oil leaks......

[gsxrsquid]

Got a call today on a climate master water source heat pump. 20 feet in the air hanging off the ceiling. Dripping oil. between the housing and secondary pan at least half a gallon of oil! oil all over. one compressor running and the other off. Shut the unit down and hook up guages. 0/0/ for the off line unit. Copeland scroll was replaced (not by me) a couple months ago. I mop up all the oil and spray piping with solvent to degrease and get it all nice and clean. put N2 on it and pump to 200 psi and hose everything down with big blue. not a bubble. within 15 minutes pressure down to 135. hmmmmmmm. too noisey to hear anything. tomorrow I will check evap but dont think it came from evap because it would have drained down and no oil at all above comp level. I checked the oil port on the running unit and it has oil so the oil had to come from off line unit. I checked to make sure it hadn't blown pins and it hadn't. We checked this unit a week or so and no oil so whatever happened should be obvious...... LOL or not.
Both comps have been changed and all the brazing is pretty sad.

[r422a]

Check the brazed joint where the refrigerant line joins the water line at the tube in tube heat exchanger. We have repaired about a dozen leaks at this joint on ClimateMaster heat pump units.

[kuhnhunter]

Also check for hairline crack on discharge line at compressor, normally right in the elbow very close to the compressor.

[gsxrsquid]

I used whole bottle of big blue. soaked ever inch of line coming from comp all the way to heat exchanger. I would think as fast as it it losing pressure it would be blowing bubbles like crazy. When I get back this morning I will pull a vacuum and put some gas in it and break out the leak detector and see if that helps. The only time I have seen that much oil was either a long time leak or the pins blown out on comp. Neither happened in this case. I'm learning something new every day. lol

[Randy S.]

I had a couple of 5 ton Copeland cans develop a crack where the internal supports are welded to the inside of the can.

Both were on early 90's Data-Aire units.

[gsxrsquid]

I think Randy hit. Put oil in it and 70 psi N2 and waited. before too long a little pool was forming. about 1 1/2 inches above the weld line there is a round spot about 3/8" and a pin hole in the middle of the weld. Comp is only 3 months old. On of the guys in the shop today says he has had hal a dozen copelands with the same problem and all scrolls. I appreciate the ideas!

[psychometric]

I've had a few Mammoth WSHP's leak at the reversing valve solenoid stem. The little metal cap wore a small hole in the stem, not the first spot I would check either.

[agrv8d]

With a fast enough leak you won't get bubbles. It'll just blow the fluid right off of the line without making bubbles. Have had the cores leaking badly more than once on many different units and you don't find that unless ya take your hoses off.