copelamatic compressor making noise

[helgy]

Hey guys I'm checking out a Copeland M# ERF1-0310-TAC-218. This compressor serves a walk in cooler. It was holding temp ok and pressures were good. But the customer was complaining ab out the loud almost like tick nouse it was making. I thought maybe one the reed valves starting to go bad. Called local rep. And he agreed. I pulled the head and all looks ok. Any other ideas. Let me know. Thanks.

[Tommy knocker]

Is it a tic or a knock? Pull the oil and check for steel.

[monkeyspanners]

If its spring mounted they can vibrate against then mounting bolts if they are overtightened, springs broke, or rubber buffers worn away.

If the noise is in the compressor a stethoscope can help track down where its coming from. Does the noise change if the running pressure change?

When you had the head off, could you feel any play in the rod bearings bearings? Bad valves can lead to wear in the little end bearings as they never unload to allow the oil to get round.

[Phase Loss]

on checking for any play. the connecting rod bearings could be starting to get oblong, causing the piston to slightly tap the valve plate.

[codgy]

this is copelands largest unit without an oil pump so rod wear at the wrist pin is common w/ age. Have had them last many more years if noise is not an issue.

[xpuser357]

Also seen where wrist pin would ping against cylinder causing deep grooves.

[monkeyspanners]

Heres a Bristol comp that suffered a conrod failure due to bad valves, you can see the grove worn in the bore that xpuser357 mentions,



You may want to skip the first few minutes, or indeed the whole vid, suit youselves

[Capz]

I was checking a smaller 1hp semi-hermetic Copeland refr system today with a ticking sound It was dated 1983 and still working. pressures good, cooler down to 36F. I have another with similar set up, the 1hp semi-hermetic Copeland always ticked, always sounded worn out & dead but continued to work until a few months ago. It was dated '79. I wouldn't worry bout it. But a knock is a different issue.

[craig1]

I often see ticking and light knocks on these smaller compressors after a low refrigerant incident. When the refrigerant gets low enough, the oil doesn't return properly and the compressor runs out of oil. If the low charge is corrected soon enough, the oil returns and everything goes back to normal before serious damage happens and the only sign it ever happened is the ticking.

On a tear down, the signs of this is a worn rod on the cylinder farthest from the motor for non-oil pump models, or a worn rod closer to the motor for models with an oil pump.

if it really is a light ticking I leave it alone. If its gotten to the point of a light or heavy knock, then I put new rods in it. once the rods get bad enough, they'll snap and cause serious damage.

[engineerdave]

Heres a Bristol comp that suffered a conrod failure due to bad valves, you can see the grove worn in the bore that xpuser357 mentions,



You may want to skip the first few minutes, or indeed the whole vid, suit youselves

Nice job on the video. You have WAAAAAAY too much spare time!