The objective of the project was to replace the current coldstore refrigeration plant like for like as per the clients wishes.
There was no scope to improve the type or location of the plant during the refurbishment works. This meant that were several restrictions imposed on the project. There is asbestos located close to the evaporator mounting points meaning that the whole area had to be cleaned prior to work. The mounting points were also located up very narrow gaps in the roof apexes meaning that access could only be accessed via fixed ladders to each evaporator. Fall restraint systems and edge protection had to be installed in certain places around the evaporators. The program was very tight in terms of having windows to remove the evaporators as the coldstore was in operation throughout the project. When in the coldstore, all personnel had to wear thermal clothing and were restricted to 1 hour working times. All MEWPs were limited to 30 minute working times in the coldstore. The evaporator replacements had to be carefully planned to ensure that we didn’t impact the client’s operations or damage any equipment.
The plant consists of 2x dual circuit condensing units and 1 x single condensing units – 5 systems in total. Each system is 80kW totalling 400kW. The refrigerant is R449A. The condensers had a special coating applied to prevent corrosion from the pollutants emitted by the nearby recycling plant.
The existing 5x coldstore evaporators were replaced like for like also.
New expansion valves, control wiring and controllers were installed.
As the existing refrigeration equipment was in extremely poor condition, it could not keep the coldstore at an adequate temperature through the hottest summer we had since 1976. Because of this, the site had temporary cooling equipment installed in the form of chillers and pumped glycol circuits. This was managed throughout the project by Stonegrove.
