RSI Installs Commercial Refrigeration for Allen ISD

Refrigerated Specialist Inc (RSI) not only does refrigeration installations for small restaurant systems, but also large industrial sized systems for schools and municipalities. The Allen ISD Service Center provides a perfect example of RSI’s installation services in a large, multi-team project.

Allen ISD New Service Center

 

The Allen Independent School District’s new service center, located at 1451 N. Watters Road Allen TX, 75013, is a 133,000 square foot $36 million complex.

The food service portion comprises 12,731 square feet at just under $4 million. This area includes a cooler, a massive drive-in freezer, a training kitchen, and staff office space. The team completed the facility in time for it to opening in the 2015 school year.

PBK presentation image: Floor plan detail of Allen ISD new service center food service area

The Refrigeration Installations Team

The Project Manager from PBK, Karl A. Prinz, led the multi-team group. Additionally, the multi-team unit included Pogue as the GC with equipment supplied by Kirby Restaurant Supply in Longview, TX. The team also included Scott Allred as the consultant. Refrigerated Design Technologies (RDT) of Waxahachie, TX is the manufacturer of the refrigeration compressor rack system. Hayden White, also contracted by Kirby Restaurant Supply, installed the ThermoKool walk-in panel system. This also included hanging the electric warehouse doors and evaporator coils.

RSI’s role: Complete Refrigeration Installations

Additionally, RSI was the refrigeration sub-contractor hired to do a complete refrigeration install for this project, which included:

• Installing all the refrigeration lines from the evaporator coils to the RDT refrigeration compressor rack that sits on the ground behind the building.
• Installing all of the condensate drain lines from the evaporator coils to the floor drains.
• Complete pressure test and evacuation of each refrigeration system.
• Perform start-up and calibration of the equipment.

RSI installed six compressors running six evaporator coils in the Allen ISD new service center food service area.

Massive Refrigerated Space

The overall size of the building is quite large and designed to accommodate the complete Allen ISD. So, the three distinct areas of the building include a refrigerated space, a freezer space, and a cooler space.

PBK presentation image: Floor plan detail of Allen ISD new service center food service area

The Freezer System

The freezer space is built with the ThermoKool Panel System, which is approximately 82′ 5” long by 45′ 5” wide and 24′ tall. It is also designed to run a temperature of -10 degrees Fahrenheit.

The RDT freezer system is powered by six 10-horsepower (HP) systems, which includes six compressors running six evaporator coils. Effectively, one compressor is matched up with one evaporator coil and all operate independently with separate controls and defrost cycles.

Wiring the evaporators 20 feet off the floor in the Allen ISD new service center food service area

The Cooler System

Again, the ThermoKool panel system encloses a space that is 45′ 5” long by is 30′ wide and 24′ tall. It also runs at a temperature of 35 degrees Fahrenheit. The cooler system is a three 5-HP system, which includes three compressors and three evaporator coils.

25-foot-tall supply pipes feeding evaporator coils and condensers of Allen ISD new service center food service area. The workers in the lower portion of the image give a reference of the scale of the project.

RSI’s CFESA Certified Team

Chris Akins headed the project for RSI. He also brought in an experienced CFESA certified crew to perform their portion of the install. Due to the nature of a large industrial installation like this, coordinating with the various parties is a monumental task. Therefore, RSI coordinated and scheduled their installation work in conjunction with the other sub-contractors on the timeline provided. When delays arose in one area, RSI transitioned to other parts of the refrigeration install and stayed ahead of the timeline.

“It is a lot more critical to have a plan of attack when you are working 25 feet off the floor installing and testing an evaporator. You don’t just walk to the truck because you forgot a connector. The experience our team has allowed them to know what they will need to install the system and work efficiently without wasted effort.”

Chris Akins, RSI

On such a large project like this, coordinating and working together with the other subs is always a challenge. Therefore, RSI’s longstanding relationships with the other contractors helps on projects this large as it is easier for RSI’s installers to self-manage themselves, within the boundaries of the project, and coordinate overlaps and delays as they arise.

The refrigeration pipes for the six compressors running to six evaporator coils above the freezer area.