Trane rooftop

[evad102]

Does Trane have a TEV retrofit kit for there 12.5 ton Voyager units, I have one that had the lower third of the evaporator coil frozen back to the compressors on both circuits. It is in the process on melting out as i am typing this, i will be checking pressures and temperatures in the morning, late last summer i split the coils and washed them out, they where very dirty. If installing TEV's is not possible, what do you guy's recommend for a fix?

Unit model TCD150C30ACA, serial R28103977D

[cmajerus]

If its not low on charge, then I would say a new evap is in order, unless you want to get creative like some of the guys here and retro it to a homemade TXV setup. Just make sure it is restricted before condemning the coil they ain't cheap.

[jayguy]

it is possible that the liquid line filter drier came apart and plugged up the orifices. i have taken the header apart before, cleaned it out and rebrazed it back together...a lot of work! if you already have it apart that far, buy the TXV kit for your unit and install it...you get better control of the unit...etc.

call your local trane distributor and get the kit (1 for each refrigerant circuit).

good luck.

[cmajerus]

it is possible that the liquid line filter drier came apart and plugged up the orifices. i have taken the header apart before, cleaned it out and rebrazed it back together...a lot of work! if you already have it apart that far, buy the TXV kit for your unit and install it...you get better control of the unit...etc.

call your local trane distributor and get the kit (1 for each refrigerant circuit).

good luck.

they have a kit? cool. have never needed to look into it before.

[lipsoffurry]

Good luck with finding that kit. I understand that it is only avaible down to the 15 ton. I would check that line drier's temp. drop with the head over 300 psi. You might get lucky and find a kit for a 180 or sell em' a new coil.

[aceinstaller]

why not replace the drier, clean the orifice, and flush lines with nitrogen? if in fact it is a restriction after you thaw the ice.

I have more problems with txv valves than orifice systems. just be sure to put a freeze stat on the suction line, and make sure theres a head pressure control to the cond fan if they use the unit year round.

[evad102]

Here are some numbers i got yesterday:

50 psi suction, 30 degree super heat at evaporator
205 psi disch, 28 degree subcooling
72 degree return air, 73 degree ambiant
TD accross filter dryers was about .5 degree

The air flow thru the evaporator is good, condenser was split and cleaned last summer- they where very dirty. I spoke to the Trane sales office about this and
they recommended I look for low refrigerant charge rather than refrigerant distribution problems, I had previously checked for leaks, but I will recover all gas and see how much I remove, then go from there.

PS How would you recommend cleaning the orifices?

[txhvac]

Here are some numbers i got yesterday:

50 psi suction, 30 degree super heat at evaporator
205 psi disch, 28 degree subcooling
72 degree return air, 73 degree ambiant
TD accross filter dryers was about .5 degree

The air flow thru the evaporator is good, condenser was split and cleaned last summer- they where very dirty. I spoke to the Trane sales office about this and
they recommended I look for low refrigerant charge rather than refrigerant distribution problems, I had previously checked for leaks, but I will recover all gas and see how much I remove, then go from there.

PS How would you recommend cleaning the orifices?

If you have a restriction in the orifices, a way you can check this is run the compressor w/out the indoor fan, watch your frost line on your caps, they all should freeze ROUGHLY 30-45 seconds, if you get 1-2 that do not freeze or take much longer to frost, that is strong suspect for your restriction. Trane does have a kit, but like others have said god luck. You can build your own, count the number of orfices on the evaporator feed. That will be the number of caps coming off the distributer. Size up your liquid line, and txv for the circuit, extra fittings...there ya go. Does the stage have crankcase heater on it? Or are you running one leg of the compressor hot? Hope this can help.

[John Culpepper]

Trane sells orfice tube headers, I put one in last year. It sucks to weld one in though.

[txhvac]

Trane sells orfice tube headers, I put one in last year. It sucks to weld one in though.

If you're in a bind, go back w/ a header. If you can it's better to retrofit in a txv, the orifices are so small, Carriers old 48TJD's had to be the worst, it does not take much at all to plug those up.

[John Culpepper]

The only time I've had to replace a header is when a liquid line filter let its guts go. I have never had any problems after replacing the stock filter with an after market one.

[aceinstaller]

when the refrigerant is recovered and the lines are open to replace filter drier, cut the suction line in a spot where it would be easy to braze a coupling. purge nitrogen into the suction while holding a clean rag over the high side end. see what type of debris(if any) comes out. but replacing the header would be the sure thing if you think that they're plugged.