Companies operating in hot and harsh environments are benefiting from Germany-headquartered engineering electronic instruments protection company Intertec’s active cooling solution for small outdoor electronics and instrumentation equipment.

Intertec commercial director Hans Geiger tells Engineering News that the MULTICOOL 1100 cooler, launched in October last year, is environment friendly, owing to the unit being fitted with self-cleaning heat exchangers. Unlike an air conditioner, it does not have a filter system and is, therefore, not affected by rain and dust.

He notes that the cooling system does not leak condensate, as this is heated through a special condensate drain and then evaporates, while the remaining condensate is blown out by the vent and the heat exchanger. Consequently, the unit does not require servicing to remove condensate.

Geiger says the MULTICOOL 1100 cooler can also reduce energy costs for customers, as the outside circuit vent has a speed controller. Therefore, instead of switching the entire cooling unit on and off, the controller slowly drives the vent speed up and down, which is more economic and also leads to noise reduction.

The cooler is suitable for all industries where operations are conducted outdoors, including chemicals or petrochemicals industries, refineries and offshore operations, he adds.

The MULTICOOL 1100 features a glass-reinforced polyester (GRP) housing that is inherently resistant to corrosion, compared with metal enclosures that are the norm and susceptible to corrosion.

The cooler is suitable for use in ambient external temperatures from –20 °C to 55 °C. It measures 75 cm × 52 cm × 25 cm and weighs 38 kg. It is designed primarily for use with Intertec’s modular ranges of basic and classic freestanding outdoor equipment cabinets, and can be fitted to any size model that accommodates its 52 cm width, explains Geiger.

In terms of technology updates, Intertec can modify the basic model of the MULTICOOL 1100 cooler to accommodate specific needs of clients.

Geiger says the cooler conforms to the CE marking standard, which is a mandatory conformity marking for certain products sold within the European Economic Area (EEA). The CE marking is also mandatory for products sold outside the EEA that are manufactured in or designed to be sold in the EEA.

Although the MULTICOOL 1100 cooler is not suitable for use in hazardous areas, Intertec can provide suitable coolers.

Practical Application
The MULTICOOL 1100 cooler offers 1 100 kW of cooling power, which is sufficient to cool many types of high-power field equipment, says Geiger.

He adds that the cooler is a completely self-contained module that mounts directly on the outside wall of the equipment cabinet.

It is especially suitable for cooling outdoor cabinets sited in hot and humid environments, and wherever atmospheric contaminants such as salt, sulphur or carbon dioxide exacerbate metal corrosion.

Typical applications include temperature regulation of field-based sample conditioning and process analyser instrumentation, and cooling the type of small distributed electronic control and monitoring systems used in many civil engineering projects.

Moreover, Geiger tells Engineering News that the design approach of the MULTICOOL 1100 has several important advantages.

“Locating the entire cooling unit outside the cabinet means that it does not contribute to the amount of heat that needs to be removed from the interior. This results in more efficient operation and lower running costs and because it takes up no space inside the cabinet, the overall installation can be made smaller and more thermally efficient.”

The cooler’s housing is constructed from the same proprietary grade of GRP that Intertec uses for all its environmental protection cabinets and shelters. This material is an effective thermal insulator and resistant to the most commonly encountered corrosive chemicals, says Geiger.

He adds that the material has a similar strength to that of stainless steel, but is about 75% lighter. This makes its transportation and installation much easier. The internal chassis and pipework of the cooling unit are made from corrosion-resistant 316 grade stainless steel.

The cooling unit’s two-part GRP housing features a large hinged door for convenient access to all user-serviceable parts; it also has a chlorofluorocarbon-free refrigerant. Routine maintenance requirements are minimal.

The MULTICOOL 1100 operates directly from a single-phase mains supply and is regulated by a thermostat that measures the air temperature inside the equipment cabinet.

“We believe that the cooler’s high thermal performance and long-term resistance to corrosion will pave the way for new applications of small high-density electronic instrumentation,” concludes Geiger.