Hunt is on to find oldest York chiller
22nd December 2015
UK: Johnson Controls is searching for the oldest working York chiller in the UK and Ireland.
Based on the belief that York chillers have an expected average working life of between 15 to 20 years, there is thought to be around 10,000 York brand chillers in service in the UK and Ireland. However, many are known to continue operating for much longer.
“If maintained and serviced regularly with genuine York parts, York chillers can keep providing reliable service for a great deal longer than the industry-expected life-span. The question is, how long?,” says John Pritchard, who leads Johnson Controls HVAC Parts Division.
To provide a conclusive answer, the company is launching the competition, with the finder of the oldest verified working York chiller receiving a prize of an exciting day out at the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch, the iconic UK motor racing circuit.
To enter a chiller into the competition, participants are invited to send a picture of the data plate, to be found inside the chiller control panel, together with a brief description of the chiller’s location and application. The data plate contains a unique serial number, which enables its year of manufacture to be identified.
Johnson Controls HVAC Parts division has provided some guidance on what to look out for in the hunt for the oldest chiller. “Early YORK chillers were painted in a Caribbean Blue livery, before moving to what the company called Desert Tan, a mid-beige, in 1998. People should keep their eyes peeled for blue machines, as these go back to the early days – even before my time,” says John Pritchard.
He added: “A further clue is that older machines may be centrifugal chillers, perhaps operating away unobtrusively in basement plant rooms. Due to the inconvenience of replacing them, these machines may have been carefully maintained over the years. Many such chillers were installed during the initial construction stage of a building, with walls and floors literally constructed around them.
“It will be fascinating to see the entries come in, and how far back the winning chiller goes.”
Entries should be sent to alpesh.trivedi@jci.com, using the subject line Oldest York chiller. Provide a picture of the chiller’s data plate, a short description of its location and application, and your name and address and contact details.
The cut-off for entries is 5.00pm on 17 February 2016. The winner will be announced on 18 February, on the last day of the ACR Show, on the company’s stand. Full entry details here.
