Elevator room A/C

[craig1]

We just completed this job in an elevator room at a big downtown hotel.

The elevators used to have mechanical controls. They were recently upgraded to electronic controls and the manufacturer wants them kept near 75 degrees at all times.

Nobody could give us the BTU output of the elevator controls and motors so we sized the systems by the very technical "3 ton is the biggest condenser that will fit through the hallway, anything bigger needs a helicoptor, lets start with two of them method" Apparently this method worked great because we just a very hot weekend and the system kept up fine.

This was the first job that I did entirely in ridged ACR pipe. Went through a lot of brazing rod and nitrogen. It didn't help that we had to cut all the 20' lengths of pipe down to 10' to get them up there.

these are the elevator motors 47 Horsepower, 72 RPM, around 300 volts DC
Attachment 43102

The air handlers fit perfectly inline with the elevator controls and even came with a matching paint job.

Heres air handler #1

Attachment 43112

As you can see the ductwork is very basic, just a plenum with 3 registers in it. The high velocity coming out the registers makes for surprisingly good air distribution.


Heres air handler #2
Attachment 43122


Heres some piping
Attachment 43132


The condensers
Attachment 43142


And the view from the roof
Attachment 43152

[craig1]

Heres the mechanical controls that were replaced by the electronics. This one is connected to the employee elevator in a different room and is still in service. Most of the contactors and relays are original
Attachment 43162

[brianzeke]

Nice looking job
Elevator a/c's get dirty fast,with all the carbon & oil in the air.
Its like a/c equipment for machine shops sometimes

[yorktek37]

they just don't make stuff like that anymore. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

[BaldLoonie]

Great workmanship. Never seen a cheapo Maytag before!

[craig1]

Never seen a cheapo Maytag before!

Didn't see a reason to go with the stainless steel model on a roof . The "cheapo" line models were just overhauled. They look much better than the old models. They now have the same "swept wing fan" as the premium line, so they're super quiet. They're also very small, just barely bigger than a 10 SEER.

[derb]

We've got lots of elevator rooms at work. The majority of them are cooled with hydronic fan coil units. The coils get coated in oil that cuts the capacity. I can't get the coils clean enough to restore full btu output. They are a constant source of complaints from the Elevator Techs. What did you do to prevent the DX coils from fouling? Have you found anything that works to clean the coils?

Derb

[Wheelbaron]

LOL I love the load calc logic :P

[Sammer VII]

How do you go about getting into this line of work?

Im at the residential / Light Commercial Side.

Just curious... Im in the Dallas Area.

[craig1]

How do you go about getting into this line of work?

Im at the residential / Light Commercial Side.

We are also resi/light commercial. We got this particular job just because a general contractor we do alot of work for was doing a remodel in another area of the hotel. We actually did this as a subcontract through him.

[craig1]

. What did you do to prevent the DX coils from fouling? Have you found anything that works to clean the coils?

Derb

We actually didn't take this into account. I never thought of the possibility of that being a problem. The elevator room is actually very clean. There doesn't seem to be any oil/grease at all. There is a small amount of black soot looking stuff around that could either be carbon brush dust or pollution from the city (there used to be a fan that drew a couple thousand CFM of air though this room)

[soucyf]

wow Im impress with the quality of your job and the nice view.

[atufano]

We actually didn't take this into account. I never thought of the possibility of that being a problem. The elevator room is actually very clean. There doesn't seem to be any oil/grease at all. There is a small amount of black soot looking stuff around that could either be carbon brush dust or pollution from the city (there used to be a fan that drew a couple thousand CFM of air though this room)

We had the same problem. The air handlers keep the air moving, then the coils get dirty even with the pleated / floss filters. What works for us is the aluminum filters do a great job. I guess the particulates like to stick to cold metal. We sacrifice the aluminum filters to save the coils and the work to clean them. They also work great in saltwater fish stores.

[derb]

Those aluminum filters are such a simple solution. Now if I could just get the oil off of the coil.

Derb

[atufano]

Those aluminum filters are such a simple solution. Now if I could just get the oil off of the coil.

Derb

Dawn dish detergent, mixed with warm water. If you can't get dawn, use Joy.

Guess there is a programming issue. detergent shows a detective when you spell d.e.t.