Coil Design and Selection

Video transcript

In this video, I’m going to quickly talk about the coil design that exists throughout the IQ Series.

We use two main technologies of coils: a tube-and-fin and micro channel. I’ll talk quickly about the tube-and-fin. We’re using an expanded turbo spiral coil, so that copper tubing has spirals on the inside, like the rifling on a barrel, a gun barrel. And what that does is it increases the energy transfer between the working fluid and the wall of that tube, increasing the efficiency. It’s an added cost for us, but it makes sense to make these coils smaller and lighter while maintaining that efficiency that you’re looking for. It reduces the weight penalty on your roof while still getting every ounce of performance you’re looking for. We use this technology in all our evaporator coils, in our hydronic reheat coils, and in our fluid cooler coils. So, the two water coils, as well as the evaporator coil, it needs to be deeper and needs to drain properly. These coils deal with moisture in the coil very well, and that’s why we’re still using that technology for the evaporator coil. It really is the best way to do it.

Our evaporator and the hydronic reheat coil are using Luvata’s baked phenolic coating. It’s a coating that was designed for the food service market and designed to resist acidic components. In particular, for you, the grower, that means that in a sulfuric acid environment, when you are doing a sulfur burn, for instance, you’re not going to eat away the coil coating. And because this coil coating is a fully dipped coating, it covers the return bends, the case of the coil, as well as all of the fins. Recovered condensate is going to be free of metal oxides, which means that you can take that condensate and you can put it into your makeup water feed tank relatively untreated. We always recommend that you treat and disinfect that water before using it for your feedstock again, but it has a much, much lower concentration of metal oxides. It just means it’s going to be better for your plants.

Our fluid coolers are using a proprietary salt spray rated coating. They are designed for a SeaCoast application. They also have a proprietary topcoat that is self cleaning. Any dirt that gets in that coil will be washed away with rain. And so we actually want the water in the coil to wash that away. It’s a great, great opportunity for us to reduce the maintenance burden, reduce the amount of cleaning that you need to do on those coils. Again, as a grower, reducing that maintenance burden, reducing whatever you need to do to maintain the equipment’s operation is very important to us. Easy is important.

Our hot gas reheat coils and our hot water coils are an all-aluminum microchannel coil. This is the same kind of coil that has been found in car radiators for a very long time. And they’re used because they can be very compact and get very, very high heat transfers. We have these ElectroFin E-Coated. This is a great coating. Again, it’s very, very resistant to a sulfuric acid in the airstream, rated up to 30% sulfuric acid, as well as having a more than a 6,000-hour salt spray rating. Again, we’re designing that whole air tunnel to be as impervious to whatever you throw at it as possible – very important for the longevity of the equipment. We know that this investment for you isn’t a year or two, but it should be 15 or 20. And our coils are designed to last that whole time.