Protecting PLC Equipment

Protecting PLC Equipment in a Hazardous Environment:

Protecting PLC Equipment in a Hazardous Environment

TECA’s legacy product, Model AHP-1800XPHC has been installed in over a dozen (to date) specialty cabinets by a process safety engineering firm.

Our customer shared with us:
“We asked a client for a preferred vendors for the thermo electric coolers and TECA was given to us. We have been pleased with the products and service your company has given.”

Our customer serves refineries and chemical plants, implementing critical safety control systems. With both outdoor and indoor needs, TECA Model AHP-1800XPHC can be used in either environment, and it can maintain a cabinet rated for CID2 explosion-proof. Among the sensitive equipment TECA’s enclosure cooler protects is a group of programmable logic controllers (PLC). The PLCs need to be reliable, safety certified, and able to withstand rugged conditions. The stakes are high in this application. The CID2 “Hazardous Location” enclosure coolers offered by TECA include safety certification, mil-grade external fan, and a decades-long track record with customer like this one.

Please browse our CID2 solutions here and contact us here to discuss your unique cooling needs.
Ph: 773.342.4900

Copper Heat Sink

Copper Heat Sink : Modification to a standard product

Thermoelectric panel cooler with copper cold side sink

A chemical analysis service provider used TECA’s thermoelectric air conditioner as part of a larger system. The end user required copper heat sinks instead of aluminum heat sinks. TECA provided this modification to a standard product, the AHP-270XE. This is one example of modifications TECA can accommodate, including black anodizing of aluminum parts, using 316 stainless steel instead of 304, and much more. Please contact TECA to discuss your requirements. teca@thermoelectric.com

Mobile Radar Controls

Cooling Mobile Radar Controls:

TECA Model AHP-1802-Series air conditioners are mounted on long-range and precision radar equipment. The long service life of thermoelectric cooling products and the low maintenance requirements contribute to the radar system’s low cost of ownership. The life expectancy of a thermoelectric device is exceptionally high due to its solid-state construction. Service life typically exceeds five years under normal conditions. For individual modules, Mean time between failure of 200,000 to 300,000 hours at room temperature and 100,000 hours at elevated ambient temperatures of 80degC have been calculated. The reduced need for maintenance and replacement parts are a significant part of the value added to using thermoelectric technology.  Contact TECA today to discuss your cooling requirements. 773-342-4900

AHP-1802XE thermoelectric enclosure cooler AHP-1802XE thermoelectric panel cooler

Power Efficiency in a Marine Environment

Control Cabinet Cooling:

An engineer, tasked with upgrading a dozen control cabinets on sea-faring vessels, contacted TECA for advice. Although the cooling need was not large, there were many other challenges to the project. TECA’s customer needed a truly robust cooler; something that could be exposed to vibrations, high ambient temperatures of 60degC, and salt spray from the ocean. Furthermore, power efficiency was a must. TECA’s thermoelectric coolers have the highest power efficiency ratings in the industry. TECA Model AHP-590XMHC was able to meet every single requirement.

Control Cabinet Cooling TECA Model AHP-590XMHCLike all TECA “XM” units, the AHP-590XMHC has military-grade fans on both the internal and external sides. Providing protection against salt spray (Mil-Std 810 Corrosion), TECA’s “XM” units also have full protection from exposure to shock and vibration. TECA’s unique ECO-Mode temperature controller feature limits the amount of time the cooler needs to be actively cooling. Utilizing passive cooling in lower demand times draws 95% less current. During high demand times, the active cooling function of the AHP-590XMHC draws 32% less current than its closest competitor on the market.

TECA Model AHP-590XMHC

Contact TECA today for friendly & knowledgeable guidance. We look forward to helping your project succeed! Ph: 773-342-4900 E: teca@thermoelectric.com

sea-faring vessels  marine environment 

Thermoelectric Cooling for TACAN (Tactical Air Navigation) System

TACAN (Tactical Air Navigation) System uses Thermoelectric Cooling:

Thermoelectric Cooling for TACAN (Tactical Air Navigation) System     thermoelectric panel coolers

TACAN is a radio system which can provide aircrew with navigation and bearing information. A market leader in military solutions uses TECA Model AHP-1800XHC as a standard component to provide cooling to their mobile TACAN system. AHP-1800XHC is well designed for this type of application. For reliable performance under harsh conditions, we use military-grade sealed fans and components on the hot side (external to enclosure). The AHP-1800XHC heats and cools as needed without maintenance or repair down time. This has been crucial for our customer, who markets their mobile TACAN system as self-sufficient.

TECA has been designing and manufacturing for harsh military environments for decades. Contact us to discuss your our solutions for NEMA-4X/Harsh Environment and Shock & Vibration.

teca@thermoelectric.com
https://www.thermoelectric.com/air-conditioners/250-500-watts/ahp-1800-series/

COMMUNICATIONS

Communications, Cooling Battery Bank:

communications communications

 

Maintain the temperature of a battery bank in a Class 1 Division 2 explosion proof environment to power portable communications equipment. A special purpose vehicle manufacturer needed to maintain the temperature of a bank of batteries to maintain maximum performance.

With our recommendation, the customer selected the TECA Model AHP-1800XP, because it is the only NEMA4X air conditioner available off-the-shelf, which is also certified for C1D2 use. The power source was able to meet the requirement of operation in a Class 1 Division 2 explosion proof environment, to support portable communications systems at car racing venues.

MILITARY

Military Application:

military

The 2.4 Meter Mobile SATCOM Tactical Terminal (MSTT) is a lightweight, stand alone, trailer-mounted tri-band SATCOM terminal available to support worldwide, quick deployment satellite communications through military and commercial satellites.

It also uses a customized version of the solid state air conditioner AHP-1801X. It was designed and qualified for worldwide operation in tactical military environments.

Cooling Variable Frequency Drives

Steel Mill Enclosure Cooling:

A major steel company has multiple equipment enclosures, housing 4 variable frequency drives (VFD) each, to control their industrial cranes. The high temperature in the steel mill was causing excessive shutdowns. Compressor-based air conditioners could not survive the electrical enclosures’ harsh ambient environment on the overhead cranes. The only input power available was a widely varying 250 VDC, which complicated things. TECA successfully and affordably customized a flush-mounted (external to enclosure) thermoelectric air conditioner to meet the customer’s needs.

Cooling Variable Frequency Drives   Steel Mill Enclosure Cooling

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PORTABLE SECURITY EQUIPMENT

Portable Security Equipment:

portable security equipment portable security equipment

 

Site monitor and security equipment for oil fields and transfer stations needed more security. A portable enclosure housing cameras, WI-FI access, antennas and a Mac Mini computer inside leveraging the Mac platform to provide virtually instant access, hi speed, via “Wild Blue”. The system will be like a watchdog that they can strap on wherever they need the monitoring.

With a slight modification an AHP-1200XE thermoelectric cooler provided the best solution while keeping the NEMA-4 rating of the enclosure.

RUGGEDIZED MILITARY APPLICATION

Ruggedized Military Application:

ruggedized military application

Sometimes it just takes a long time to get to the heart of a problem. AHP-1200X “quick quote” for two thermoelectric air conditioners came into our sales team. It was responded to and followed up. The application was reviewed, a quote was made and an order placed.

Only after did we learn that the hard requirements they were looking for were:

  1. Dual adjustable temperature control (heat and cool)
  2.  28 VDC operation and
  3. Military environment.

Fortunately the selections within TECA’s enclosure air conditioner family are large. The military Contractor borrowed a unit from TECA’s loaner stock and based on that success, placed an order. It was then that we found a problem.

It seems that the application was to cool some sensitive electronics out on a 200 meter DC input which caused droop in the input which in turn caused a ringing in the circuits. The new digital monitors being used were susceptible while the older tube monitors had no issue.

Working with the customer it was determined that by changing the controller to a ruggedized PWM controller all problems were solved.

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