Independent Tecogen equipment guide
Tecogen Chiller Buyers: Map the Complete Tecochill System
Selling a used Tecogen chiller starts with more than a model number. Map the nameplate, engine-driven or hybrid configuration, refrigeration information, heat-recovery equipment if present, controls, condition, and site boundaries. Surplus Chiller Buyer is independent and is not affiliated with Tecogen, Inc. “Tecogen” and “Tecochill” identify equipment a seller may submit for buyer evaluation.
Tecochill equipment record
Map the engine-driven chiller before requesting review
Send the facts that identify the exact Tecogen-manufactured chiller and the equipment around it. Include the readable nameplate, full-machine views, engine and compressor information when accessible, refrigerant shown on the unit or records, controls, heat-recovery equipment if present, current condition, included components, exact location, access, and realistic release facts. A complete map helps a prospective buyer understand the actual opportunity. It is not an offer or a promise to purchase or provide any site, removal, freight, rigging, dismantling, demolition, refrigerant, timing, or project service. Every possible transaction and responsibility remains subject to equipment-specific review and written terms.
Useful facts to have ready
- A sharp, readable photo of each Tecogen or TECOCHILL nameplate, with model and serial number typed exactly as shown; do not assign a series from appearance.
- Wide photos of the entire chiller, control cabinet/display, engine or driveline area where safely accessible, compressor area, and every accessible identification tag.
- The observed configuration: water-cooled or air-cooled; engine-driven or hybrid if supported; single or dual driveline if supported; and the refrigerant shown on the machine or records. Mark unknown facts as unknown.
- Photos and a written list of chilled-water connections, condenser-water or tower connections for water-cooled equipment, air-cooled coil and fan sections where present, and optional heat-recovery piping, heat exchangers, load modules, or skids.
- Current operating status, last known run date and engine hours if known, known alarms, leaks, repairs, removed parts, storage conditions, available maintenance records, and any emissions-control or monitoring equipment that is actually installed.
- Exact U.S. location, installed/disconnected/stored status, utility and piping boundaries, equipment elevation, access route, seller authority, open approvals, and proposed release date.
Establish the exact product record
Start with the unit that is actually at the site.
Primary seller task: Build a Tecochill driveline-and-boundary map. Tecogen’s current chiller information distinguishes water-cooled TECOCHILL STx and DTx equipment from Hybrid Drive air-cooled equipment. The water-cooled page describes engine-driven equipment, while the Hybrid Drive page describes a packaged air-cooled line that can use both a natural-gas engine and electricity. Those current categories are useful clues, but they do not prove the identity, capacity, refrigerant, option set, or status of an older machine. The readable nameplate, serial-specific records, and visible configuration must lead the seller’s description.
Do not rely on a building schedule, a former employee’s description, or a similar-looking enclosure to identify the offered unit. Match the full-unit photographs to the exact nameplate and label every machine separately when a site has more than one chiller. If a legacy Tecogen unit cannot be matched to current web documentation, retain the uncertainty and submit the best available records rather than claiming a successor relationship or product-line status.
- Photograph the full Tecogen or TECOCHILL nameplate straight on, plus every auxiliary engine, compressor, controller, and skid tag that is readable.
- Type model and serial information character-for-character, including prefixes, suffixes, and the number of machines offered.
- State whether the machine is visibly water-cooled or air-cooled, but mark the configuration unknown if the evidence does not support a conclusion.
- Photograph the complete enclosure or frame from all accessible sides so the nameplate can be tied to the physical machine.
- Separate an actual Tecogen chiller from nearby generators, pumps, boilers, cooling-tower components, or building equipment that is not included.
Document both sides of the machine
A Tecochill review needs the driveline facts and the cooling facts.
Current Tecogen information describes the water-cooled STx/DTx line as natural-gas-engine-driven equipment with variable-speed single-screw rotary compressors and HFC-134a refrigerant. Tecogen’s current Hybrid Drive air-cooled page identifies R513A refrigerant and a natural-gas-engine/electric operating arrangement. These are current product-page descriptions, not a substitute for a used unit’s tags, labels, or records. A seller should report the actual refrigerant and hardware shown on the offered unit and identify any point that cannot be verified.
For a used machine, capture the relationship between the engine or driveline, compressor area, refrigeration controls, and operating record. Engine hours, maintenance history, fault screens, and control labels can help explain condition, but they do not prove present operation or buyer interest. Do not turn off, start, disconnect, open, or disturb equipment to create a submission. Photograph only what can be safely and lawfully accessed under site procedures.
Define what leaves with the chiller
Make the heat and water connections visible before anyone assumes what is included.
Heat recovery is a material identification issue for Tecogen equipment. Tecogen’s current water-cooled materials describe available engine-jacket and exhaust heat recovery, and its current chiller overview describes optional waste-heat recovery. A water-cooled chiller can also have chilled-water and condenser-water connections, while current Hybrid Drive air-cooled equipment is described as packaged air-cooled. The exact unit may have different options, so the seller must map the hardware at the site rather than copy a current configuration onto an older machine.
The chiller is not automatically the same thing as its connected plant. A heat exchanger, recovery loop, pumps, load module, building controls, cooling-tower loop, valves, piping, sensors, or skid may be included, excluded, shared, removed, or still needed by the facility. Put each boundary in writing. This allows a buyer to review the machine record without assuming ownership of connected equipment or responsibility for any disconnection, isolation, drainage, removal, or restoration work.
Keep records tied to the actual unit
Save the documents that explain the machine’s engine, controls, and site context.
Tecogen’s current water-cooled page lists optional emissions controls and identifies Ultera as a retrofit option for an existing natural-gas-fueled system. Tecogen also describes remote monitoring and service programs for its own equipment. Those pages do not establish that a particular surplus unit has emissions equipment, an active agreement, remote-monitoring access, available parts, a transferable contract, or manufacturer support. Only submit an air-permit record, monitoring label, service agreement, or equipment option when it belongs to the exact offered unit and the seller is authorized to share it.
Good records are evidence, not warranties. Preserve maintenance reports, engine and compressor work history, controller screenshots, service invoices, drawings, air-permit correspondence if applicable, and records of removed or replaced components with the serial number they support. Surplus Chiller Buyer does not represent Tecogen, does not provide Tecogen service, and does not promise any manufacturer, contractor, permit, parts, monitoring, or compliance outcome.
Keep equipment review separate from project work
State what is connected, what remains open, and when the unit could be released.
An installed Tecogen chiller may still have natural-gas, electrical, chilled-water, condenser-water, heat-recovery, exhaust, controls, and refrigerant boundaries at the facility. Describe those facts, the exact unit location, elevation, access route, staging constraints, site controls, and release timing. A buyer review does not mean Surplus Chiller Buyer will inspect, purchase, pay for, pick up, remove, rig, dismantle, demolish, transport, recover refrigerant from, or otherwise service the machine. If any work is proposed, it remains conditional and must be assigned in written terms.
If a unit is proposed for on-site dismantling or cut-up rather than intact transfer, flag that before seeking evaluation. EPA states that chillers and other equipment typically dismantled on-site before disposal must have refrigerant recovered under the applicable servicing requirements before disposal. EPA also requires technicians who maintain, service, repair, or dispose of equipment that could release refrigerant to be certified under Section 608. These rules inform seller planning; they do not make Surplus Chiller Buyer the refrigerant contractor or responsible party for the work.
Frequently asked questions
Before you send the chiller.
If your machine does not fit a standard category, submit the available details anyway. Clear photographs and a readable nameplate often establish whether more information is worthwhile.
What should I send to a Tecogen chiller buyer first?
Start with a readable Tecogen or TECOCHILL nameplate and wide photographs of the whole machine. Add safe, accessible views of the engine/driveline, compressor area, controls, water or air side, heat-recovery equipment if present, current condition, included components, exact location, and release facts. The useful first record maps the complete system rather than using “gas chiller” as the entire description.
How do I know whether my Tecochill is water-cooled, air-cooled, engine-driven, or Hybrid Drive?
Use the nameplate, serial-specific documentation, and visible connections. Tecogen’s current official pages distinguish water-cooled STx/DTx engine-driven equipment from Hybrid Drive air-cooled equipment, but older units and installed options can differ. Submit the evidence you have and mark the classification unknown rather than assigning a series or configuration by appearance.
Does optional heat recovery change what I am offering for sale?
It can. Heat-recovery piping, heat exchangers, load modules, pumps, valves, sensors, and connected building equipment may have a different ownership or release status from the chiller. List each item as included, excluded, shared, still connected, removed, or unknown. Do not assume a buyer is taking connected plant equipment or handling isolation, drainage, disconnection, removal, or restoration.
Are engine hours, air-permit records, monitoring screenshots, and service documents useful?
They can be useful when they clearly belong to the exact machine. Share engine-hour readings when visible, maintenance and repair records that identify the unit, and any applicable air-permit or emissions-equipment documentation you are authorized to provide. Those records support a condition discussion but do not prove present operation, future support, regulatory compliance, buyer interest, or a purchase.
Is Surplus Chiller Buyer part of Tecogen, and will it handle removal or refrigerant work?
No. Surplus Chiller Buyer is independent and is not affiliated with Tecogen, Inc. The company is a prospective direct buyer of used and surplus industrial chillers, not a Tecogen dealer, OEM service provider, or inventory seller. Submitting a unit does not guarantee a purchase, price, payment, pickup, removal, freight, rigging, dismantling, demolition, refrigerant handling, timing, local office, or project service. If an opportunity advances, any responsibility must be evaluated and confirmed in writing.
Authoritative references
Source material behind this seller guide.
These external manufacturer and government sources support the equipment terminology and planning context used above. They do not establish the condition, configuration, safety, compliance, or transaction fit of a specific chiller.