The short and simple answer is YES. It is, without a doubt, a PRCS. This debate is much like the “Is an Evaporative Condenser a PRCS” discussion. This week, I was presenting at the 2020 Refrigerating Engineers & Technicians Association (RETA) virtual conference, and my presentation was “Evaluating Your Ammonia Refrigeration System to determine if certain equipment is a Permit-Required Confined Space.” I used the Evaporative Condenser as my example. As I have written about several times, these condensers are, without a doubt, a PRCS, and this week, I received a new challenge from the ammonia refrigeration industry… somehow, a spiral freezer operating at -40ºF is how not a PRCS.
So, as I did with the condenser, let’s break this evaluation down so that it can be demonstrated that most, if not all, spiral freezers are, in fact a PRCS:
First Step – is the spiral freezer a Confined Space (CS)?
