtime – and even profitability and loss. However, some companies overlook critical factors when weighing their decision, such as buying based solely on nominal capacity or tonnage, opting for a comfort chiller, or overpaying for unnecessary features.
This article will break down everything you need to know about selecting the best system for your application and budget to help keep your imaging equipment going strong when it matters most. We’ll break down our top medical chiller buying tips, outline ten essential buying factors, and finish with the must-have features to look for when purchasing a system.
Medical chiller buying tips
Avoiding costly mistakes starts with following these top five hints for choosing a medical chiller:
- Go for an industrial-grade medical chiller, not a comfort chiller. Comfort chillers are not designed to handle the rigorous demands of a medical chiller. However, when lives and profits are at stake, choosing a medical chiller for reliable, high-performance operation is essential. Learn more about the difference between a comfort chiller and a medical chiller on our blog.
- Size the chiller’s pump for the pressure drop throughout the process. Imaging equipment goes through inevitable pressure dips and spikes throughout its processes, and a medical chiller must be able to accommodate them. Ensure your system has a specially designed high-pressure pump designed for variation in flow rates to efficiently help the fluids funnel through the system.
- Choose the tank volume that can handle the load variation. During medical equipment processes, heat load variations can ebb and flow sharply at various stages of the processing cycle. So, ensure your medical chiller’s tank volume is large enough to handle long run times without the compressor having to turn on and off in the middle of the process.
- Only pay for the features you need. Medical chiller manufacturers that allow you to customize your medical chiller with only the features you need let you avoid paying for an upgraded model only to take advantage of a feature or two. Learn about the customization options available with our medical chillers on our website.
- Avoid making your decision based solely on nominal capacity or tonnage. Nominal capacity and tonnage are only part of the medical chiller purchasing equation. Continue to the next section for a bigger picture of the factors that help keep imaging equipment operating smoothly.
10 Essential factors to consider
When we guide our customers through the medical chiller buying process, we help them consider the following ten essential factors:
- Medical component Tesla rating
- Required temperature
- Type of refrigerant fluid
- Flow rate
- Heat load variation
- Desired capacity output
- Your climate
- Preferred control features
- Redundancy level
- Your budget
Check out our article on the importance of refrigeration for medical equipment to discover more about how these elements factor into an intelligent purchasing decision.
What to look for in a medical chiller
Now that you’re armed with helpful buying tips and essential factors to consider in your purchasing decision, let’s explore some of the best features to look for in a medical chiller.
- Precise temperature control – Our medical chillers feature capacity modulation to help our recirculation system maintain precise temperatures within +/- 1°F.
- High uptime rates – Our proven uptime rate of 99.4% gives us an advantage over other medical chiller manufacturers with systems that can’t keep up with your rigorous demands.
- Tight process control – A system equipped with the latest controls like MCS microcontroller and custom programming gives you tighter process control, remote access, alerts, etc.
- Environmentally-friendliness – Our commitment to environmental responsibility starts with EPA-approved refrigerants and energy-efficient options that help conserve natural resources and save money.
- Customizability – Our advanced engineering capabilities allow us to customize a medical chiller to suit your unique application requirements without the custom price tag.
- Technical support – When you purchase a Drake medical chiller, you gain access to our dedicated technical support team to assist with questions or emergencies throughout the lifecycle of your system.
For over 50 years, we’ve dedicated ourselves to manufacturing a robust line of custom-ready industrial-grade medical chillers designed with efficiency and uptime in mind. We’re here to help you maximize patient care and profits through high-performance systems designed to keep your equipment running 24/7. Request a medical chiller quote today.