Recirculators

Chillers vs. Water Recirculators

What’s the difference between a chiller and a water recirculator? The major difference between the two is whether or not the unit contains a refrigerant.

An actual CHILLER will have a compressor and a pump to actively remove heat from the liquid flowing through it, using a refrigerant (much the same way a refrigerator or a drinking fountain works).

A WATER RECIRCULATOR does just that; it recirculates coolant through a radiator (much like the radiator in your car). It passively cools liquid by using a heat exchanger and cooling fins.

Do I need a chiller or a recirculator?

There is no simple rule to determine whether you need a chiller or a recirculator. If you are welding in high production, welding aluminum, or other important or exotic applications, a chiller is the clear choice. If the production rate is low, or the machine is used infrequently, a recirculator is probably fine. Please contact us for details.

Water Recirculator Sizing

The following generalizations can be used for sizing a recirculator. Duty cycle, machine setup, welding material, and many other factors go into BTU calculation.

ProCool 2, for 10-50KVA
R1000, for 30-75KVA
R2000, for 75-150KVA
R4000, up to 300KVA

You can reference the Chiller webpage if you’d like to see how to calculate the BTU’s you are generating with your application.