View Full Version : chiller performing poorly?
ok the other day i bought an old 6,500btu air conditioner and
turned it into a chiller.
the only problem is that is doesnt really get that cold and the suction line that goes into the copressor and a large circle around it is all frozen up also?
it takes a little longer that what my old chiller took to pull down to 0deg (onld air con unit was around a 6,000 btu unit and peaked at about -22deg)
where as this one only goes down to -12deg after 3.5 hours?
this is the air conditioning unit
ok i think there is two problems here one the air conditioner is overcharged?
i have a bend in the suction line coming from the evaporator
would the kink have any real effect on the performance
what is the best way to get it out?
or doent it effect it enough and its not really worth unbending it
risking breaking the unit?
Gary Lloyd
04-14-2004, 06:56 AM
Is the bottom of the compressor warm, with the coolant at lowest temp?
i cant actually feel the bottom of the compress
but the hole thin is really cool to touch, my other airconditioner was hot?
this is the suction line running the thing for about 2.5 hours
Gary Lloyd
04-16-2004, 08:28 AM
You might try pinching the cap tube to drop the temp and to compensate for the overcharge. I have never pinched a cap tube, but theoretically it should work. There have been several people who talked about doing this. Has anyone actually done it?
I would do this very slowly and carefully, using a C-clamp, near the drier end of the cap tube. Under full heat load, pinch a little... wait 15 minutes or so to see what that does... pinch a little... wait 15 minutes or so... etc... until the side of the compressor near the bottom is at room temp or a little higher.
what does a c-clap look like
can i use some thing like pincers (triangle force)
or pliers (flat force)
this is a c-clamp. You can find them at any hardware store.
http://mc.clintock.com/basement/tool_area/c-clamp.php
i though thats what they looked like
in the end i used pliers and crimped about a 5cm amount of captube, didnt make much of a difference though, i need to pinch more and let some gas out though?
after reading another thread, mine looks like the compressor in the below link, i just can get close enough to take a good enough pic
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=34222i have retired that unit as it was way overcharged and would leave to the compressor dying.
BB mods's
06-11-2005, 04:13 PM
Use a good pair of small pliers,crimp the cap tube as close to the evap as u can,and start slow,working your way across the cap tube slowly untill u get your best temp/heat load.
DocGolem
06-12-2005, 08:45 PM
Hey bud, did you realize you posted in a thread over a year old?
hehee the first of my adventures
HelloIDistance
12-15-2005, 11:13 AM
would the kink have any real effect on the performance
what is the best way to get it out?
or doent it effect it enough and its not really worth unbending it
risking breaking the unit?
Would a slight kink like that effect anything? While bending my tubing near the evap I kinked it a little just like that. It still works and everything, but I was wondering if it will be okay over time and will it have any effect on performance?
RussC
12-15-2005, 06:06 PM
OK,
for sure your evercharged for the "load". If the frost is making the compressor freeze like that, theres to much refrigerant still evaporating in the evap line and in the compressor. It will kill it eventually. The key is load, if the load is bigger, it will heat the evap more, and should evaporate more refrigerant.
The kink is an issue if it restricts enough to raise the pressure in the evap. Any size kink will do this. Raising pressure in the evap lowers the evap temp, giving less perfromance. How much depends on the pressure rise. I would undo it as best I can, as any rise in evap pressure above the system normallcy is taking away effiecency, plain and simple. This makes the pressure reading after the kink a wrong reading, as the kink will have a pressure drop associated with it, hence a temp difference. Im a big believer in the low pressure reading at the exit of evap, especially if the suction line is long, as the pressure differential will rise.
RussC
ok i think there is two problems here one the air conditioner is overcharged?
i have a bend in the suction line coming from the evaporator