Industrial refrigeration system (also called an evaporator) is the central heat exchange component in a refrigeration system: the refrigerant absorbs heat from the air or from the product inside the cold room, bringing the space down to the required temperature. In seafood processing plants, frozen stores and IQF freezing lines in Vietnam, the air cooler is what determines the cooling output of the whole system.
Tan Long has manufactured and supplied industrial air coolers since 2008, serving projects from 20 kW to over 500 kW (about 17,000 BTU/h to more than 430,000 BTU/h), using NH3 (ammonia) and Freon refrigerants such as R22, R404A and R507.
What are industrial refrigeration units?
An industrial air cooler is a finned-tube evaporator installed inside a cold room or freezer store to absorb the heat load. Refrigerant liquid enters the coil at low pressure, evaporates and absorbs heat from the surrounding air, creating the low-temperature zone the process requires. Forced-draught fans circulate air across the fins, keeping the rate of heat exchange even over the whole coil surface.
Unlike a domestic evaporator, an industrial air cooler carries a continuous heat load for many hours a day and typically runs at evaporating temperatures from -40°C to 5°C (-40°F to 41°F). Tubes are usually copper or aluminium, with aluminium fins 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm thick; fin pitch is set according to room temperature to slow surface frosting.
Tan Long uses condensers that meet strict and international standards.
Industrial air coolers in practice
Currently, industrial refrigeration is the backbone of almost every cold chain in Vietnam and worldwide. Drawing on field experience from many large projects, Tan Long has applied this equipment to suit each specific sector:
- In seafood processing plants: The devices industrial refrigeration installed in the preparation area, it holds a stable 0°C to 5°C, effectively preventing microbial growth throughout filleting, grading and packing. Tan Long supplies refrigeration systems to major partners such as: Frescol Tuna Vietnam Co., Ltd (Nghe An), Ca Mau Seafood Processing and Service Joint Stock Corporation (CASES). There, the industrial refrigeration system in the wind tunnel can reach -35°C after a pull-down cycle of just 4 hours.
- In commercial cold stores: The most common solution is the ceiling-mounted industrial refrigeration type. This design distributes cold air evenly across the whole floor area while freeing up storage space below. For a cold storage of around 500 m², Tan Long's engineers typically calculate 2 to 4 air cooler units arranged symmetrically, eliminating local temperature hot spots entirely.
- In IQF (individual quick freezing) lines: This is the most technically demanding application. Equipment industrial refrigeration mounted directly inside the freezing chamber has to run at -38°C to -42°C. Combined with high-capacity fans producing air velocities of 3 m/s to 6 m/s, it allows mesh belt IQF freezer to freeze product in just 6 to 12 minutes, preserving freshness and nutritional value in full.
Industrial air coolers in practice
Types of industrial air cooler
Classifying them correctly helps a business select the right equipment for each storage scale. The air coolers industrial refrigeration by Tan Long supplies and installs fall into two main groups, based on refrigerant feed method and on the application.
Classified by refrigerant feed method
The feed method directly affects thermal efficiency and the electricity consumption of the whole system:
- Flooded evaporator air coolers: The unit runs with liquid filling 75% – 80% of the tube volume, giving a heat transfer coefficient 20% – 30% higher than the conventional type. This is the solution for large-scale NH3 systems, particularly cold storage design projects of 500 tonnes and above, or freezing chambers with a heat load above 200 kW.
- Direct expansion (DX) evaporator air coolers: Use throttle valve uses a thermostatic or electronic expansion valve to regulate refrigerant flow. Simple in construction and easy to operate, this type suits small and medium Freon systems well (heat loads from 20 kW to 150 kW).
Classified by installed application
Based on the intended use, engineers at Tan Long will advise on the type of industrial refrigeration with the most suitable specification:
| Air cooler type | Room temperature | Typical applications |
| Chiller room air coolers | 0°C to 10°C | Storing fruit and vegetables, pharmaceuticals and fresh food. |
| Freezer store air coolers | -18°C to -25°C | Frozen storage seafood, meat, IQF vegetables. |
| Freezing chamber air coolers | -30°C to -40°C | Air Blast Tunnel Freezers, quick-freezing chambers. |
| Fishbone Evaporator | -5°C to -10°C | Preparation rooms and dedicated seafood processing workshops. |
Choosing the right industrial refrigeration at the design stage does more than keep the system stable — it optimises long-term maintenance cost. If you are unsure which equipment to choose, contact the technical advisory team at Tan Long for a detailed quotation.
Construction of an industrial air cooler
System industrial refrigeration by Tan Long supplies are built from durable materials meeting the demanding standards of the refrigeration industry. A standard industrial refrigeration comprises the following five core components:
- Heat exchange tubes: This is the central component of the industrial refrigeration. Tan Long uses high-quality copper tube in diameters from 9.52 mm to 19.05 mm, or dedicated aluminium tube for systems using new-generation Freon refrigerants. This is where the refrigerant evaporates and absorbs heat from the air.
- Fins: Made of aluminium and fitted perpendicular to the heat exchange tubes. Fin pitch is designed from 4 mm to 12 mm depending on the operating temperature. On deep-freeze cold storage installation projects the fin pitch is widened to limit frosting as far as possible and keep air flowing.
- Header and collector: These distribute refrigerant evenly into the tube circuits and collect the vapour after evaporation. Accurate header design allows the industrial refrigeration to reach its highest overall thermal efficiency and avoids thermal imbalance across the system.
- Forced-draught fan system: Depending on the project, Tan Long fits axial or centrifugal fans with air velocities from 2 m/s to 5 m/s. The number and rating of fans is calculated carefully from the actual heat load of the cold room.
- Defrost system: To keep cooling capacity stable, industrial refrigeration integrates electric-element or hot-gas defrosting. The process is normally controlled automatically through a PLC control cabinet on a cycle of every 2 to 6 hours, keeping the heat exchange surface free of ice.
Advantages of Tan Long air coolers
Standard specifications of Tan Long industrial air coolers
Below is a summary of the detailed specifications of the industrial refrigeration Okay Tan Long supplied and installed directly for projects nationwide:
| Equipment specification | Actual range |
| Storage room temperature | A wide range from +20°C to -40°C (+68°F to -40°F). |
| Compatible refrigerants | NH₃ (ammonia), Freon (HFC/HFO) or CO₂ (R744). |
| Refrigerant feed method | Pump circulation, gravity flooded or throttle valve expansion valve (TXV). |
| Defrost method | Hot gas, electric element, water, or natural air. |
| Casing material | Powder-coated anti-corrosion steel sheet or durable SUS 304 stainless steel. |
| Fin material | Standard aluminium, or AlMg alloy for corrosive environments. |
In the process cold storage design professionally, fin pitch is a key specification that is often overlooked when selecting equipment. For cold storage systems running at -18°C to -25°C (0°F to -13°F), the industrial refrigeration needs a significantly wider fin pitch than a standard chiller room unit.
Getting this parameter right prevents rapid icing between defrost cycles, protecting performance and extending system life. Tan Long's experienced engineers always carry out a thorough survey and calculate the fin pitch of the industrial refrigeration before recommending equipment, so the unit performs at its best for whatever produce, seafood or food you handle.
How Tan Long advises on and supplies industrial air coolers
Tan Long controls both design and manufacture at its plant in Duc Hoa 1 Industrial Park, Tay Ninh (formerly Long An), so the investor deals with a single point of contact from survey to handover:
- Survey and requirement definition: engineers work directly at the plant to establish capacity, layout, refrigerant and real operating conditions.
- Technical proposal: calculating a suitable configuration and discussing it with the investor's technical team before it is fixed.
- Detailed design: drawings are prepared and materials and equipment selected to match the refrigerant and the operating temperature range.
- Manufacture and works testing: machining, assembly and a test run before the unit leaves the factory.
- Installation and acceptance: connection into the plant's system, load testing and handover with the technical documentation.
- Warranty and operating support: operating instructions for the plant's technical team and fault support during the warranty period.
How to select an industrial air cooler with the right specification
Selecting the wrong specification for an industrial refrigeration leads to two serious consequences: either the unit is undersized and the room never reaches its storage temperature, or it is oversized, wasting electricity and making defrost cycles too frequent. To get the best return on the investment, the equipment selection process at Tan Long always follows these four standard steps:
- Step 1: Determine the cold room heat load: The heat load comprises transmission through the panel walls (typically 8 W/m² to 15 W/m² with 150 mm panel), heat from incoming goods (calculated from daily intake), and heat from people and equipment inside (each person radiates about 270 W at 0°C).
- Step 2: Determine room temperature and evaporating temperature: Evaporating temperature is usually 8°C to 12°C (14°F to 22°F) below room temperature. A -20°C freezer store typically uses an evaporating temperature of -30°C to -32°C (-22°F to -26°F).
- Step 3: Select the air cooler capacity: Multiply the nominal air cooler capacity by a safety factor of 1.1 to 1.2 to allow for losses from surface frosting and load variation.
- Step 4: Choose the defrost method: Rooms from 0°C to 5°C use water or air defrost. Rooms below -10°C use electric-element or hot-gas defrost, 2 to 4 times a day, 20 to 30 minutes each time.
Tan Long – A reputable and authorized supplier and installer of industrial refrigeration systems.
Tan Long is a specialist in designing and manufacturing industrial refrigeration directly at its large plant in Duc Hoa 1 Industrial Park (Tay Ninh, formerly Long An), with a modern production floor of more than 5,000 m². Every unit leaving the works complies strictly with HACCP and ISO standards, including a hydrostatic pressure test of each coil assembly at 24 bar to guarantee safety in service.
What sets the industrial refrigeration supplied by Tan Long apart is durability:
- Corrosion-resistant aluminium fins: Coated with a dedicated epoxy hydrophilic coating, extending equipment life in high-humidity environments — particularly suited to seafood processing plants in coastal regions.
- IP55 fan motors: Built to withstand harsh cold, damp conditions and to run reliably even at -40°C.
- Custom solutions: Beyond the standard range, Tan Long also supplies fish bone condenser with an intelligent branched layout — the best option for preparation rooms with limited space.
Tan Long - Address providing and installing prestigious and quality industrial refrigeration systems
Alongside supplying equipment, Tan Long provides free technical advice on every project, from the cold storage designstage and heat load calculation through to selecting the industrial refrigeration capacity that best fits the investor's budget. For smooth operation, the units can be combined with the refrigeration compressor and system PLC control cabinet installed directly by Tan Long.
Contact for advice:
- Headquarters: 86 Dong Den, Ward 14, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City.
- Office / factory: Lot MM3-2, Road No. 4, Duc Hoa 1 Industrial Park, My Hanh Commune, Duc Hoa, Tay Ninh.
- Technical advice hotline:(+84) 933 357 058 – Mr. Thinh
Why choose Tan Long for industrial air coolers?
Tan Long is a refrigeration engineering joint stock company with more than 20 years in industrial refrigeration, serving seafood and food processing plants and large-scale cold stores across Vietnam.
- In-house manufacturing: its own factory in Duc Hoa 1 Industrial Park, Tay Ninh (formerly Long An), with no dependence on outside subcontractors.
- Turnkey D&B capability: design and construction under one roof, reducing the risk of a gap between the drawings and what is actually installed.
- Complete documentation: equipment is handed over with technical files and CO/CQ certificates of origin.
- Engineers with field experience: advice based on each plant's actual system configuration rather than selling from a catalogue.
- Support after handover: the technical team is on hand for operation and maintenance throughout the equipment's life.
For advice on a specific configuration, please contact Tan Long's engineering team or see the projects already delivered.
How an air cooler works
An air cooler works on the reverse Rankine cycle: refrigerant in a liquid-vapour mixture enters the coil through the expansion valve, and the pressure drop lowers the evaporating temperature below the cold room temperature. That temperature difference (ΔT, typically 5°C to 12°C or 9°F to 22°F) drives heat transfer from the air into the refrigerant.
The sequence is: air in the cold room contacts the cold aluminium fin surface, heat passes into the tube carrying the refrigerant, the refrigerant absorbs the latent heat of vaporisation and evaporates completely, and the vapour returns through the suction line to the compressor to continue the cycle. Refrigeration compressor acts as a heat pump, moving heat out of the cold room through the condenser.
What matters in the design is choosing the right ΔT. A small ΔT (3°C to 5°C, or 5°F to 9°F) keeps humidity higher in the room, suiting fresh fruit and vegetables. A large ΔT (8°C to 12°C, or 14°F to 22°F) suits deep-freeze stores, where humidity control is not the priority.
Reputable industrial air cooler brands distributed by Tan Long
Currently, Tan Long is a direct distributor of industrial refrigeration from renowned manufacturers whose quality has been proven in the Vietnamese and international markets. Depending on project scale and actual storage needs, customers can choose from the following ranges:
| Trademark | Origin | Key features |
| Guentner (Güntner) | Virtue | Eurovent certified, with a wide capacity range and air throw up to 45 m (about 148 ft). |
| Thermofin | Virtue | A range optimised for natural refrigerants such as NH3 and CO₂. |
| Kelvion | Virtue | Meets the highest technical standards for large-scale industrial refrigeration systems. |
| Eden | Singapore | Designed specifically for tropical climates, with easy maintenance and cleaning. |
| Mecluck | Shanghai | A cost-optimised solution for small and medium cold storage projects that still delivers the required performance. |
Each of these brands serves a different segment and project type. At tanlongvn.com, Tan Long's experienced engineers always base their advice on the actual calculated heat load of each cold storage system. Choosing the right type of industrial refrigeration not only protects the life of the refrigeration compressor but also optimises long-term operating cost.
NH3 or Freon air coolers — which is right?
The refrigerant choice is tied to system scale and to food safety requirements.
- NH3 (ammonia R717) air coolers suit large systems from 200 kW upwards (170,000 BTU/h) and are common in seafood processing plants and industrial-park-scale cold stores. NH3 has a heat transfer coefficient about 40% higher than Freon and consumes 10% to 15% less electricity for the same cooling capacity. Note: NH3 is toxic above 25 ppm and requires steel or cast iron coil materials, never copper or copper alloys.
- Freon air coolers (R404A, R507, R134a) suit small and medium systems from 10 kW to 150 kW (8,500 to 128,000 BTU/h) and are safer in areas where people work regularly. Standard copper tube and aluminium fins, with initial installation cost about 15% to 20% lower than NH3.
Tan Long advises on refrigerant choice using three factors: total required cooling capacity, the industry served (food, pharmaceutical, chemical), and the 10-year operating budget.
Equipment that works alongside the air cooler
An air cooler only performs correctly when the rest of the system is sized to match:
- Refrigeration compressor — supplies the cooling capacity to the coil. Compressor capacity and coil area must match the actual heat load.
- Evaporative condenser — rejects the heat outside, closing the cycle.
- Fish room air coolers — a dedicated variant for seafood preparation areas, built to withstand damp conditions and frequent washdown.
- Industrial cold storage — where the air cooler is installed, which determines the layout and the number of units.
See the full range of industrial refrigeration equipment built by Tan Long.
Frequently asked questions about industrial air coolers
How does an industrial air cooler differ from a domestic one?
An industrial air cooler is rated from 5 kW to several hundred kW, runs continuously 20 to 24 hours a day, and has an automatic defrost system and high-speed forced-draught fans. A domestic evaporator (in a household refrigerator) is rated under 1 kW, has no dedicated forced-draught fan, and needs no complex automatic defrost system.
How often should an air cooler be cleaned?
An air cooler in a food processing plant needs cleaning once or twice a week with low-pressure water, alongside the scheduled defrost cycle. An air cooler in a frozen store with little goods movement needs cleaning once a month. Dirty aluminium fins cut the heat transfer coefficient by 5% to 15%, raising electricity consumption by the same order.
What causes excessive icing on an air cooler?
Common causes: an expansion valve opened too wide (more liquid flow than designed), defrost cycles that are too short or deliver too little heat, a faulty temperature sensor, or excessive humidity entering the room through damaged insulation panels. Tan Long provides scheduled inspection and system adjustment to catch these problems early.
Does Tan Long install air coolers outside Ho Chi Minh City?
Tan Long delivers projects nationwide, from Ca Mau and Soc Trang in the Mekong Delta seafood region to Nghe An and Ha Tinh in the central seafood processing region. The field technical team of more than 50 people reaches site within 24 to 48 hours of contract signature.
Request advice and a quotation
Tan Long designs and builds industrial refrigeration equipment at its plant in Duc Hoa 1 Industrial Park, Tay Ninh (formerly Long An), so capacity and dimensions can be adjusted to the actual site. Call 0933 357 058 (Mr. Thinh) or send a quotation request with your output per shift and your main product type.
