r-22 mcquay chiller

[hvac1973]

I'm new at working on chillers. I 'm working on an older Mcquay high pressure chiller that has no Freon in it. Some of the guys say there is a leak in the evaporator barrel. There is water running through the barrel. Will water get into the refrigerate system. I'm willing to learn teach me.

[beenthere]

Moved to chillers forum.

[ga1279]

While I can appreciate your wanting to learn chillers " Baptism by fire" at this point is not the time or place to do it. There are far too many variables to deal with in your case. The best educational idea I can give you is to call a well seasoned tech, stand back and take good notes. -GEO

[troubleshootin]

To answer your question directly, water will only enter the refrigerant circuit if the pressure on the water side is greater than the pressure on the refrigerant side. If the refrigerant has completely leaked out, water has likely made its way in there. Like GA1279 said, there are MANY things to consider here. An eddy current needs to be done to determine the integrity of the tubes in the evap barrel. You can plug tubes if they are compromised, any then leak check the system again. You'll likely have to change the oil in the compressor, im assuming they are old recipe, and then evacuate the system to remove the rest of the moisture. This will be expensive for the customer, make sure you have the resources before taking on a job like this one.

[Nuclrchiller]

I can't help but wonder why "some of the guys" aren't teaching you. Are they not experienced on chillers, either?

[manny238]

I'm new at working on chillers. I 'm working on an older Mcquay high pressure chiller that has no Freon in it. Some of the guys say there is a leak in the evaporator barrel. There is water running through the barrel. Will water get into the refrigerate system. I'm willing to learn teach me.

You can start by looking for the I.O.M. for the chiller so you can get somewhat familiar with what your looking at , but like already stated you might want to get someone with more experience with chillers and ask ask ask questions. Good Luck buddy.

[socotech]

Are "those guys" that say evap is leaking guessing? I would put nitrogen in and leak search before I assume chiller barrel is leaking. How long has the chiller been down?

[ryan1088]

Are "those guys" that say evap is leaking guessing? I would put nitrogen in and leak search before I assume chiller barrel is leaking. How long has the chiller been down?

Ya do a leak test before assuming anything. You also didn't give us a model number either so we know what kind of evaporator we're talking about...

[jayguy]

...I'm willing to learn teach me.

i am willing to teach...but you need to reply back when you are being taught.

[hvac1973]

sorry guys for not getting back faster. found a leak at sight glass made repair. about the leak in the evap. barrel. I leak checked with nitrogen 100 psig for one hour. no drop in pressure. pulled vacuum down to 700 micron let set over night raised back to 730 micron the next morning. get me on the right track PLEASE.

[carmon]

the right track is learning before you go into action..... hope all worked out for you....

[manny238]

U should try to pull the circuit down below 500 microns. If u can't get it below 500 u might have leak or contamination in the system. How big is the chiller or the circuit u are working on ?

[jayguy]

U should try to pull the circuit down below 500 microns...

agreed. go lower. below 500 microns is better but lower is best. lower and holding is an even better proof to a non leaking system. keep in mind that some things leak under a vacuum and some things leak under pressure so continue to leak check. since this is a unit that has had a lot of issues, you need to keep going until you checked everything several times and then several times again.

[ryan1088]

agreed. go lower. below 500 microns is better but lower is best. lower and holding is an even better proof to a non leaking system. keep in mind that some things leak under a vacuum and some things leak under pressure so continue to leak check. since this is a unit that has had a lot of issues, you need to keep going until you checked everything several times and then several times again.

This is solid advice considering you have no idea how long the system was open for. Sometimes bigger machines take forever to get to 500 microns (days not hours). With that being said, if this isn't a critical unit, take your time and do everything correctly the way it needs to be done.

[KnewYork]

This is solid advice considering you have no idea how long the system was open for. Sometimes bigger machines take forever to get to 500 microns (days not hours). With that being said, if this isn't a critical unit, take your time and do everything correctly the way it needs to be done.
I disagree with the premise a flooded chiller has to be evacuated to 500 microns. The OP said he got to 700 microns and after sitting overnight it was 730 microns. That is excellent in my book. Field evacuations of 5 mm was the acceptable standard for York flooded chillers. (That's 5000 microns, so 700 with a rise of 30 in twelve hours is more than acceptable by those standards.)

[hvac1973]

ONE OF YOU GUYS ASK FOR M/N WHR060B1 MCQUAY

[Nuclrchiller]

I disagree with the premise a flooded chiller has to be evacuated to 500 microns. The OP said he got to 700 microns and after sitting overnight it was 730 microns. That is excellent in my book. Field evacuations of 5 mm was the acceptable standard for York flooded chillers. (That's 5000 microns, so 700 with a rise of 30 in twelve hours is more than acceptable by those standards.)

Agreed. When I was reading this thread I was thinking "well, what about the guys saying it has a leaking evaporator?" Well, even if I had repaired the evap, these numbers are still good. If you're (the OP) concerned about whether or not it is leaking, go ahead and drop the heads and test it. But a 30 micron rise overnight? I probably won't even see that on a mercury manometer, and I trust that over an electronic micron gauge.

[hvac1973]

about the leak in the evap. or cond. barrel I thought that I would have or get water in the compressor oil or multiple compressor failure. no different then an air to air system. if this has been going on for a year or two.

[milkyway]

i know r22 for 30 lbs is $400.00

WHAT!!!!!

[md master]

I disagree with the premise a flooded chiller has to be evacuated to 500 microns. The OP said he got to 700 microns and after sitting overnight it was 730 microns. That is excellent in my book. Field evacuations of 5 mm was the acceptable standard for York flooded chillers. (That's 5000 microns, so 700 with a rise of 30 in twelve hours is more than acceptable by those standards.)

In McQuay school/ staunton Va. many moons ago..... they at the factory only pull brand new chillers to 1000 microns before charging. 700 rising to 730 overnight is dang good. I'd like to see it lower just for the due diligence of making sure no miosture contaminants are in the machine but only rising 30 microns don't sound bad. I would have pressure tested with nitrogen before pulling a vaccum if "others" were telling you of an evaporator leak so you you don't inadvertantly pull water in but it sounds like you survived.

[hvac1973]

Hi guys, sorry about not getting back faster to you.I have had a lot going on. Yes I think I survived so far no problems with chiller. I was always told 500 microns is the magic number for a good vacuum in a refrigeration system. About the leak we will know in about 6 months. They say that is how long it will take to leak down. Good or bad I like the feed back. KEEP ME ON THE RIGHT TRACK PLEASE GUYS!! I'm a Diamond in the rough.

[hvac1973]

HI GUYS I'M BACK, THE MCQUAY CHILLER IS DOING FINE. NO COMPLAINTS. BUT NOW I'M LOOKING INTO A TRANE CHILLER M# RTWA125. I CHECK THIS CHILLER EVERY MORNING. I HAVE NOTICE THAT IT HAS A NON LATCHING ALARM (LOW CHILL WATER TEMPATURE). DO YOU GUYS THINK THAT IT LOST IT SETTINGS. THIS SYSTEM DOES HAVE A CONDENSER WATER BYPASS. THEY SENT SOMEBODY OVER THERE TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT. I DO NOT KNOW WHO. BUT IT IS STILL DOING THE SAME THING. I RATHER ASK YOU GUYS THEN TO GET TREATED LIKE A MUSHROOM. IF YOU NEED MORE INFO JUST LET ME KNOW. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP.

[socotech]

Set point? Approach? H2o temps? Need more info

[Nuclrchiller]

Yep, a full set of logs, including entering and leaving water pressures (taken with a single gauge) would help. Also, what is normal operation of this chiller? Does it run 24/7? Is it turned off every night? My initial concern would be chilled water flow, and the integrity of the chilled water flow switch. Also, first 4 digits/letters of serial number would help, so we can determine what control panel it has. Or you could just tell us which one is on it. I have seen historical diagnostics reported by owners as current, active diagnostics. Not saying that is the case here, just pointing out the difficulties of "remote" troubleshooting with a lack of info.

[hvac1973]

GOTCHA GUYS WORKING ON THE DATA LOG. IT MIGHT TAKE ME WHILE JUST BEAR WITH ME PLEASE. FLOW SWITCH HAS BEEN CHANGED, THIS CHILLER DOES TURN OFF BY OUTSIDE AIR & BMS.

[KnewYork]

GOTCHA GUYS WORKING ON THE DATA LOG. IT MIGHT TAKE ME WHILE JUST BEAR WITH ME PLEASE. FLOW SWITCH HAS BEEN CHANGED, THIS CHILLER DOES TURN OFF BY OUTSIDE AIR & BMS.Did your caps lock key get stuck? Please unstick it. It appears you are yelling at us. I, for one, would rather see no caps rather than all caps.:whistle:

[txhvac]

RTWA, as requested by others put up a log sheet. Low water temp can be anything from a sensor to a load solenoid, controller, exvs, water flows etc.