This was a simple walk in freezer call that led to so much more.
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12523 LIMONITE AVE.
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This video is brought to you by spore'ln quality, integrity and tradition. Today we got a walk-in freezer they're, complaining that it's not working properly. All the food in here is thawed, so nice and soft. So that's a problem.
I got no display on the qrc board. This is a qrc equipped unit, no signs of power. I went into the breaker room. Everything seems to be on in there.
So the next step this unit, this evaporator coil, is powered from the roof, so we're gon na jump on the roof and I'm walking up to the unit and the disconnect switch is off. That's alarming. No other I mean nobody else should be on this roof and we haven't been up here, but but look at this, we just had some rain, although no - I don't know, maybe that stuff looks new yeah. Maybe maybe a roofer was up here hatching something I don't know.
That's interesting. We're not gon na just turn a disconnect switch on. We don't know why that's very interesting. Ironically, the customer says this thing's been off for what they think to be two days which sounds kind of crazy because it's a walk-in freezer and it's still relatively cold, and then it's probably 50 degrees all right, well we're gon na jump into it.
We don't just flip disconnects on we're gon na figure out why someone maybe shut it off. We assume that someone shut it off to assume the worst checking for anything shorted to ground, we're, looking for a reason why someone would have shut this off yeah we're not gon na waste too much time very quickly. We're going to check for line voltage coming to the unit, I'm gon na check from phase to phase line 1 to line 2. 207.
208. 1. 2. 3.
Oh a 2, 2. 3. 208. Ok! Next thing: we're going to do disconnect switches off we're gon na verify that the disconnect is working, making sure that it's actually disengaging checking the ground on the load side.
Nothing! So we're going to do a continuity test, see if we have any tone or resistance to ground. Okay, find a good ground testing on the load side, nothing, nothing, nothing! We're going to test the fuses now use three is good use. Two is good use. One is good, so no direct shorts to ground - I don't see any reason as of yet well.
I can't turn this guy on we're gon na double-check, the condenser fan motors, real quick, make sure that they spin and that nobody shut them off because they were hitting anything nothing. I see no reason why I can't turn this unit on at this moment, so we're gon na go and put this disconnect cover back on okay and turn it on, and it turned right on very interesting. We're gon na watch. The unit operate, we'll run downstairs, see what it's looking like.
My evaporator fan motors are running and my smart controller or the qrc board, or you can call it a beacon board. This isn't a full beacon system, but anyways, it's just the qrc. It's the dumb down version, but um. It basically doesn't have communication with the room but uh it says off.
So it's a it's kind of a time delay and it says it's 35 degrees in the box right now, so it should say: Co o for cool here. In just a minute is this very peculiar. I talked to the manager and he said nobody was on the roof. There we go now we have a delay and I just heard refrigeration kick in. So I'm intrigued that the fans are running, though I would think that the fans wouldn't be running yet, but this smart board smarter than I so our unit is running. It's been running for about 15 minutes. I don't know what the box temp is as of yet we do have every once in a while. The sight glass will flash, everyone still have flashes and then it clears up - and I did notice that there's a little bit of oil back here, a little bit of oil just on the ground, so we may have a small leak and a Schrader cap again it Could just you know, I don't think this has anything to do with why the disconnect switch was on.
I think that someone shut it off. Why? I don't know management doesn't know so, as always big picture, I'm gon na investigate clear up that site glass. If I need to, as I always say, you really got to use your senses, so I noticed that there looked like some oil residue right in this area of that liquid service valve right there and look right here. This is the inside of the panel right in that area when I took this off so just like a oil stain something-or-other right there too, so always got to pay attention and use your senses.
Okay, I've shown this before, but I'll show it again charging with smart probes. I have a service fitting on you I'll use a hose with the low-loss feeding on one side and ended up all Bob on the other converted. So we get liquid purge till you get paper like my it's perched and then what I'm going to do when I'm turning it on I'm going to crack it ever so slightly so that we know air gets in there and now we're off and we meet her In by the ball, though, she's an ADD refrigerant until our sight, glass clears up. So, like I had said before, the sight glass is going from clear to flashing.
So it might not be that low and in fact it's probably a smart idea to pump it down. First and then test to see the liquid level to see how short it is, I'm sure it is because if it's flashing when the head pressure control valve is not bypassing now it's starting to flash right now, I will out a little bit and I can see My suction pressure on my tablet right here so one of the difficult things about this unit is, is that since it's a microchannel, coil, microchannel, condenser, the winter charge or the extra refrigerant needed for the head pressure control valve to properly flood, the condenser is a little Bit harder to determine so there is manufacturers, data that'll, tell you it's it's literally, no more than a pound compared to a tube and fin condenser, where you can sometimes add multiple pounds on a condenser this size. I bet you the refrigerant charge needed to flood the condensers like half a pound or something there's some tech data. You can pull up from the manufacturer and it shows you but um. My you know in the field the best way for, like I approach it right now, the head pressure control valves, not bypassing every once and while it's flashed and the easiest way for me to do is since I marked the liquid level just check the liquid level And fill into that via very careful to because you don't want to overcharge a micro channel. So at this point I'm gon na go ahead and pump it down at the receiver. So when you front-seat this keen valve on this receiver, you shut off the flow going to this dryer. So we wouldn't be able to see the system head pressure to know if the system's head pressure was going too high while we're pumping it down.
So if I was connected here, this would go down as the suction pressure would go down, and eventually this pressure at this port and the suction pressure would be the same, because the king valve is shutting off the flow. So, by connecting on the king valve Schrader port, I now see the system pressure while it's pumping down, so I can know if there's a problem. The unit has a packing, so we're going to loosen the packing a little bit just enough to save the seal. It is common for the packing to lead, though I tightened it while it's pumping down because it was kind of leaking a little bit out, but now it's stopped so we're gon na wait for the system fully pump down.
Then we're gon na warm up the receiver with the heat producing device. I've told you guys a million times use a heat producing device that doesn't exceed the soft plug temperature on the receiver, which is usually on this particular one. Around 400 degrees - there's usually sometimes there's a mechanical seal. This one right here how the a dimple on the top of the receiver right up here on the top of the receiver there's a dimple.
That is the soft plug, and I doubt you guys can see it. But right in front of it it's stamped 430 degrees, so we're going to use a key producing device, we're gon na pass it up and down the receiver a couple times once it's pumped down again, not getting it too hot, being very careful and then we're gon Na check the liquid level, you can feel it with your fingers. Okay, so we can clearly see with the thermal-imaging camera that the liquid level is below the three quarter mark, so it feels cool cool cool. It gets warm right here.
Here's our liquid level at this moment right here and I can feel it it's cool and then it starts to get warm right here and then you could clearly see it with the thermal-imaging camera too. So we are definitely low on charge, so we're gon na go ahead and top off that charge, and then I bet you anything. We have a leak right around this valve right here, so I'm just very carefully adding the charge when the unit turned on I'm just adding it real, quick. The unit's still pumped down being dead, careful not to overload the compressor with liquid refrigerant, so nice and slow yeah. We should probably let it pump down and check the liquid level again we're pumped that three-quarters of the receiver now, okay, my liquid level, is now here right there, which is right where my original mark was that I put when I installed this equipment. So it's important that we, you know, I'm not always perfect, but in this one I mark the liquid level with a paint marker that wouldn't fade off. So that way you know, make my job easier. Now, because here's the thing, if I didn't mark it who's to say if I filled it up to the 3/4 mark from the beginning - maybe I just weighed in you know - maybe I calculated the charge and put in the factory calculation - the factory calculation probably isn't going To be 3/4 of the receiver, maybe it is, we don't know sometimes on some systems, especially tube and fin condensers.
You know. With the winter charge, the receivers can be oversized and stuff, so you might only have you know, half a receiver when it's got the proper flooded charge in it. So let's say that I didn't want to put the maximum amount. Maybe I calculated it okay, but still if I marked it, then I would know from that point forward every time that that liquid level should be there when it's pumped down you get where I'm going with that, it's all about.
You know a proper commissioning. I should have shown you guys what I already did, but I leaked checked with the cap on and I wasn't getting anything the unit had an o-ring, because the o-ring is still stuck to the valve and earlier guys I said liquid line. That's a discharge line valve and that's there to isolate the compressor. Essentially, so you can do a compressor change technically what I would without having to remove all the refrigerant from the system so anyways, but check valve right there and, let's see every once in a while.
We get a spit of a leak, so it looks like maybe a bad Schrader, so guys Schrader's. They always leak right, but a cap doesn't solve it. A cap isn't gon na make it not leak all right. You know it'll take time and it'll be slower, but if there's a leaking Schrader, it's gon na leak through a cap, even if it hasn't oring.
So now we're gon na leak check the top of this too and open that up to see if the top is leaking, because those sometimes will do that and pulled off the cap, and it looks like there might be oil in there. So I bet you. It's leaking out the top too. No, no, not picking up a leak.
So sometimes my eyes can fool me, but no, nothing there, but let's go back to the Schrader and it picks it up at the Schrader. So I can throw in a new Schrader right now. It's not a big deal. I can be a easy one and then we'll be done with this, because nothing up here, good stuff, all right, we'll fix it real, quick! All right. I even had my core removal tool, a new Schrader all in my bag. So all right, first off this is really easy for people to a little tight turn it until you feel like clicking hope that comes out like you came, why this thing's so tight, maybe needs to be greased or something grab. The little nylon put it right here. It was just dry just needed some lubrication now the question is: how do I get this silly thing out? Sometimes they're a pain, especially since it's on the discharge line.
I find it much more difficult to get Schrader's out of discharge lines, especially once they get really close to the compressor. It usually melts the gasket messes them up but yeah. So this is nice and good. Now we'll try one more time cross your fingers, please! Yes, he came out, I don't look like it's damaged, but whatever got a new one, both readers in toward it down with a torque wrench, so good to go.
No more leaks. All right, I am NOT gon na watch this box, come all the way down to temperature. Again remember: we just found the disconnects, which often the manager and none of our management staff turned it off. So we don't know who was up on the roof, a roofer.
Who knows, we don't know, let's run and everything else is looking good. I went ahead and gave the condenser a quick little brush and no way did it. I didn't wash it or anything like that. It was just dirty up in the top just brushed it off real, quick everything else is looking good, so I'm gon na put this unit together way in the cylinder.
We're gon na call this 14 pounds so originally weight 18. So we use four pounds. So it's down to about 17 degrees and working. We are getting an error code, a 1, but that's just an alarm for high room, temp, so yeah point something out too.
I saw this disconnect switch off. Nobody can really get up here. Their roof hatch is really inaccessible. It's right here, but to get up this roof hatch, you have to go through the customers.
It's it's a nightmare. It's like in a hallway by the restrooms. It's it's not something that you know like a restaurant cook can go and do if he was trying to sabotage the restaurant or something so coming up their roof. Hatch, really isn't something that's gon na happen.
Unless it's a manager, you know someone's gon na know that's happening, so I'm just kind of walking around just wondering you know I don't see any fresh tagging on the roof, so I don't think anybody's been up you're vandalizing, anything there's! No other disconnect switches off. I do see this, which is suspect this it's looks like roof sealer, but I don't see any new roof sealer around here really I mean I see some new white stuff, but it's all dirty, but I do see that it looks like someone picked up some belt Trash but that's old, that's not new and some belts someone's on doing a job but I'll take those down with me, but I'm just looking around. Is there anything else? That's messed up. You know, I don't see any other ACS that are off. I checked them all. So again, I never found why the disconnect switch was off, but I don't always just assume someone shut it off to vandalize her to be a punk, I'm looking at it thinking. Why would someone shut it off? What purpose would someone have to come on the roof? Trying to investigate and figure it out now, if I saw fresh tagging on the roof, I would attribute it with that someone just being a punk right, but I don't see that you know it's possible that someone could have gotten on this roof from other ways. You can get on top of there walk in and then it's a six foot jump up here I mean you know that I'm never gon na find out, but I did my due diligence just to see like hey.
Is there anything obvious that someone's been up here and I don't see anything - this was the perfect example. This is nothing super technical. This is a simple walk-in freezer and I could have been in and out of there in 20 minutes, the Box probably would have worked. Okay, maybe the refrigerant charge wouldn't have been a huge issue.
Maybe it's not cold enough for the head pressure control valve to bypass at this time. You know they probably would have been okay, but looking at the big picture, I was thorough and I went through everything and I found more problems than just a simple failed. Disconnect switch. Very important, though, was that I was totally upfront with the customer.
I didn't go up there and say: oh, it was low on charge. That was your problem. I went to them and I said, look when I walked up to it, this unit's disconnects, which was off. Why? I have no idea, but because I don't just turn disconnect switches on, I went through everything else and I found that it was actually low on charge.
So the customer was involved in my decision-making process. They were part of the loop, the entire time. I was not trying to defraud them or cheat them in any way. I was upfront, honest and fair.
I looked at the big picture, I gave them a proper diagnosis and then I said - and I found these other things wrong. So let me look into these. So let me solve this problem before it becomes a problem later on down the line. Okay - and you guys saw the results.
Okay, we got the unit up and operating as best as it could. Everything was good. Okay, big picture diagnosis. I can't stress that one enough really appreciate you guys taking the time to watch these videos.
I do livestreams Monday nights at 5:00 p.m. Pacific time work permitting meaning that if I can get off work in time I go live and answer questions you guys. I don't do a lot of email and Facebook and YouTube comment replies during the week. I try to address them Mondays just to give myself some sanity, because these videos can be taxing on you trying to keep up with the comments I'm looking at the number. So I've been trying to find a life balance and paying more attention to my family and trying to dedicate certain amounts of time to answering these video questions and different things. So that's the whole point of the live streams. Guys is to address the the more common questions and then I'll answer emails. You know, as i see'd fit alright, but I really appreciate your guys's support.
It is really awesome. Do me a favor help me out share these videos. If you know someone that you think they could help share them, please that helps me grow as a channel helps me grow, as a creator gets the word out about the message that I'm trying to spread and I'm not gon na lie. It helps me financially too.
Okay, but I'd really appreciate the support, if you guys could alright just share these videos. That's all. I ask okay, really really appreciate it. Any questions you guys have feel free to send them to me at HVAC.
Our videos at gmail.com leave a comment on this. Leave. A comment on Facebook, you know anywhere I'll, try to get to them. Come to the livestream.
Ask the questions in the comment section. Okay, I always share affiliate links in the video show notes about the tools that I use, because that's one of the more common questions. I get is, is where did you get that tool? Do you have a link for the tool, so I always share affiliate links. Those also help me to support the channel financially when you guys click on my affiliate links, it's awesome when you guys do.
I really appreciate it. Okay, we will catch you guys on the next one.
That left CFM was glitching all over the place.
"we're not just gonna throw the disconnect" come on, what could go wrong? π
Maybe the kitchen exhaust cleaners were there and a greenie started flipping disconnects
My parents own a small town grocery store and I wish we had a skilled person like you dealing with our walk-in coolers
U R an asset to both the trade and the customer. The thermal camera is a real truth teller….. Thanks for posting and thanks for your thoroughness.
Is it normal or common for disconnect switches to not be locked in order to prevent switches from being turned on/ off like this?
Wait during the pump down process the system was flooding back to the the compressor and the question is:Is it normal for the unit to flood back to the compressor.I ask this because I saw the pipe going at the compressor been ice cold. Are you in Kanata ?
reason they shut it off because leak come out if valve screw in
they think going cause more problems down road so they shut it off for reason for not danged ac or loss of pressure in tank but they should informed owner but they never did
What kind of torque wrench do you use for shraders?
Last thing they want is to loose another freezer full of food because it ran out of refrigerant.
I think Spider-Man did it when he was fighting someone on the roof.
I don't know how hard it is to switch it off, but my first thought was cat or bird.
Heat producing device,that made me smile. When I lived in Canada trying to charge rooftops in stupid temps, I would never say we use our torches. We did sometimes if we had local power we would strap a crankcase heater to the can.
Maybe a bird landed on the cut off switch and turned it offπ
Bit late to the party, but how much weight would it take for the disconnect to be flipped down. For I wonder if a brid with the right weight and landing could have turned it off since it flips down to cut the eletric.
all these biden ads on your videos are annoying. can't you opt out of political ads
BIG BIRD STRIKES AGAIN π€ Are you in Ottawa ?
What's is the tool name for change the strip?
Just one question… shouldn't that disconnect be secured off if it was done on purpose? Like, with a padlock, or at least a screw — so that it's clear it was done intentionally. When working on electrical systems where you've a full crew doing stuff (with check-in/-out logs and all), there's usually going to be a multiple-padlock system where each person going to work on something attaches their own padlock to the disconnect (or, as often, the lock on the switchboard case) — so that nobody can re-energise the circuit without removing all of the padlocks (each is keyed to a particular employee).
I really like you for not just flipping the disconnect back on soon as you saw it off. You never know, but there could've been a very good reason to have it off in the first place — running basic checks (looking for shorts and continuity at least) is always a good idea if you come across something that's been disabled before you got there. Most times, it'll be nothing; the one time it's something, it'll blow the entire board out of the box if you just blast it back on without thinking. π The entire point of troubleshooting is to assume that there's a reason something's the way it is — until you can clearly show evidence of it just being a freak occurrence. Everything happens for a reason.
The left fan on the roof looks so wonky with the framerate
Nice job and video
I'm an HVAC dilettante. The place I used to work had an HVAC store next door and I would wander in there and sometimes find something useful.
I have fixed minor things on a few systems. Added freon, etc. Fortunately never messed anything up.
Didn't know about receivers. Read more about them on the internet.
The other day I pulled into a parking spot at a quick market. One of their refrigeration units was mounted low on the side of the building with the cover off. Because of this channel I was able to identify all the parts and explain them to my wife. She got bored. Service area Orleans??
Probably a big ass bird landed on the handle. LOL
Sometimes the unit will leak faster when it is shut down if there is an evaporator leak. If the stat is calling, there is full static pressure in the evaporator, which could be double or triple the normal running pressures. I had several units that were shut down for a couple months due to the virus shut downs that had evaporator leaks that were not evident prior to being shut down. They were very small leaks.
sarcasm !! A disconnect switch is ideal for using it as a hook where you can hang your heavy backpack that it will not get dirty standing on the wet floor ……
Is it possible the disconnect was turned off accidentally by a Racoon (AKA the Friendly Neighbourhood Trash Panda) or a Pigeon (AKA the not-so-Friendly Neighbourhood Flying Rat/Disease Carrier) landing/sitting/falling on the switch handle? I'm asking because I don't know how much force you need to turn that particular one on/off (I've run into 1 or 2 that can be flipped off just by breathing hard on it…they were so loose, they really needed replacement)…
Have you ever delt with Ammonia as a refrigerant?
awesome job..and best that you were upfront..as usual, you never know if a company is trying to test you.. keep up the great work!!
What kind of thermal camera, you are using, I am very impressed with your tools. Service area Barrhaven??
I just love the way you work… I always learn stuff! Are you in Orleans ?
Do you think the other company forgot to switch it on?
Haha. Wait until you have to evict the homeless people camping inside your condenser plant. Basically due to the fact that in winter, they switch of the unit isolation switches when it gets too cold π. Took me 4 service calls to work that one out lol
This video still makes me wonder what caused the disconnect to be off. It is not easy to turn off a disconnect. The Lord only knows (and the person that did it) what happened.
Anyone know what the torque wrench was he used for the schrader ?
Ive been cleaning kitchen exhaust systems for 17 yrs. Ive seen a few times the power washer hoses getting pulled onto the roof get caught on those disconnect handles and turn things off. Like the videos man nice job.
i have one word for you.. just one word.. drones! Service area Kanata??
This is the Louis Rossmann of HVAC
after watching several of your videos i noticed a trend and refer back to what my grandpa used to say "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" Service area Ottawa??
200$ to turn on power switch ?.
Birds did it.
I learn something new every time i watch your videos. Thanks alot
i am from mexico and i learn a loot from your videos, thanx for doing and for the explanation at the end of videos Are you in Nepean ?
also manipulated heat.. It did amaze me how a unit can limp along with multiple problems maintain temp and then one more straw breaks its back and you end up finding all the other problems that require attention.. Big one in summer after changing a condenser fan was discovering condenser coils extremely dirty especially along major highways/freeways
What does it mean if the sight glass is flashing?
a flare cap can stop a schrader leak since its a compression fitting(if you are a thug ), but ya you just replace the schrader core with the tool.
You have a good shaped head