Chiller not chillin enuff?!

[Marci]

Righty, as a few of you know I've acquired a working chiller... apparently fully gassed and appears to work hunki dori... BUT not quite cold enough. Now I will happily admit I know next to naff all about these things other than what common sense tells me by looking at it.... which tbh is enough.

The problem is it just doesn't get cold enough. I've dumped the evaporator coils into a big bucket, they are 75% submerged in water. I've whacked 2x YSTech 120mm Fans on the condenser at 12v.

Now, I'd expect to get condensation on the exposed parts of the evaporator coils, which I do. I'd also expect this condensation to freeze, which it doesn't. "Arse" sayeth me.

Heatercore (condenser) does get quite toasty to the touch, I ain't really sure how cold it needs to be kept... or is that not the reason why it ain't freezin? Could it be to do with a certain kink on the return to the compressor restricting flow? Could it be because it does need regassing?

It's a Danfoss 2758 FR7.5B 103U Compressor. Picture below shows the rest... (I do plan on redoing the evaporator coils at some point before anyone states the obvious!! :D )

http://www.over-clock.co.uk/marci/2003ptII/images/DSC00103.jpg

As I've only just got it I'm still reading up on this sorta thang so bear with... I'm already in the middle of reading the stickies!

[Marci]

Oh yeah, the water is down at 5 degrees C in the res... evaporator coils measure out at around 3 degrees C...

[Charles Wirth]

Poor circulation will produce the problem you describe as I have experianced the same when I accidently bent one of my drop in evaporator lines and tried to use it without replacing the damaged sections. I lost around 25c and the compressor ran much hotter.

Does the compressor get very hot?

If you think you are in good shape on your lines then recharge the system.

[Marci]

Yep, compressor's getting hot... had a feeling that kink'd cause probs somewhere along the lines.... damn. Gonna have to degass, solder on new evaporator coils and regass then... cheers d00d!!

[bowman1964]

Marci

you have some major problems with that unit .unless the pic is wrong.i am going to be out this weekend.listen i will help you all i can.
check out my link to my cooler and vistit the forums.my guys will help you i will make sure of it.
i will be glad to help out my fellow overclocker.
:D

you can pm me lets see if we can get that cooler colder.

[Marci]

will see u over there fella...

[Tweaked!]

Marci, try taking a adjustable wrench and slide it around a good section of the pipe and set it to that dimension. Then ease it down to the kinked spot and just start rotating it around as you slide down over the kink. If the kink isn't that bad, which if the unit is performing somewhat like you've described, then you should be able to round that spot back out. Heating and air guys do this all the time when something kinks the linesets running from the outdoor condenser to the indoor coil. Good luck bro! It should work for ya:cool:

[Marci]

Have a few plumbers n gas fitters here that loiter around.... they've all looked at it and said that straightening out the kink is not likely... it does look fairly bad... will get a close up photo of it and post it up for ya...

[Marci]

http://www.over-clock.co.uk/marci/chiller/DSC00083.JPG

http://www.over-clock.co.uk/marci/chiller/DSC00084.JPG

http://www.over-clock.co.uk/marci/chiller/DSC00086.JPG

http://www.over-clock.co.uk/marci/chiller/DSC00087.JPG

http://www.over-clock.co.uk/marci/chiller/DSC00088.JPG

http://www.over-clock.co.uk/marci/chiller/DSC00089.JPG

http://www.over-clock.co.uk/marci/chiller/DSC00091.JPG

http://www.over-clock.co.uk/marci/chiller/DSC00076.JPG

[bowman1964]

ok the guys will help you this weekend.while i am out.

[isp]

Nice shirt Marci, who designed the character?

Reminds me of some of Jonathan Shroyers work

[Marci]

Some southpark studio thang on the net... v.popular thread on our forums... so I got bored and southpark-i-fied all the staff and got t-shirts made up for the show we just attended!

http://www.over-clock.co.uk/marci/CTS2003/DSC00025.JPG
(The Chic on the left is a famous British :banana::banana::banana::banana:-Movie Star - Jo Guest)

Do yerself Southpark Stylee! (http://www.over-clock.co.uk/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi?;act=ST;f=15;t=104;hl=southpark)

[isp]

Thanks for the link :p

[Tweaked!]

Marci, if you look real close at the edges of the kink, it doesn't look like it has stressed the edges, so I believe you could straighten it out good enough. I've managed to straighten out worse, just got to determine whether the edges have been stressed to the point that they've weakened too much and won't be able to handle the pressures. If it doesn't work, then what have you lost? You'd still have to cut and reconnect.:D

[Marci]

Aye.... it be true... I'll see if I can build up the courage to attack it later this afternoon...

[Tweaked!]

Just use a adjustable wrench that has smooth jaws, you should be just fine:cool:

[Marci]

Just heard back from DanFoss on the compressor model numbers etc....


FAO Marci.

In response to your query, the FR7.5B is an R12 compressor.
As you may well know, R12 is a banned refrigerant within the EU and as such
cannot be used at all in any member states.
If you do need to re-charge the system, your best bet would be to use an R12
drop-in refrigerant.
Typical examples of drop-in refrigerants available & suitable are R401A,
R409A (Forane FX56 or Arcton 401A) and R413A (Isceon 49). Please contact
refrigeration wholesalers for further information.

R134a is NOT a drop-in refrigerant and should not be used with this
compressor. This is because R134a is not "miscible" with the FR7.5B oil
(mineral).
Put in simplistic terms, miscibility refers to the ability of refrigerant
and oil to mix well, without the oil losing its lubricating property (too
thin) or by clogging up capillary or Tev orifice (too thick). Both could be
equally detrimental to the compressor.

I hope that this helps.

Best Regards,
Vaughan Beck

[Marci]

now that's a do-able suggestion! Well done that man... will try and source a pair of em and give it a go...

Tried the adjustable wrench idea but the tube is not only kinked but twisted. To get it out we had to lift and twist the tube then get the wrench on but by that point you could see the tiny cracks appearing in the copper so we stopped before it gave way...

[bowman1964]

the bypass idea may work but....dont use the saddle valve's they will leak for sure.they are not designed for the pressure that compressor will put out.
may get by with buying 2 charge ports like you already have on the unit and connecting the 2 of them.they wont leak.

damm too bad i don't live closer my friend.i could fix it ,in about a hour.

[nyTroX]

If that's where it's gonna sit, you should move that condenser away from that wall right in front of it. Also watch to see if the condenser cooling air is recirculating. I can't even tell you how many refrigeration problems I helped in improving condenser air flow. Take incoming air temps and compare with outgoing air temps, The more the difference the
merrier.

[Marci]

Wahey.... it works at last!!

http://www.over-clock.co.uk/marci/chiller/working/images/DSC00024.jpg
Need a better temp probe tho!

http://www.over-clock.co.uk/marci/chiller/working/images/DSC00025.jpg
Beer goes in ere next!

http://www.over-clock.co.uk/marci/chiller/working/images/DSC00033.jpg
The former "kink" - anger fixes all.

http://www.over-clock.co.uk/marci/chiller/working/images/DSC00034.jpg
In situ in me playroom

http://www.over-clock.co.uk/marci/chiller/working/images/DSC00031.jpg

[bowman1964]

i know i have already told you......

but i now how glad you are it is running:D

and again i will help you all i can,anytime you need it.:D

[Marci]

cheers d00d!