Primo Restaurant Walk-In Cooler
Pizza, pasta, calzone and stromboli
... are the delicious Italian foods that you'll find cooking
in the kitchens of Parisi's Primo Pizza & Pasta Restaurant,
located in Barrington, Illinois. As those hand made crusts
are being tossed in the air and baked in the ovens, you'll also
find large amounts of flour dust and oil mist circulating
throughout the air, coating appliances, condenser coils and other
costly equipment necessary to run a very busy kitchen as
successfully as Primo does.
After cooling and ventilation systems have been installed, many mechanical contractors find themselves rigging a filtration solution to protect the costly equipment from this hostile environment. This particular condensing unit had just been replaced at Primo Pizza & Pasta Restaurant because of the huge amounts of contaminant that are continually circulated throughout the air, coating the coils and electrical components with an oily/flour mixture. The unit has already failed due to excessive heat and dirty coils. The condensing unit's location on top of a Norlake KoldLocker walk-in cooler makes it hard to clean the coils regularly. Self rinsing coil cleaner is recommended by the manufacturer, but there is no place for the cleaner to run off, except down to the counters, and possibly on to the food preparation areas. Airflow obstructions and coated coils in this type of equipment can be a costly expense, requiring continuous cleaning to prevent equipment damage and to allow the system to run at peak efficiencies. James Wilson, of James Mechanical Company, located in Genoa, Illinois, was called in to replace the condensing unit.
The original filtration fix consisted
of a 1" tacified nonwoven polyester pad, which had to be duct taped
to the front of the fins. This pad had to be changed at least
once a month. The blue pad shown above had just been
replaced, and after only a day, it was coated and filthy.
James Mechanical found a cost effective and long-term filtration
solution for their customer with Permatron's patented PreVent®
Equipment Protection Filter. 
The filters are washable, woven
synthetic polypropylene media, which draws in and traps airborne
particulates. The electrostatic media, enhanced by airflow
needs no system modifications or electrical hookups. PreVent
was made to the custom size of the protective fins and framed in
black vinyl. The filter is affixed to the outer perimeter of
the air intake by a velcro loop attachment sewn onto the vinyl
binding. Hook Velcro is attached to the condenser with
adhesive backing. Magnetic stripping, with a stainless
or galvanized steel frame, can also be used for attaching filter to
fins. PreVent filters are easily removed and
cleaned by spraying with a degreaser and rinsing with water or
vacuumed in place by using a portable shopvac. The
three-dimensional media is UV protected and contains an inherent
electrostatic charge that won't diminish over time, so it can be
used indoors or outdoors, providing years of equipment
protection. PreVent® the damage before it's too late!