Possibly damaged from overpressure during defrost? Check for cpr leaking or wrong txv. Never seen that issue.
Went on a call for a warm 2 door reach in freezer. Found low charge. I had actually topped this thing up 6 months ago or so. At the time I found lots of oil around the k-body compressor so i tightened all the bolts etc.
This time I decided to scrub everything down and try finding the leak again since tightening the bolts didn't work. I sprayed it down with simple green and noticed bubbles coming from a crack in the oil pump housing. The crack was in the middle of the part, it did not go to an edge. Never seen anything like this before.
This is a 2 year old copeland factory rebuild that was installed by a competitor. I assume it was either a casting flaw or the compressor got dropped on the oil pump. I ordered a new pump housing.
Anyone ever seen something like this before?
Possibly damaged from overpressure during defrost? Check for cpr leaking or wrong txv. Never seen that issue.
I'd be more inclined to suspect a poor casting or impact damage as you thought.
FYI, K bodies do not have oil pumps. They are 'slinger' lubricated. That is just a bearing housing and cover.
This one does
heres the part I ordered
http://www.bradparts.com/CartGenie/prod-3615.htm
Its the first K I've seen with an oil pump.
The 1.5 HP KAL & KAT models do in fact have a positive displacement oil pump.
They don't need an oil failure control, so that may be the reason it goes unnoticed.
Well dang.
Learn something new every day.
Thanks.
I had an old KATB-015E at the shop, so I thought it would be educational to show some pics of the oil pump.
Here's the pump end view. Note there's no access ports for checking oil pressure:
This is a shot of the disassembled pump. You have to be gentle to get that dip tube out without breaking it off:
Never seen that before. Good to know it could happen though. Chances are its a Copeland casting anyway so I find it hard to blame that on a rebuilder.
I can see why a signed Christmas card might be more important than using original OEM parts from the company that designed the compressor.
Why would one ever need to purchase rods and pistons for a semi-hermetic compressor? They really don't lend themselves to field repair of that magnitude.
A Carrier 5H where you can replace the crankshaft, piston sleeves, etc....sure. But a somewhat accessible semi??? If the rods and/or pistons need replacing, the compressor needs replacing.
The Christmas card part was a joke. They do send one, but its not the reason I don't buy copeland parts. However, when I have a choice I'd rather support a small business than some multinational corporatation.
I repair lots of noisy compressors as preventative maintenance. Customers will spend some money for preventative repair now, but won't spend money to replace a noisy compressor until it breaks. Since I mostly work alone, they usually end up breaking on the hottest day of the year or when I'm on vacation. By repairing ahead of time I can prevent down time for a customer and save them money and lost product while saving me inconvenience.
The compressors that I repair most often are the models without oil safeties. The refrigerant gets low and oil quits returning and they run dry with nothing to shut them down.
Another benefit of repair is that it can be done quickly in the field if necessary. Working alone I can't pull a D series compressor and take it for exchange. But I can easily flip it on its side, pull the heads and base plate, and swap out the worn parts.
I have never had a repeat failure.
Just a FYI for identifying Copeland semi compressors with an internal oil pump. The 4th character will be an 'A" or "B". (If it's remanufactured by Copeland)
Example: The KAT1-0100 is now a KATA-0100 and the KAT2-0100 is now a KATB-0100.
This applies to the air cooled familes; E, H, K, L and 3A.
Also, the "A" designation is used on three phase and the "B" is used on single phase models.
Got the thing all back together and running. The place where the old OEM pump housing cracked was paper thin (between two of the perimeter bolts in icemeisters picture). The aftermarket part was much thicker in this area so maybe this is a problem that occurs often enough to warrant their different design of the part.