Another Chiller Teardown & Rebuild

[mofotech]

Rob a while back we had a conversation and I remember something about you relocating to the Tampa area. Haha I'm not that good. But a Floridian can tell its definitely Florida.

Why not air run the McQuay.... Loose papers within 25 yards beware! No really a 126 unit 1,000 tonner would have a 12.6 inch wheel running at about 12,500 rpm after transition. The intake velocity might be extreme there for a minute and quite loud and dangerous. These units have expansion valves so the condenser would fill up almost immediately and the compressor would probably surge itself to pieces. Plus the chiller would be contaminated with air and moisture. Not as big of a deal with a low pressure Trane I'm sure.

It sure does look like Florida! LOL, nice job and man that chiller looks like it is no joke!

[Troy Love]

Thanks a lot for the comments, guys. I appreciate it.

AiResearch, as far as the hypothetical McQuay air-run goes, I will leave that one alone for now lol

Socotech, I do occasionally teach some classes for work now, although I would not call myself a seasoned instructor. I have a great deal of social anxiety and it's difficult for me to get up in front of people and be the center of attention and be the answer man. It never gets any easier for me, either... I guess I keep volunteering for it because I am a nerd and I do love to talk shop and share experiences with people who do the same stuff

Rob the picks and info is awesome , you just answered about about a million questions I had , reading about and seeing are two different things , maybe one day I'll get to do one , for someone who stands and wonders after reading lots of info the pics and comments really give me a better understanding , I wish there was more of this thanks again and cheers

[Tech Rob]

Glad you got something out of it, Troy! It sounds like you're getting good exposure to big duplex Trane machines where you work now, so you are already much farther along than I was when I turned out of my apprenticeship. As a newly minted journeyman, I was practically begging for the experience to take calls on air-cooled screw machines.

[Cooked]

I just saw this thread Rob. Awesome! I have a brand new 900 ton York with two 500 ton back-up Yorks all on a research laboratory. I also have a 100 ton York due for a rebuild 1st quarter 2013.

Just out of curiosity what refrigerant and how many pounds? Also do you know the motor HP and FLA?

After almost 40 years in this business I just graduated into the realm of these huge systems. It's pretty cool.

Once again Rob awesome pics! I'll try to get some more pics of my new playground soon.

[Tech Rob]

Motor RLA is 643 at 460VAC, if I remember correctly. That would make it a 512KW or 650HP. The nameplate charge was 1400# of R-123.

[ga1279]

Great pictures, isn't it nice to have room to work and put sections away from the job- GEO

[Tech Rob]

Great pictures, isn't it nice to have room to work and put sections away from the job- GEO

Thanks, and yes. It is very nice. Unfortunately, not all jobs are this clean, well lit, organized, or air-conditioned. The one just before this had none of those things in fact...

[heavymetaldad]

I just want to point out to some of the people viewing this Open Forum that Rob is being kind to share his experiences with us, and his purpose is not to educate, or train, to the point of anyone being qualified to perform this work (at least, I believe so). I especially am concerned with the folks who may be watching, but not participating in the discussion. There, I feel better now. Carry on. Oh, and I agree completely with the comment about making a great instructor.

yep. Kinda surprised Rob put this in the 'open' section

[juliop360]

Wow I would love to do that type of work. The only thing I have done on a chiller was clean the tubes and that was a pain in the ass job.The chiller we had was a 250 ton Trane lithium bromide absorption chiller at the college I used to work for.

[valdelocc]

yep. Kinda surprised Rob put this in the 'open' section

Yeah me too, I can only imagine all the DIY following the pictures and tearing chillers apart in a lonely basement near you. the cat is out of the bag and all hope is lost because of Rob.

[milkyway]

I wouldn't say that exactly,. You do know that building owners have brains and responsibility also,. I'm sure that they will know about the contractor and their cabilities befor giving the go ahead . With that being said, also, the person or persons attempting or bidding a teardown Like this would need to have the parts and the part numbers and the correct number to call for them,. U can't just to Walmart and say I need a lamybrith seal,. Journal bearing,. An inner and outer seal,. High and low speed,. 2 new flange gaskets,. For this ___ frame ,. Ect
Following,.

[Nuclrchiller]

This reminds me of a story I heard early in my career from one of my mentors. An owner had a motor burnout on a Trane sidewinder (model PCV or CVHA) and decided to replace the motor themselves. They disconnected the electrical, and removed the terminal-side motor housing bolts, and then chained the motor housing to a forklift (or something similar), and then they PULLED. That is, until they heard the sound of something inside "giving way". Yep, they completely skipped disassembling the compressor. I don't recall hearing what it was that broke.

[Tech Rob]

This reminds me of a story I heard early in my career from one of my mentors. An owner had a motor burnout on a Trane sidewinder (model PCV or CVHA) and decided to replace the motor themselves. They disconnected the electrical, and removed the terminal-side motor housing bolts, and then chained the motor housing to a forklift (or something similar), and then they PULLED. That is, until they heard the sound of something inside "giving way". Yep, they completely skipped disassembling the compressor. I don't recall hearing what it was that broke.

Those people are well-deserving of a Darwin Award. Stupidity of that magnitude is about as common as catching a glimpse of one of those comets or some other cosmic event that only appears once a century and the results are just as awe-inspiring and spectacular.

[Tech Rob]

Mods,

Could you please rename this thread "TechRob a professional HVAC tech teach you how to repair the centrifugal chiller from LaCrosse Wisconsin"

Just kidding

[milkyway]

MODS

No he's not lol- this is a special post in my opinion - with the detail and pics -

[AiResearch]

Hello Rob, could you or someone else identify that "propane tank" on the side of the condenser for those of us not intimately familiar with low pressure refrigeration?

It appears to be a factory item.

(it still amazes me. the size of that suction line. to think of the volume of gas going through there. much higher than r22 for example per ton)

Thanks again for sharing~

[milkyway]

I believe it just holds water/air/refrigerant/moisture/ to become a rust bucket??

[AiResearch]

So the purge discharges into the cylinder instead of the atmosphere?

[Tech Rob]

It purges through the tank. The tank is filled with carbon pellets that adsorb the stray refrigerant from the exhaust. The tanks are supposed to be changed every so often as they become saturated with refrigerant.

[Tech Rob]

MODS

No he's not lol- this is a special post in my opinion - with the detail and pics -

Haven't you seen the FengsHVAC threads? There's no way that anything I do can be anywhere near as good as Feng.