iCONVERTER Chiller Range

iCONVERTER Chiller Range

Overview

Why Snap Chill Milk?

Central to the function of every dairy farm is the collection and storage of milk.
Milk quality can only be guaranteed when the milk cooling process is efficient and reliable. As such, GEA has
developed a market leading snap chilling and heat recovery system called the iCONVERTER. GEA also has two
hygienic storage solutions available. Both offer excellent energy efficiency and cooling characteristics to meet the
need of any installation.
Whether it is a standard solution for storage of milk or an integrated solution which takes in smart controls, an
automated cleaning system, snap chilling and energy saving heat recovery, GEA has a solution to meet your
cooling needs.

Milk starts to deteriorate the moment it is harvested from the cow.

Naturally occurring bacteria in the milk starts multiplying straight
away and only temperature can slow the process down to preserve milk
quality.
Needless to say then, snap chilling milk has a number of fundamental
benefits for both the milk producer and the processor.
High quality milk has a longer shelf life and can be processed into more
high value products than raw milk that has higher levels of bacteria.

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EN DU
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MILK
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CENTRED AROUND YOUR FARM NOW & INTO THE FUTURE

Milk quality
37% energy savings
Factory compliance
Future proof your farm from
pending changes in milk
chilling standards

Milk Quality Compliance (The Regulatory Issues)

CONS
ULTA
NC
Y

Bactoscan (bacteria count, milk chilling related)

Thermoduric (heat resistant bacteria)
Coliforms (wet weather / manure bacteria)
All of the above issues can be greatly improved by snap chilling and high grade heat recovery for maximum plant
hygiene.
900
Million bacteria per ml

T
ICE AATES
V
R
G
SE ERS
M
FAR

Key Features

20C

30C

500

15C

25C

10
3
1
0.3

4C
0

12

16

20

Hours after milking

24

28

This graph clearly demonstrates why milk processors

insist on milk being chilled to 4C as quickly as
possible at the end of milking.
The lower the milk temperature into the Bulk Milk
Tank, the lower the bacteria or bacto count when the
processor collects the milk.
Note: Below 10C bacteria growth is seriously reduced and
is practically stopped at 4C.

iCONVERTER Chiller Range

& Thermal Energy Storage

Cooling and Heating Cell
The iCONVERTER is an All-in-One Cell designed specifically for on-farm milking, heating and cooling management.

Why can iCONVERTER release so

much energy instantaneously?

The hybrid cell design is totally unique, delivering

superior energy performance over all other
solutions available on the market today.

The answer is not so simple due to something

called Latent Heat of Fusion, so here is a simplified
explanation:

The iCONVERTER can typically reduce

total energy consumption of the farm
dairy by as much as 37%.
The key benefits of the iCONVERTER are
shown below.
The diagram to the right shows the basic
relationship of each key aspect of the
iCONVERTER installed in the average
milking system.

LARGE ENERGY
SAVINGS

MULTIPLE BULK
MILK TANKS (BMT)

THERMAL STORAGE

FREE HOT
WATER
GENERATION

Air pocket
Phase Change
Material (PCM)

This allows iCONVERTER to store vast amounts of

energy in a very small space.

Phase Blend of
polyolefines

Think of them like chilly bin ice packs.

SNAP CH

ILLING

The iCONVERTER can use up to 6,800 phase change

nodules. This gives them the same energy as you
would find in 70,000 litres of chilled water.

Free Hot Water Generation

The iCONVERTER uses a new high pressure refrigerant called R410a. This allows the system to generate free
hot water at an average of 75C, giving plenty of hot water for maximum plant hygiene. Spare hot water
can be used for other uses such as re-heating calf milk, plant washing etc.

Large Energy Savings

The iCONVERTER is classified as a Class A efficiency refrigeration system. This means it has been tested and
certified to generate well over 3kW/h of chilling output for every 1kW/h of electricity input. This is more than
a 3:1 ratio. This ratio is often referred to as Energy Efficiency Rating (EER) or Coefficient of Performance (COP).

The iCONVERTER is a distributed cooling system which pumps chilled glycol to multiple points that require
coolant. This means that multiple BMTs can be installed. Adding an additional BMT at a later stage is only
a small plumbing change rather than a complete new compressor being fitted. With glycol running through
the base of the BMT it will never freeze milk to the dimple pad so cooling is applied right at the start of
milking. Dimple pad maintenance is also greatly reduced.

Thermal Storage
The iCONVERTER has its own thermal energy storage tank which works as a battery, allowing the system to
store the energy it needs to deliver the required cooling to snap chill the milk. This allows the dairy operation
to shift electricity consumption to lower off peak power rates by running the iCONVERTER at night.

Snap Chilling

Plug

iCONVERTER uses Phase Change Nodule technology

(special balls filled with a liquid solution) to
encapsulate what is called Latent Energy.

Multiple Bulk Milk Tanks (BMTs)

Phase Change Nodules 98mm

The iCONVERTER uses phase change technology which allows it to store the energy required to instantaneously
snap chill milk as it transfers through the plate heat exchanger. In simple terms, small balls are frozen solid
using chilled glycol. This is where the energy is stored and only released as and when it is required to snap chill
the milk .

CENTRED AROUND YOUR FARM NOW & INTO THE FUTURE

5,000 Litres with

5.2m of PCN

How It Works
Phase change nodules (PCN) are loaded into an
insulated tank then filled with a food grade glycol.
During the iCONVERTERs charging mode, the glycol
is chilled down to -5C and pumped through the tank
which freezes the nodules. This is just like putting a
chilly bin pack in the freezer.
Once the system is fully charged the system is switched
to milking mode. Glycol is pumped to the plate heat
exchanger at 0C which instantly snap chills the milk to
typically less than 5C.
The glycol then returns to absorb the latent energy
from the nodules.

70,000 Litres of Chilled Water

How Is The Latent Heat

(Thermal Storage) Measured?
Simply by multiplying a kW (joule per second) by
3,600,000 giving you a kilowatt hour kW/h.
The measure of how many kW/hs contained in a mass
then gives you the level of its power to chill milk.
Phase Change Nodules

Water

Stores 54 Kw/h Per 1m

for every 1 Temp Change

Stores 4.1 Kw/h Per 1m

for every 1 Temp Change

iCONVERTER Chiller Range

The iCONVERTER Models

Diagram

The iCONVERTER range consists of two base models, the aquaDIRECT for on demand chilling and the
aquaTESS which utilises thermal storage of off peak power for maximum chilling efficiency.

Key Features
Snap Chills Milk to 6C or less
Chills milk in the bulk milk tank
Eliminates milk from freezing to
dimple pads
Has the ability to chill multiple bulk
milk tanks simultaneously
Delivers free hot water at 70-75C
at 150-300 litres per hour depending
on model
Energy Efficiency Rating (EER) of 3.3
Typical average yearly saving of
$6,500.00 NZD when installed on a
New Zealand farm. Savings increase
with longer milking times and larger
herd numbers

HOT
WATER

WASH TUB

11

2
MILKING SYSTEM

Danger
Electricity

iCONVERTER aquaDIRECT

HOT

Key Features

iCONVERTER aquaTESS

WASTE HOT AIR

HOT
WATER

Snap Chills Milk to 5C or less

Chills milk in the bulk milk tank
Eliminates milk from freezing to
dimple pads
Has the ability to chill multiple bulk
milk tanks simultaneously
Delivers free hot water at 70-75C at
200-350 litres per hour depending
on model
Energy Efficiency Rating (EER) of 3.3
Typical average yearly saving of
$12,000.00 NZD when installed on a
New Zealand farm. Savings increase
with longer milking times and larger
herd numbers
Uses a significant amount of off peak
power (typically up to 80%)

COLD
D

9
4

iCONVERTER

PLATE HEAT
EXCHANGER

8
7

10
ENERGY STORAGE TANK
(PHASE CHANGE NODULES)

BULK MILK TANK

Further to the base range GEA also offers the aquaDIRECT MEGA and the aquaTESS MEGA.
These are bespoke solutions for large scale farming operations, typically 3000 cows and above.

CENTRED AROUND YOUR FARM NOW & INTO THE FUTURE

NEW

Incoming electrical supply

Glycol supply

Glycol return

10

Glycol energy out

Hot water from heat recovery

Glycol return

Glycol supply

11

Waste hot air

Hot milk from parlour

Milk delivery to Bulk Milk Tanks

Glycol energy in

Ground water connection to

Plate Heat Exchanger not shown

iCONVERTER Chiller Range

Competitive Analysis
Every installation is different and therefore a detailed specification is provided with each quotation. This calculates the
cooling load and energy saving that you can expect from the iCONVERTER.
The capital outlay with iCONVERTER is almost always higher than competitors products but it is the total cost of
ownership over the short term that makes iCONVERTER a smart choice for a long term investment. Quality is remembered
long after the price is forgotten
iCONVERTER TESS Competitive Analysis

$$

Capital
Cost

Actual
Cost yr 1

Actual
Cost yr 2

Actual
Cost yr 3

Actual
Cost yr 4

Actual
Cost yr 5

The GEA DX-FF, offers the dairy farmer the ultimate in milk cooling
technology.
High quality stainless steel, extreme efficiency and outstanding
reliability ensure that the range of DX-FF tanks give top cooling and
washing performance.
With a range of sizes from 10,300 to 41,000 litres, a range of
profiles, bulk-head access styles and well thought out design, DX-FF
tanks offer the flexibility to fit any location. With a vast array of
options; compromise is not one of them!

iCONVERTER TESS

TESS

$$

iCONVERTER

Competitive Analysis Yearly Running Cost

Horizontal Direct Expansion Bulk Milk Tanks

With over forty years in stainless steel fabrication and heat transfer
technology, you can be sure that we have the experience to create
the bulk milk tank you can rely on.

Key Features
Complete range from 10,300 to
41,000 litres
Highest quality and performance
Built to fit
Designed with technology

All iCOOL tanks come with a 5 year pad warranty.

Actual
Cost yr 6

Competitors

Cost of Ownership

Direct Online Glycol

Glycol DX Split System

Water Chiller with Heat Recovery

DX System with Heat Recovery

Competitve Analysis

Running Costs

The graph above shows the iCONVERTER against typical

cooling solutions on the market today. iCONVERTER clearly
demonstrates its efficiency after year three through
significantly reduced yearly running costs.

Yearly running costs are often one third of

competitor products and nearly half of all products
currently on the market.

Typical Farm Power Consumption

Savings that are created by an iCONVERTER system have a significant impact on reducing your overall farm dairy
running costs. Typically power consumption for hot water heating and milk cooling represent 45% of the total
energy used every day.
Typical Farm Power Consumption

Cooling Savings
7%

Water
pumping
10%

Milking System
26%

Milking System
26%
Hot Water Savings
30%

Water Heating
32%

Milk Cooling
21%

Milk Cooling
14%
Other
11%

CENTRED AROUND YOUR FARM NOW & INTO THE FUTURE

Water
Pumping
10%

Water Heating
2%

Width

Capacity
(Nominal)

O/A Length
A

Diameter
W

H
(Minimum)

10,300

4,720

1,900

2,100

14,000

6,245

1,900

2,100

20,000

5,500

2,440

2,730

25,000

6,545

2,440

2,730

30,000

7,815

2,440

2,730

21,500

4,100

3,000

3,200

25,500

4,710

3,000

3,200

31,500

5,630

3,000

3,200

35,500

6,240

3,000

3,200

41,000

7,050

3,000

3,200
Length

Typical Farm Power Consumption (Savings)

Other
11%

Technical Information

A total of 37% of the

total farm dairy energy
consumption is reduced by
the iCONVERTER system.
With the use of other
variable speed and energy
efficient devices installed
at the dairy the overall
energy footprint of the
farm dairy is significantly
less than traditional
installations.

Height

iCONVERTER TESS

iCONVERTER Chiller Range

Complete Turnkey Solution

GEA provides a comprehensive package that includes all components to complete the job (excludes electrical
connection to supply).

Vertical / Horizontal Direct Expansion

or Liquid Circulation Bulk Milk Tanks
The GEA iSTORE range of Bulk Milk Tanks, manufactured
by DTS, offers excellent value. Manufactured from stainless
steel to meet food grade standards the hygienic design is
suitable for storage of milk and other products such as wine
and juices.
The tanks can be located inside the milking parlour or
outside at the collection point. This feature reduces building
construction costs.

Key Features

CHILLER

Standard sizes available from 11,500 to

30,500 litres
Vertical & horizontal options
Options of compressors and controls
CIP systems available

THE KIT

All iSTORE tanks come with a front entry manway and

ladders are fitted to all silos.
Cooling is provided by direct expansion or liquid circulation
through the laser welded dimple jacketed base plate or side
walls. All sizes feature cooling which is further increased by
the gull winged agitators.
With over 100 years experience in the dairy industry and
manufacturing plants located in New Zealand, Australia,
USA and China a cooling and storage solution is available
to you.
All iSTORE tanks come with a 5 year PAD warranty.

Heat Recovery

PCN TANK

Vertical Tanks

VAT TEMP
CONTROLLERS

Double skinned and Glycol base

Capacity
(Nominal)

Diameter
W

H
(Minimum)

9,000

2,440

3,000

13,000

2,440

4,050

16,500

3,000

3,400

20,500

3,000

4,050

30,500

3,000

5,575

BULK TANK
(OPTIONAL)

VAT
CONTROLLER
STANDS

DOUBLE BANK
COOLER

Single skinned variants are available on request.

PIPES

Width

Make use of previously unused cooling compressor

energy
Reduce the overall electricity expense of producing hot
water
Short payback time
Increase hot water capacity

HANDLE

WITH CARE

HANDLE
CARE
WITH

HANDLE

WITH CARE

HANDLE
CARE
WITH

HANDLE

WITH CARE

HANDLE
CARE
WITH

Increase overall cooling efficiency

Decrease the cycling of the cooling compressors
Decrease heating effect of direct sunlight
Decrease milk baking on above milk level
Can be retrofitted to any vertical tank

CENTRED AROUND YOUR FARM NOW & INTO THE FUTURE

MANIFOLDS
Height

Polar Wraps

PCN PALLETS

GLYCOL BARRELS

ALL FITTINGS

ALL LABOUR