Thermogym: The Resilient Choice for Propane/Butane (R290, R600, R600a) Indoor Coils in Demanding Environments
Contents:
- Introduction
- Unrivaled External Corrosion Resistance: Built for Harsh Environments
- Corrosion Resistance and Service Durability
- PED Compliance and Certification Readiness
- Safety with Flammable Refrigerants in Indoor Systems
- Future-Proofing Against Regulatory Tightening
- Available Tube Sizes and Engineering Fit
- Conclusion
First, a quick clarification on the flammability class: Propane (R290), n-Butane (R600), and Isobutane (R600a) are all classified as A3 refrigerants (highly flammable) under ASHRAE Standard 34, similar to Pentane and Isopentane. This classification means that despite their lower Global Warming Potential (GWP), rigorous safety considerations for leak prevention and ignition source control remain paramount.
As the refrigeration industry embraces the high efficiency and ultra-low GWP of hydrocarbon refrigerants like R290, R600, and R600a, ensuring long-term integrity and safety is critical. These refrigerants demand components that offer unparalleled reliability against leaks, especially in sensitive indoor environments such as freezers, dairy areas, wine cellars, and bread proofing chambers. Thermogym’s advanced stainless steel heat exchanger coils are designed specifically to meet these challenges, offering a superior foundation for safe, durable performance where external corrosion is a persistent threat.
1. Unrivaled External Corrosion Resistance: Built for Harsh Environments
This is the most critical advantage of Thermogym’s stainless steel coils. Unlike copper, which is vulnerable to various forms of external degradation, stainless steel maintains long-term reliability:
Freezers & Cold Storage: These areas are subject to repeated defrost cycles, elevated humidity, and wide temperature fluctuations. Copper coils often experience pitting and formicary corrosion due to acidic or stagnant condensate. Stainless steel forms a passive chromium oxide layer that resists such corrosives, ensuring consistent long-term performance and avoiding refrigerant leaks over decades of use.
Dairy Areas: These zones often contain airborne lactic acid, aggressive cleaning solutions (like sanitizers and CIP), and high humidity levels. Copper degrades rapidly under these conditions. Stainless steel’s resistance to acids and chlorides makes it the ideal hygienic solution, maintaining system integrity even with frequent washdowns and chemical exposure.
Wine Cellars: High humidity needed for cork preservation often comes with airborne yeasts and acidic vapors, which accelerate copper degradation. Thermogym’s stainless steel coils offer unmatched protection in these moisture-rich and bio-reactive spaces.
Bread Proofing Rooms: These are some of the harshest indoor environments—characterized by near-saturation humidity levels (often 80–90% RH), warmth, and organic activity from yeast. Copper coils corrode quickly, but stainless steel resists both moisture and bio-corrosive agents, ensuring steady climate control and long-lasting performance.
No Sacrificial Metal Loss: Stainless steel avoids the galvanic corrosion issues that can affect copper in certain material pairings, ensuring structural stability and full coil longevity without metal loss.
2. Superior Hygiene and Cleanability: Essential for Food & Beverage
In environments where food safety and sanitation are paramount, the construction material of coils plays a major role. Stainless steel holds a significant edge over traditional copper.
Biofilm Resistance: The smoother surface of stainless steel discourages biofilm development, reducing the potential for bacterial, mold, or mildew growth. This is vital in dairy areas, bakeries, and other food processing zones where hygiene is regulated.
Resilient to Cleaning Agents: Stainless steel withstands harsh cleaning chemicals, elevated temperatures, and high-pressure washdowns. This ensures that coils can be thoroughly cleaned without risk of damage, which is not always the case with copper systems.
3. Enhanced Safety for A3 Refrigerants (R290, R600, R600a)
Hydrocarbon refrigerants offer excellent environmental performance, but their high flammability (A3 classification) demands extreme attention to system integrity.
Leak Resistance Over Time: Because external corrosion is minimized, the risk of refrigerant leaks is drastically reduced. Thermogym’s stainless steel coils provide peace of mind in flammable refrigerant applications where any leak poses serious safety consequences in occupied spaces.
Mechanical Strength: With a robust 0.5mm wall thickness, our stainless steel tubing provides superior resistance to mechanical damage during shipping, installation, or service. Compared to thinner-walled copper, this reduces the risk of rupture or dent-induced leaks.
4. Long-Term Reliability and Reduced Lifecycle Costs
For critical indoor applications, reliability and total cost of ownership matter just as much as up-front efficiency.
Fewer Service Interruptions: In dairy chillers, bakery proofers, and walk-in cold rooms, downtime is expensive. Thermogym coils are engineered for uninterrupted operation in exactly these kinds of mission-critical systems.
Lower Service Costs: The durability and corrosion immunity of stainless steel reduce the frequency and severity of coil-related service calls, including leak repairs, coil replacements, and refrigerant recharging. This translates into major savings for the end user.
Thermal Performance Stability: A coil that resists corrosion also resists fouling and performance degradation. This ensures consistent heat transfer across years of operation, helping maintain optimal system efficiency and compressor life.
Available Sizes
Thermogym’s stainless steel coils are manufactured in a wide range of tubing diameters, including common standards such as 7mm, 3/8″, and 5/8″ OD, to suit virtually all evaporator and condensing coil geometries. Custom sizing is also available upon request.
Conclusion: Thermogym for Demanding Indoor Applications
By specifying Thermogym stainless steel coils, you’re investing in long-term system integrity and safety. Whether you’re designing a commercial freezer, a proofing chamber, or a wine cellar, our coils offer exceptional resistance to environmental damage, unmatched cleanability, and superior safety margins for flammable A3 refrigerants. It’s not just a coil—it’s a commitment to lasting performance, reliability, and peace of mind.
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