Carrier Conversions

[chiller-thriller]

Has anyone reading this converted a Carrier 19DK...,or any other low pressure Carrier to run on R123, if so, how'd it go? Would you again? Any special considerations? I'm told its been done with success, but I think engineers will tell you anything they want you to hear. Any and all input will be appreciated, THANKS.

[jaymax]

Not Worth the trouble to convert these old chillers.Every Gasket and Oring has to be replaced and Motor has to be rewound just to be compatible with R123.Parts are starting to disappear for these old machines fast. Look at a carrier parts book all you see is (part no longer available).These old carriers are at the end of there usefull life. A new machine is the way to go

[nun]

Carrier does not ever offer a kit. Everyone is going to high pressure machines. Even Trane is making them for across seas installations. It is only a matter of time be for they start selling them here in the states. I think they had some deal with dupont. Dont remember the details.

[chiller mekanik]

We converted a 19DH several years back, jaymax & nun bring up some good points. First of all, Carrier offers no support on this, you are on your own. Second, you do have to replace every o-ring & gasket along with the motor work. This is a huge expense. We didn't quite know what to do with the metering device so we left it alone. We sent the wheel off & had another one made that was designed more aggresively. Everything about it was somewhat of a guess, our best guess. In the end it turned out ok, according to our calculations there was no reduction in tonnage. There are several of these types of machines still out there that are still kicking, 19DG, DH, DK & DM plus a few that I'm probably not thinking about. If its up to me, I say ride it out. Even if you have a machine that is due for a re o-ring & gasket job, thats exactly what I would do, replace the o-rings & gaskets. I've converted a few of the Trane machines & even installed some CodePacs on some York equip. If I had it to do again on any of them, I wouldn't. If you do decide to proceed make double sure you get a fresh eddy current before the first bolt is turned. R-11 is available & you can buy alot of it for the cost of a conversion.JMHO.

[techtalker]

Depending on the year of manufacture, a 19DK may already be R-123 compatable, with the o-rings and the motor designed for use with R-123. Contact the order correspondant at Carrier's RCD and give them the serial number of the unit. They can confirm if it was built with the newer design components. Once you determine that, you will be on your own as far as the conversion itself. You will need a new impeller if you want to try to maintain lift and tonnage, and you may need a new larger motor depending on how much more power the compressor needs to draw. The other way would be to retube the unit to newer higher performance tubing to help reduce compressor lift and reduce power consumption. There are a couple of companies out there that will select and design the impeller.
Good luck.

[acjourneyman]

Just put a three wheeler on top of the old unishell and throw the old compressor away.This works great if you can't get a new chiller in and is a far cry better than sticking any high pressure piece of junk in there.Say no to high pressure, keep them over in Europe.