Massive Water Chiller

[Daddeo2]

Stay with it man. It looks great. Don't rush on our account. We all understand life gets in the way of our hobbies sometimes. Keep up the great work. We'll still be here when it's finished.

[Stewie007]

Alright, I've been planning for some time now, and I've determined what needs to be done (with some help).

I'm going to be removing the oil separator from the discharge line. It will be on a contingent basis. If the unit shows no signs of oil slugging at the TXV, or otherwise doesn't exhibit signs of oil hampering the HEX process, then I'll leave it off.

I am going to redesign the isolation loops on the suction and discharge lines. At the same time, I'll install a suction and discharge service valve in the event that I have to ever change the compressor out. I'll post a render later.

The filter drier will be up sized, and the liquid line redesigned. The drier and sight glass will be isolated by additional service valves. An additional solenoid service valve will be utilized to evacuate the drier if it needs to be changed again in the future. I figure I'd find a new use for the freed up solenoid valve.

If necessary, I could also use it as a liquid injection bypass, but I'd need to include a capillary line of undetermined length if that is the case. Basically, if I have a mass flow problem I can take steps to ensure that the compressor gets sufficient cooling.

Either way, I'm going to be doing some more work in a few weeks. I'm going to leave the TXV as it is, since it passed the troubleshooting phase. Given the fact that the glycol will not be dropping below -10F, it shouldn't be an issue. It didn't seem to be an issue originally.

[Stewie007]

[iNF3rN0]

Nice to see proper vibrasorber orientation

[Stewie007]

Well, I've retooled and tore some things apart. I've actually redesigned the coolant loop a bit to accommodate a less restrictive coil within the shroud so that coolant pressure is not restricted when redirected.

I cut the discharge down to remove the oil separator, and I removed the suction line and equalizer line. The new equalizer was made from an thicker walled tube that I had left over that bent particularly well. I've closed off the discharge and suction loops, and have yet to install the new liquid line as well as service solenoid.

So far, so good.

[SkipP]

This is truly impressive. Exceptional. I cannot wait to see it in action.

[Stewie007]

Me neither. Hopefully, this time, I will have trouble free operation.

Aside from taking care of some nagging problems, my filter drier will now be replaceable in the future.

[d50man]

nice work here can you give a little info on actual electricity usage?
also noise levels PLEASE
Thanks, D

[Stewie007]

I hadn't gauged power usage as of yet, I wanted to have everything fine tuned first.

It is likely that we're talking about 1700W total (~15A).

That greatly depends on actual usage and temperature settings at the thermostat. It tends to take it from 65 to 10 in less than an hour, and 65 to 25 in less than 15 minutes. Once that is done 12.5A is no longer drawn and we're left with ~ 2.5-3A of pump power demand. When I am able to finish the modifications, I'll be running it once again and we'll have a good sense of actual power usage.

Noise wise? hehe, not too bad, considering the equipment. Without having a noise meter, I can't really say. Under normal operation (before the problems occurred), it was mostly pump noise. I'm going to build a chest for this thing, and it will include sound dampening materials. I have yet to install the dampening pads beneath the chiller itself, that will help absorb some of the vibrations through the base.

[Stewie007]

Did some more work today. Closed up the system real tight and now I only have the modifications to the cold coil left to do. I've got some EPDM rubber hose for the return lines. Its a much better solution than the hard piping I had before. Much less restrictive regarding what I can do with it.

The F/D has been strapped into place, but there are a few pieces left that have to be secured. Mainly, the discharge and suction lines after the absorbers. The liquid line looks pretty busy, but it'll be fine. It actually looks pretty good in person. I like this particular sight glass better, too. It has a replaceable lens. I ordered it special, since the local refrigerant shops didn't carry them.

[Stewie007]

I'm sure the watchful eye noticed my mistake.... I forgot to install an access port to the isolated loop on the liquid line.... :p

No worries, I'll ensure that one is installed prior to the filter drier. I'll have to drill, but at least the shavings will be caught by the filter. Oopsie...

[TopherTony]

How's this coming along?

[Stewie007]

Slowly. As I've gotten busy, I have less time to work on the thing... Although I did a little work this past weekend and will do a little more this weekend coming up. It has largely been idle for the past few weeks/months. I'll post some pictures of the coil I made last weekend if I get a chance later.

[Stewie007]

Just a look at the new coil. Not much in the way of interesting pictures.... The top one is in proper orientation.

[Stewie007]

Time for a little Hiatus... Sister's wedding this week, then we're buying a house at some point. A lot to do, so needless to say the chiller takes the back burner.

I managed to finish most of it, and started to evacuate. Got it down to 530 microns, but it still rose a bit faster than I would have liked. Either it is moisture, or I've got a leak. Holds pressure, however, strange as that may seem. The leak detector found no leaks either. There is a third contingency that I may have a part of the system that is slightly isolated (compressor internals). I've got a game plan for that later. Though, still... Gonna be a little while.. Maybe 2 months or so