MRI Chillers: The Ultimate FAQ Guide

If you have any question about MRI Chillers, you will find the answer right here.

Whether you want to learn about features, parts, working principle, benefits, specifications or installation process, all information you’re looking for is right here.

Let’s dive right in.

What are MRI Chillers?

MRI Chillers are special types of equipment that you will use to control the temperatures of the magnetic resonance imaging machine

MRI Chiller

Why do you need MRI Chiller?

MRI machines consume a lot of energy and also produce a lot of heat.

It is important to keep the magnetic resonance imaging machines under proper temperature control.

Maintaining the temperature of the MRI chillers will prevent the internal parts of the machine from damage.

Since it is a very important machine in the medical sector, you need to maintain it at functional levels.

You will need an MRI chiller to help in reducing the excess heat that the MRI chiller produces.

In other words, you will use the MRI chiller to cool off the MRI machine to prevent it from malfunctioning.

What are the Features of the MRI Chillers?

MRI chillers are special machines that have special features that increase the working ability of the machine.

In case you are looking for MRI chillers, you have to ensure that it has particular features.

Here are some of the features that you have to look at before you purchase an MRI chiller.

· High Grade Materials

We use high grade materials such as stainless-steel to manufacture the MRI chillers.

You have to ensure that the MRI chillers you purchase have the premium quality materials for high durability.

· Independent Refrigeration System

MRI chillers have specific independent refrigeration systems that work without the influence from other systems.

The number of independent refrigeration systems will vary according to the size of the MRI chillers you need.

· Proper Quality Certifications

In addition to materials quality, all the other parts of the machine are of high-quality adhering to international quality certifications.

Among the international quality specifications that quality chillers adhere to is OSHPD quality certifications

· Eco-Friendly

MRI chillers use eco-friendly materials such as refrigerants that run in closed loops thus eliminating the chances of environmental contamination.

It ensures that the machine is safe from corrosion and contamination, while adhering to the EPA quality certifications.

What are the Main Components of MRI Chillers?

MRI chillers have different parts that work in conjunction with one another to effectively cool MRI machines.

Here are the main parts of the MRI chillers that assist in the overall cooling process.

· Advanced Temperature Controller

It has an advanced temperature controller that assists in controlling the operating power loads.

This system or controller has line microprocessors that react quickly to shocks of fast load surges thus controlling temperature.

· Scroll Compressors

Most MRI chillers will have the scroll chillers which will control the temperature while producing minimal sound and vibration.

This component makes the MRI chillers the most suitable machine for the hospital environment.

· Emergency By-Pass Valve

In the event of an emergency, the MRI chillers have emergency by-pass valves which helps in quick switching to maintain operation.

It will help in maintaining constant flow of water to keep the MRI chillers working constantly despite emergency outbreaks.

· Evaporators

MRI chillers have operators within the system which helps in releasing the heat into the refrigerants that flow through them.

You will realize that the evaporators have delivery systems that transport the heat from the MRI into the chillers.

· Condensers

This is the part of the MRI chillers that eliminate the heat from the refrigerant into the cooling water.

It has a special tank within the system which increases residence time thus helping in the elimination of heat.

· Expansion Valves

You will depend on the expansion valve to control the flow of refrigerants by reducing high pressure to lower pressure.

Apart from that, it will help in controlling the quantity of refrigerants that flow into the compressor for further processing.

These are the main parts of the MRI chiller that you ought to look out for when choosing a good MRI chiller.

How Does the MRI Chiller Work?

During the working process of the MRI chillers, you will need the MRI chillers to cool of the generated heat.

MRI chillers have a cold head which is responsible for condensation of helium to original form.

This happens when the helium turns into gas during the cooling process of the MRI magnet.

Here is a step-by – step process that occur in order to cool the cold head which in turn condenses helium.

· Compression of Refrigerant

First, the MRI chiller will release the refrigerant from the main refrigerant storage tank.

It will transfer the refrigerant to the scroll compressor of the MRI chiller.

The scroll chiller will work quietly and with minimal vibration using scrolls to compress the refrigerants.

The compression process will boost the refrigerant’s speed allowing it to flow under high pressure to the evaporator.

· Collection of Heat

This is the main point where heat from the MRI Equipment is taken away.

The collection of heat begins from the cold head which collects the heat from gaseous helium.

To maintain the cold temperature, the cold head will release the heat into systems that will transfer it to evaporators.

While in the evaporator, the refrigerant will collect the heat thus changing form from liquid to gas.

· Release of Heat

With the same pressure, the refrigerant will flow into the condenser where it will spend some time.

During this period, the condenser will increase the residence time as it collects the heat using flowing cold water.

The heat will move from the refrigerant into water thus condensing the refrigerant into liquids.

The water will proceed to eliminate the heat in the water tower.

· Final Stage

Finally, the liquid refrigerant will flow at the same pressure and speed to the expansion valve.

While in the expansion valve, the refrigerant will reduce the pressure and then control refrigerant feed to the compressor.

What are the Cooling Specifications of the MRI Chillers?

MRI Chiller Systems

You will need materials that can withstand very high temperatures as well as pressure for MRI systems.

When purchasing an MRI chiller, you have to look at specific cooling specifications.

Here are the main cooling specifications for the MRI chillers.

· Refrigerants

You need to use proper refrigerants such as glycol which will eliminate the need of using water.

Apart from that, glycol will reduce the possibility of machine corrosion that comes with water.

· Rapid Chilling Specifications

You must also look at the speed at which the MRI chillers operate when looking at chiller specifications.

Here, you will consider a machine that will cool off and eliminate heat at a faster rate than others.

How Many Sizes of MRI Chillers Do You Offer?

You have the freedom of dictating the size of MRI chiller that you need for your MRI cooling operations.

Implying that MRI chillers are available in varying sizes depending on the application requirements.

Despite that freedom, you ought to choose among the different types of sizes available.

In other words, you can choose from the common sizes of MRI chillers which are 5 ton and 7.5 ton.

Apart from that, you can also opt for 12.5 ton or 15-ton MRI chillers when cooling multiple MRI machines.

Which Specifications Do You Look at When Choosing the MRI Chillers?

Apart from the cooling specifications, you can also look at other MRI chiller specifications.

You will be in a better position of choosing the best MRI chillers by looking at the following specifications.

· Type of Materials

You should opt for a machine that has the highest quality of materials that will offer maximum durability and reliability.

All the materials must adhere to the right quality specifications and also have a warranty in case of damages.

· Level of Reliability

You must also look for MRI chillers that exhibit maximum reliability levels with very minimal downtime periods.

It comes complete with switchgear which will switch the system to back-up alternatives if the main system fails.

· Eco-Friendly

You should look for MRI chillers with eco-friendly systems such as refrigerants in closed loops.

It will help in proper water conservation, prevention of corrosion, and EPA compliant for maximum patient comfort.

What are the Advantages of Using the MRI Chillers?

You need to invest in MRI chillers especially when you are working in the medical industry for efficient service delivery.

Here are the main reasons or benefits that you will enjoy by purchasing the MRI chillers for efficient service delivery.

· Lifetime of Efficiency

You are sure of using the MRI chillers for a very long time with minimal need for maintenance along the way.

This is because MRI chillers have very strong and certified materials that can withstand different conditions with minimal damages.

· Quick Responses

MRI chillers have automatic systems that will corporate with the needs of the MRI machines whenever possible.

Implying that, you will use the MRI chillers should be able to cool extreme temperatures whenever possible.

· Wide Variety of MRI Chillers

Despite the fact that most MRI chillers are water-cooled, you can also opt for the air-cooled MRI chillers.

You have the freedom of choosing the best type of MRI chillers that will work best for your application requirements.

· Easy to Operate

You will easily operate the MRI chillers due to the presence of proper operation guides and control panels.

It comes complete with a touch screen and human machine integrated system to help in its operations.

What is the Recommended MRI Chiller Maintenance Process?

There are particular or specific factors that you have to pay close attention to during the MRI operation process.

In case you miss on these factors, you run a great risk of causing damages on the machine within a short period.

In other words, you have to make sure that the MRI chillers are in continuous functional shapes through proper maintenance.

Maintenance begins with regular inspection of the machine while taking records on its working conditions.

Your records should be able to reveal the obstacles within the machine and different stages of working.

Apart from that, you need to clean the machine on a regular basis to get rid of contaminants.

Cleaning of the machine involves cleaning the pipes and delivery systems as well as the refrigerants and lubricants.

In addition to that, you must also maintain optimum levels of the refrigerant and lubricant levels within the MRI chillers.

Your inspection and record keeping must also make it easy to identify broken parts which you must replace.

How Do You Install the MRI Chiller?

MRI Machine

After purchasing the MRI chillers, you will have to go through the installation manual to properly install them.

You will be able to get information on how to install and also operate the MRI chillers after completing installation.

After that, you will inspect the machine just to ensure that all the parts of the machine are in place.

There is a name plate that has very important details of the machine that you should stick on the machine.

After that, you will proceed to the location point of the MRI chillers and ensure that it meets the requirement standards.

You can have it in a mechanical room with proper water supply systems to ensure constant water supply.

You will connect the inlet of the MRI chiller machine with the outlet of the MRI machine.

On the other hand, you will connect the inlet of the MRI machine to the outlet of the MRI chillers.

You should also consider using PVC or stainless-steel pipes that have great insulation properties.

After completing all the water connections, you will proceed with the electrical connections and check power ratings on the system.

If the main factors are in place, you will place the machine in operation mode and set it to the working specifications.

What are Some of the Tips to Consider When Operating MRI Chillers?

When operating the MRI chillers, you have to consider specific factors to operate it perfectly.

Here are the main tips that you must look at when operating the MRI chillers.

· Proper Installations

You ought to understand that MRI chillers are best for indoor use especially in unheated and open spaces.

In case you are installing it outside, you must shelter it well from the rain as well as effects of the sun.

· Reading and Understanding Operation Manual

You must also read the operation manual carefully and understand it well before you engage in its operation.

Reading the manual will give you the main guiding tips for the MRI chillers for a successful operation.

How Do You Troubleshoot an MRI Chiller?

Well, there are times when you might experience annoying errors on the MRI chiller that you do not understand.

You can identify such errors on the machine by troubleshooting the machine.

With reference to the operation manual, you can easily identify the problem and fix it accordingly.

Some of the most common problems of the MRI chillers are:

· Power Failure

The machine can experience power issues due to a number of reasons such as broken power codes.

With the help of an electrician, you should identify the problem and fix it accordingly.

· Overload

You can also experience cooling overloads on the system due to an overload on the pumps.

This can be an issue with a leaking or blocked pipe that fail to deliver the right ingredients to the right places.

You should seal the leaks or replace the pipes altogether with new ones to release the pressure.

What is the Significance of Redundancy of the MRI Chillers?

Redundancy is a very important aspect of the MRI chillers especially when you require maximum uptime.

Having a redundant design will help you get maximum reliability and great performance of the MRI chillers.

It will also increase machine dependability while reducing the overall expenditure on the MRI chillers.

How Does the Open Loop MRI Chiller Compare to In-Line MRI Chillers?

There are different types of MRI chillers that you can choose from depending on application demands.

Among them are the open loop MRI chillers and In-line MRI chillers.

Open loop MRI chillers are devices that use continuous flow of a fluid that helps in regulating temperatures.

In most cases, open loop MRI chillers use water instead of air to help in the cooling process of the MRI machines.

In-line MRI chillers have evaporators inside the chillers which will cool the passing fluid under pressure.

It has a pump that will deliver the fluid under pressure from a remote tank location.

What is the Difference Between Drop-In MRI Chillers and Closed Loop MRI Chillers?

Apart from the above types, there are other types of MRI chillers that you can choose from.

Drop-in MRI chillers come complete with tanks and evaporator coil that will contain the cooling fluids.

Here, you will submerge the operator coil into the tank where the agitation pump will pump the cooling fluid.

Closed loop MRI chillers will circulate the cooling fluid that will come from a tank right within the machine.

The coolant will move through sealed coolant loops and spindle before going back to the tank.

Which is the Most Convenient Compressor for the MRI Chillers?

Well, you can opt for different types of compressors for the MRI chillers.

This includes the centrifugal, scroll, and screw types of compressors.

While all the above compressors help in refrigerant compression, the working principle usually varies.

Scroll compressors are the best types of compressors that you will use in the MRI chillers.

You will opt for the scroll compressors because they produce minimal noise if any.

Apart from that, they produce minimal vibration thus eliminating patient disturbance during the process.

How Do the Water-Cooled and Air-Cooled MRI Chillers Compare?

MRI Chiller system

Most of the MRI chillers are water cooled chillers other than air cooled chillers.

This is because water cooled chillers are quieter in its mode of operation that air cooled chillers.

It is the reason why it fits the best description of chillers that you will need in peaceful environments including hospitals.

Water cooled MRI chillers use water as the main chilling agent while air cooled chillers use air as main chillers.

Apart from that, you will locate the air-cooled MRI chillers outside the building to have access to air.

On the other hand, you will need a mechanical room and water sources for the water-cooled MRI chillers.

Apart from the MRI, Which Other Medical Equipment Require Industrial Chilling?

To facilitate proper health and treatment of patients, all the machines must remain in proper working conditions.

In order to facilitate this, you must make sure that the machines have proper cooling systems to get rid of heat.

You will use a god cooling or chilling system on different medical equipment such as:

· Computer Tomography (CT) Scanner

You can either decide to wait for 30 mins for the CT scanner to cool down on its own or use a chiller.

Since the medical equipment is in constant demand, you should consider using a chiller to increase the cooling process.

· Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scanner

You will also need a chiller that will help in eliminating heat from the positron emission tomography scanning machine.

It will help in eliminating the chilling time or down time of the machine thus allowing you to use it continuously

· Medical Linear Accelerators (MLA)

You will also use different types of chillers on linear accelerators which will provide proper radiation to cancer patients.

Chillers will increase the comfort of the machine and also the shelf life for high durability levels.

How Much Does the MRI Chiller Cost?

The cost of MRI chillers will vary according to the different sizes and types of MRI chillers.

Since most of the MRI chillers are water-cooled, the main variation may be in the type of compressor.

On the same note, most MRI chillers have scroll compressors even though there are others with other compressor types.

Well, the main factor that leads to variation of price is the size of the MRI chiller and the quantity you need.

You will note that the bigger the size of the MRI chiller the higher the amount of money you will pay for it.

In terms of quality, high quality MRI chillers will cost you a lot more than low quality MRI chillers.

Generally, you will pay between 5,000 to 50,000 US dollars.

How Do You Increase the Efficiency of the MRI Chillers?

You can increase the efficiency of the MRI chiller by making sure everything works at optimum condition.

This is possible through proper observation of the machine while taking relevant notes on how it works.

You will take records on the machine performance on a daily basis for the purpose of reference.

Implying that, you can refer to your records and compare the work rate at different instances.

With this information, you will be in a position to identify the factors that increase the efficiency of MRI chillers.

Apart from that, you must also maintain the machine by cleaning it on a regular basis.

Cleaning your machine involves getting rid of any form of debris that might compromise the working condition of the machine.

You can dismantle the machine according to schedule in order to clean the hidden parts on the machine.

You must also disinfect the refrigerants and prevent them from contaminating the system or allowing mould growth.

In addition to that, you must replace the parts of the MRI chillers according to schedule or when it has damages.

Speaking of replacements, you should also replace the lubricant and refrigerant as scheduled to maintain its form.

Refilling the refrigerant and the lubricants will also make your machine work in a better way.

At TopChiller, we produce a range of industrial chiller systems that can support different processes.

Whether you need water chillers or air chillers, TopChiller has a perfect solution for you – Contact us now.