Overview
One Click Dubai maintains chillers across Dubai under annual contracts and one-off service visits. We look after air-cooled and water-cooled chillers of every size, their cooling towers and pumps, and the tube cleaning, descaling, oil analysis and eddy current testing that keep them efficient.
This page sets out what chiller maintenance involves, task by task and interval by interval. It explains which readings show a chiller's health, how tubes are cleaned and why, what differs between chiller types, and what a maintenance contract should contain. It is written for building owners, facility managers and plant operators in Dubai's conditions: long summers, dust, and condensers working at their limit.
Our chiller maintenance contract includes six scheduled visits a year and same-day response to breakdowns.
Chiller maintenance in Dubai: the short answers
Chiller maintenance in Dubai from One Click Dubai is a planned programme: six visits a year, readings logged and compared at each, heat exchangers cleaned, refrigerant and oil checked, and faults reported before they stop the plant.
If you are looking for a chiller maintenance company in Dubai, the practical test is whether the company measures and records. A visit without logged readings is a wash and a look, not maintenance.
What chiller maintenance covers: tasks and intervals
Chiller maintenance is a set of checks at four intervals: daily observation by the operator, routine service visits, an annual shutdown service, and inspections every few years. The table gives the tasks that are common practice for commercial chillers. Your chiller maker's manual is the authority for your machine and takes precedence.
With six visits a year, the routine tasks are done about every two months, with the annual shutdown work scheduled for the cooler months when the plant can be taken off line.
The readings that show a chiller's health
A chiller's condition shows in a handful of readings taken at each visit and compared with the last. No single reading means much. The trend does.
Approach temperature, explained
The approach is the gap between the refrigerant's saturation temperature and the temperature of the water leaving the heat exchanger. A clean condenser lets the refrigerant condense only a few degrees above the leaving water. As scale and slime coat the tubes, the refrigerant must run hotter to push the same heat through, so the gap widens. Every degree of extra condensing temperature costs efficiency. Tracking the approach tells you when cleaning is due far more reliably than the calendar does.
Why a log matters
A reading of 12 bar discharge pressure tells an engineer little. The same reading beside last month's 10.5 bar at the same ambient and load tells him the condenser is fouling. We record every reading at every visit and include the comparison in the service report.
Chiller tube cleaning and descaling
Chiller tube cleaning removes the deposits that build up inside condenser and evaporator tubes and block heat transfer. Even a thin film has a measurable effect: scale conducts heat poorly, so a layer too thin to see raises the condensing temperature and the power drawn.
How mechanical tube cleaning is done
The chiller is shut down, the water side isolated and drained.
To expose the tube ends.
A rotating brush on a flexible shaft is passed through every tube with a water flush. The brush material is chosen for the tube: nylon for soft deposits and enhanced tubes, brass for harder deposits.
Tube ends and tube sheets are checked for corrosion and erosion.
The system is refilled, vented and returned to service.
To show what the cleaning achieved.
Chemical descaling
Where brushing will not shift hard scale, the tube bundle is descaled chemically. An inhibited descaling solution is circulated through the water side until the scale has dissolved, the pH is monitored throughout, and the system is flushed and neutralised afterwards. The inhibitor protects the tube metal. Descaling is done under control: too strong or too long, and it attacks the tubes it is meant to save.
How often
Condenser tubes on water-cooled chillers are commonly cleaned once a year. In Dubai, with high evaporation rates at the tower and long running hours, some plants need it twice. The approach temperature decides. Evaporator tubes run in a closed, treated loop and need cleaning far less often.
Automatic tube brushing systems, which pass small brushes through the condenser tubes during operation, suit plants that foul quickly. We service these and advise where one would pay for itself.
Air-cooled chiller maintenance
Air-cooled chiller maintenance in Dubai centres on the condenser coils and fans. Sand, dust and, near the coast, salt load the coils faster here than in most climates, and the summer leaves no margin.
Washing coils correctly
A coil has dirt driven into its face by the fans. Washing from the outside pushes that dirt deeper. The correct method is to apply cleaner, let it work, and rinse from the inside of the unit outward at low pressure. A pressure washer held close flattens the fins and does lasting damage. On multi-row coils, the middle rows are where the blockage hides.
Timing the visits
We place the heaviest air-cooled work, the full coil wash and electrical check, in March and April so that the chiller enters summer clean. Visits through the summer watch head pressure against ambient and repeat the wash where dust has built up again. The annual shutdown work is done in the cooler months.
Water-cooled chiller and cooling tower maintenance
Water-cooled chiller maintenance covers the chiller, the condenser water circuit and the cooling tower as one system. Most problems in water-cooled plant begin with the tower and its water.
Water quality is maintenance
A cooling tower evaporates water and leaves the minerals behind. Without bleed-off and treatment, the concentration climbs until scale deposits in the hottest place in the circuit, which is the chiller's condenser tubes. Good control of bleed, inhibitor and biocide keeps the tubes clean for a year. Poor control can foul them in weeks.
Legionella
Warm, recirculating tower water can support Legionella bacteria. Regular cleaning and disinfection of the tower, effective biocide treatment and water testing are part of responsible tower maintenance, and records of them should be kept with the plant log.
Oil analysis, oil changes and refrigerant checks
Oil analysis is a laboratory test of a small oil sample that reports wear metals, moisture, acid and the oil's condition. It is the nearest thing to a blood test for a compressor, and it costs very little beside the compressor it protects.
When chiller oil is changed
Chiller compressor oil is not changed by the calendar on most modern machines. It is changed when the analysis shows it is needed, or at the interval the maker states. Oil filters and filter driers are changed at the annual service. After any compressor repair or moisture contamination, the oil is changed and retested.
Refrigerant checks
At each visit we check for leaks with an electronic detector and read the charge from superheat, subcooling and the sight glass together. A charge that has fallen since the last visit means a leak, and the leak is found and repaired before any gas is added. Refrigerant is recovered into cylinders whenever a circuit is opened, never released.
Eddy current testing of chiller tubes
Eddy current testing is a non-destructive inspection that measures the wall condition of each heat exchanger tube from the inside. A probe is passed down the tube, and changes in its electromagnetic signal reveal pitting, thinning, cracks and wear at the tube supports.
The test is commonly done every three to five years, and sooner on older machines, after a known water treatment failure, or when a tube has already leaked. Tubes are cleaned first, because deposits distort the readings. The result is a map of the bundle showing each tube's condition, which lets failing tubes be plugged before they leak water into the refrigerant circuit.
A chiller can run with a small number of tubes plugged with little loss. When the count grows, the bundle is retubed or the chiller's replacement is planned.
Centrifugal, screw, scroll and absorption chillers: what differs
The maintenance principles are shared across chiller types. The details differ with the compressor and the way the machine works.
Centrifugal chiller maintenance
Low-pressure centrifugal chillers run parts of their circuit below atmospheric pressure, so a leak draws air in instead of letting refrigerant out. The purge unit removes that air. If the purge runs more and more often, air is entering, and the leak has to be found. Air in the condenser raises head pressure and wastes energy.
Absorption chiller maintenance
An absorption chiller uses heat and a lithium bromide solution in place of a compressor. It depends on a deep vacuum. Maintenance concentrates on keeping air out, sampling and correcting the solution and its corrosion inhibitor, and looking after the solution and refrigerant pumps. Crystallisation of the solution, which blocks the machine, is the fault that good maintenance prevents.
Pumps, strainers, valves and the water system
A chiller is only as dependable as the water system around it. Pumps, strainers and valves are included in our chiller maintenance visits because their faults stop the chiller.
Where a site uses glycol, we test the concentration at each visit. It drifts as the system is topped up with plain water.
Controls, electrical and safety checks
Electrical and control faults cause as many chiller stoppages as refrigeration faults do. Each visit includes a set of electrical checks that take little time and prevent expensive failures.
Safeties are tested, never bypassed. A chiller found running with a bypassed flow switch or pressure switch is reported to you immediately, because it is one fault away from a destroyed evaporator or compressor.
Chiller annual maintenance contracts: what one should include
A chiller annual maintenance contract should state the number of visits, the tasks at each, what is measured and reported, the response time for breakdowns, and what is and is not included in the price. Vague contracts lead to vague maintenance.
How we set up a contract
We record each chiller's make, model, age, refrigerant and condition, and the towers, pumps and controls around it.
A full set of readings is taken as the reference for all later visits.
Visit schedule, task lists, inclusions and price.
Visits are fixed in the calendar, with the heaviest work before summer and shutdown tasks in winter.
A report after each visit, and a yearly summary of each machine's condition and recommended works.
For buildings with split, ducted and VRF systems as well as chillers, one contract can cover everything. See AC and HVAC maintenance contracts.
Trane, Carrier, York and other makes
We service all chiller makes in Dubai, including Trane, Carrier, York and Daikin. Each maker publishes its own maintenance schedule and limits, and we follow the maker's document for the model on site.
Older machines whose controllers are no longer supported can often be kept in good service with a controls upgrade, and we advise when that is worth considering.
What good maintenance saves, and what it costs
Chiller maintenance pays for itself in three ways: lower electricity use, fewer breakdowns, and a longer life for the most expensive plant in the building.
What decides the price of a contract
Market prices for chiller maintenance in Dubai are often quoted per ton of cooling capacity per year. We price from a survey, because two chillers of the same size can need very different amounts of work. The survey visit is AED 100 plus VAT, and the proposal is free of obligation.
Industrial and process chiller maintenance
Industrial chiller maintenance covers the chillers that cool production equipment: moulding machines, lasers, printing and packaging lines, food and beverage processes, and laboratory and medical equipment. They run through the whole year, and a stoppage halts production, so their maintenance is planned around the process.
Laser chiller maintenance
A laser chiller holds the laser source and optics at a steady temperature. Its maintenance is mostly about water: the right water type, changed at the interval the laser maker states, clean filters, and a clean condenser. Algae or scale in a laser cooling circuit damages the laser, which costs far more than the chiller.
Predictive maintenance
Predictive maintenance uses trends to schedule work when the machine needs it. For chillers, the tools are the logged readings, oil analysis and vibration measurement. A compressor whose oil shows rising wear metals and whose vibration is climbing is overhauled at a planned stop, before it fails during production. Our service reports are built to make those trends visible.
Preventive maintenance on a fixed schedule and predictive maintenance by condition work together. The six visits provide the schedule, and the readings taken at each provide the prediction.
Water tank chiller maintenance
A villa water tank chiller, which cools roof tank water for domestic use, needs one thorough service before each summer and a check during it.
Because the water is used for washing and bathing, the tank should be cleaned on its own schedule as well. A chiller cannot keep water cool in a tank that stands in full sun without insulation, and we advise on that at the visit.
Frequently asked questions
How often should a chiller be serviced?
Routine service every one to two months, with a full annual shutdown service. Our contract provides six visits a year.
What does chiller maintenance include?
Logged readings, leak checks, electrical checks, safety tests, coil or tube cleaning, oil analysis, pump and strainer checks, and cooling tower maintenance on water-cooled plant.
How often should chiller tubes be cleaned?
Condenser tubes are commonly cleaned once a year, and more often where the approach temperature shows fouling. Evaporator tubes need it far less often.
What is chiller descaling?
Circulating an inhibited descaling solution through the tubes to dissolve hard scale that brushing cannot remove, then flushing and neutralising.
What is approach temperature?
The difference between the refrigerant's saturation temperature and the leaving water temperature. A widening approach means fouled tubes.
How often is eddy current testing needed?
Commonly every three to five years, and sooner on older machines or after a tube leak.
How often should chiller oil be changed?
When oil analysis shows it is needed, or at the maker's interval. Filters and driers are changed annually.
Do you maintain cooling towers?
Yes, including cleaning, disinfection, fans, fill, nozzles and water treatment checks.
Do you maintain air-cooled chillers?
Yes. Coil washing before and during summer is the main task.
Do you offer a chiller annual maintenance contract in Dubai?
Yes, with six visits a year and same-day breakdown response.
Which brands do you service?
All, including Trane, Carrier, York and Daikin.
How much does chiller maintenance cost?
It depends on the number, size and type of chillers and the scope. We price from a site survey.
Request a chiller maintenance proposal
Call or WhatsApp +971 55 209 9785, or use the booking form, to arrange a site survey. Tell us how many chillers you have, their makes and whether they are air-cooled or water-cooled. For a chiller that has already stopped, see chiller repair.