The Importance Of Cleaning The Condenser On Your Air Cooled Machine

Posted on Oct 26, 2017

*Before delving deep into this article, we strongly recommend that you closely follow all manufacturer instructions on how to properly care for & clean your machines.

Whether you operate a gelato, soft serve, & frozen beverage machine, if it is an air cooled machine then we recommend you clean the condenser periodically. 

Majority of the frozen dessert machine models come in two options: water cooled or air cooled condensers. Since the machine’s capacity to fuction directly depends on the condenser it is important to clean the condenser to ensure quality performance & quality product. A water-cooled system does not need to be cleaned because the water in the system is sealed.

	Water-Cooled CondenserThis type of condenser comes in the shape of a tube & shell. It needs cold clean water to function properly and to take away the heat from the product mix in the barrel in order to cool it.
	Air-Cooled CondenserThis type of condenser uses copper tubes and aluminum fins. In order to properly cool the barrels, it needs a minimum clearance of 3 inches on the sides and 6 inches on the back of the machine to receive proper air flow.

Why’s It Important To Clean The Condenser On Your Air Cooled Machine?

The efficiency of the machine’s refrigeration system is lost if you don’t keep the condenser clean. In the long run you will save on energy costs, maintenance costs, & will extend the working life of the machine. Cleaning the condenser should be made part of the checklist for regular maintenance.

What’s The Worst That Could Happen?

Here’s worst case scenario: It’s a summer’s day with record breaking temperatures soaring. You have a long line of customers coming to your store looking for a way to cool down in this terrible heat, but instead of converting all of these people into loyal customers your machine breaks down from heat exhaustion because you didn’t take the 15 minutes out of your time once a month to clean the machine’s condenser filter. You lose all of these customers & your machine stops working so you have to toss it out.

Steps To Clean The Condenser

Follow these steps carefully & your machine will be running like new in no time!

1) Take off the condenser’s filter off of the cover panel. Look for any signs of dirt on the condenser filter. If the filter is dirty, use a brush, towl or vacuum to clean it. Then rinse it with warm water & set it out to dry before putting it back onto the machine.

2) Other methods of cleaning the air filter are pressurized water/air cleaning & using specialized machines to clean the filter. 

Note: make sure not to damage the fins on the air condenser. Though they are sharp they are easy to bend & break.

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* Follow all local and national health codes. Always refer to local and national rules. This article is just a suggestion.

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