This was a walk in freezer install that had a few problems but in the end it all worked out.
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You know it's like too much. Birds I'm like, yeah. so I don't like to be a jerk or anything, but when a crane operator doesn't know crane signals, it makes things really difficult. He didn't know the difference between boom up and hoista or boom down and hoist down so that's a bummer when you see that kind of stuff.

This shows you that you know you have to watch your back because you assume that other people know what they're doing, but they don't. Necessarily, This video is brought to you by Sporland. Quality, integrity and tradition, Starting today off just a little bit earlier than usual. You know it's uh, it's approximately 6 15 in the morning, so we normally leave the shop around 7.

A.M is what we leave the shop at, but a little earlier today because we have a scheduled crane lift. We're doing a walk-in freezer equipment replacement. so we've got an existing walk-in freezer. Uh, we got to swap out the evaporator, the condenser, and the line set.

Now, this is a really old system. I Don't have video footage condemning it or anything. Uh, the main reason why we're changing it is because the line set, the insulation is completely compromised and it's saturated on top of the box so it leaks condensation all over the place every time it goes into defrost. But the customer opted to change the equipment because it's you know, 15 20 year old equipment and they'd rather just get ahead of the game.

They're very proactive here. so so yeah, we're heading there to do it. We've got, um, crew of guys you know, my guys coming out there. All of us are going out there.

We've got a crane scheduled at 8 A.M We're gonna get there at 7 A.M Uh, I Kind of wish you know I mean it'd be great if we didn't have to do it all in one day, but you know it is what it is. That's how it goes. So we've got existing food in the Box We've got to keep the door shut as much as possible. We've got to, uh, you know, do the whole swap out.

so. electrical, line set, condenser, evaporator, drain lines, drain line, heater. We're gonna get it all done. so we have a pretty good plan when we attack these jobs.

The only thing I usually try to plan everything out two things I realized this morning as I'm overthinking everything is I don't have a new drain line heater and I don't have a suction line P trap. so we're gonna have to figure something out with that. Luckily, we have supply houses very close to where we're at, so let's get to it all right. We've got our walk-in freezer equipment right here, so what we typically do instead of having to work really hard, we'll usually Pump It Down On The Roof throw the gauges inside the unit and then we recover the charge downstairs so we're going to pump it down, shut off the breaker, disconnect all the electricals, ruin the condenser fan blade.

No, Um. and then we just recover downstairs. So now we're gonna go find the breakers, get power turned off, start disconnecting all this stuff, and go from there. We try to make it as easy as possible.
Yeah, what? you got? Okay, hold on, let me check. All right. we have no power. Turn it back on.

Okay, we have power. Go ahead and turn it off, and then that's our breaker. Now that we have power turned off, we've isolated it. You know, everything's good.

Uh, we're gonna disconnect power and very carefully get everything removed. We don't want to destroy anything because we've got a lot of wiring going on here, so we're going to take pictures, pay attention to what's what, and there's a lot of moving Parts on these jobs. We have a guy on the ground watching for the crane getting ready to unload stuff. We got two guys down in the Box disconnecting the evaporator coil.

I'm up here by myself dealing with electrical stuff. We've got the condensing unit completely disconnected, so we're ready when the crane gets here. So it's all about teamwork on these jobs, communication, talking with each other. We're going to be running a new line set and you can see what I typically do because they framed this one in as I cut this piece out like I did right here and then spray foam it and then we, uh, we'll clear it up and everything.

So I just cut this one out I'm gonna get the line set removed again I Got guys working downstairs. we're just all moving working together. My attic is, uh, totally open so we got plenty of room to move in here. My line set is the one running over then straight down.

I Know the camera's not focusing very well with all the spray foam around it. That's it, so shouldn't be too too bad. I Mean it's going to be difficult climbing up here and stuff, but we'll make it work. but boy is this walk-in I Know you guys can't see it, but it's sloping really bad.

It's got some issues, huh? right here. voice down: keep going down. Okay, foreign, oh man. I guess this is Hoist watch the boat watch the ball.

Okay, all right, let's hold you stop signals. Yeah so I don't like to be a jerk or anything, but when a crane operator doesn't know crane signals, it makes things really difficult. He didn't know the difference between boom up and hoista or boom down and hoist down. so that's a bummer when you see that kind of stuff.

This shows you that you know you have to watch your back because you assume that other people know what they're doing, but they don't. Necessarily, you've got the evaporator coil down. Um, the line set and electrical is going to swap sides, so the line set's going to be on this side. Electrical is going to be on this side.

So we'll utilize this hole for the electrical and we'll just seal it up. this one. We're gonna have to drill a new hole now. I Don't like the line set hole to be directly in line with the line set coming out the coil.

I Prefer it to be offset right here so that way it can come down, have a P-trap come over and then 90 into the coil because if when people drill them right behind the coil, there's no room for p-traps it makes it difficult. So okay. And then we always utilize this as our electrical so we don't have to drill an extra hole. All right, we are on top of the box.
This is my line set right there. There's a drill bit over here right there sticking up. That's where my new line is going to go. So I need to drill that down I Need to work on getting the electrical up and again.

I Gotta go downstairs so we're working on this together All right. So we got two things here. We got a this is a door switch or a Twist timer for the box so that interrupts power and shuts down the coil. So typically you'll interrupt the end, the neutral, or the common leg and then that's going to be my communication, my heaters, and all that stuff.

So again, we're just going to push that down this existing hole and then right where that drill bit's sticking up. We're going to drill a hole. I got my hole saw up here and I got a guy downstairs with a pan. He'll put it underneath there and then catch all the droppings.

All right. Foreign. Okay. hold it there.

I'm gonna push stuff down. Hold on. All right. that's well.

hang on one more. I'm just gonna get the dust from around the hole. All right. We're good.

You go ahead and move it. Do what you got to do. Uh, so what do you want me to do? Let me get let me find them. Oh yeah, I Can Yeah, I can do it.

That's one. Okay, we got all the old bolts out. We got the new line set, hole, drilled, electricals, push down. We got to hang the new coil and then drill the new coil bolts.

So I am going to jump down because I sent a guy to the supply house so we're short a guy for about a half hour so jump down and help him hang the coil real quick and then we'll drill up the bolts. Well I might have kind of messed up a little bit because I just realized this new coil is a lot smaller and that line set hole is rather close. Um that. Mark right there is where my screw holes are going to be so the line sets.

Probably gonna be right there. hopefully I have enough room. It's a mess up here. So I've got the line set.

The suction line ran down here. it's coming over there. I'm gonna try if I can to make this a one piece. I'm going to bend it, try to get it down.

if I can, it's going to be tight. but I'm going to try my best. All right. It kind of worked out so we got the line set coming down I was able to bend it in place I did have to cut a little bit off, but it's still going down deep enough where you can catch the P-trap We'll slide insulation up over it.

Got the line set down right there, taped up, bent down. We still got to spray foam the holes. We still got to do more work, support the lines, but for now, that's it. We're gonna go work on the roof.

and then I got someone downstairs working on the electrical. All right? I'm going to try to give you guys perspective of what I'm seeing here. that whole side of the box is sloping down. It's really hard to get the camera to show you guys perspective here.
so if we pan over the whole box, yeah, it's not going to show you guys. but the whole box on this side is sloping down and then on that side is sloping down. It's like everything's falling. It's crazy like the floor is on level.

They got some sort of slab problem or something. It's nuts. Even when you're in the Box up here and you're standing up here down, this middle is rigid and supported. but then it slopes down on both sides and you can feel it when you're kneeling up there.

It's crazy. You can kind of see it with the camera. it's scary. And then I'll show you guys inside the floor of the walk-ins you can see they definitely have a foundation problem all right.

and then look, this is the freezer. Look at. the whole floor is cracked all the way back. I'm telling you this whole Foundation is dropping on both sides.

It's freaking Bonkers All right. I'm Up on the Roof I'm gonna get started on this line set so I pulled the insulation off I'm going to do my best I'm going to see if I can bend this I Don't know if I can do it or not or we'll have to cut it and then braise it in sections, but I'm going to try to do it in one piece if possible. It's probably not going to be perfect, but let's see what we can do. So we're going to do is start cutting the insulation down Pull up the line set, bend it that way and then once I bend it that way we'll make the the right angle Bend and then once we get it bent right angle then we'll drop it back down to the walk-in because I have room to pull it up.

It's not the prettiest thing and we'll straighten it out a little bit more, but we were able to bend it one piece all the way in and then we'll tape it all up and everything. So again, you guys, it doesn't have to be perfect. Okay, if I wanted to get crazy, we could have done straight pipe, but we don't need none of that here. it'll all work out.

So we're going to get this braised up. I'm gonna go downstairs, start helping with some drain lines. I'm gonna let will up here braze and then uh, it's getting his nitrogen ready and all that stuff. We're back inside the box.

I'm gonna work on piping this refrigeration lines. Put a P-trap I Got guys working on the drain line. We're pressing in the drain line. We got electrical coming into the coil over there all hooked up so that's good.

So yeah, we're moving along I Bent that guy. it's coming down. going in. we did one shot with the liquid line that's perfect and then suction line.

We threw a trap onto it. Now here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna braise this one. We're gonna braise this one.

but we're not going to braise this one because we're going to slide the insulation on. Oh I know I'm breaking the internet because you never want to slide insulation on a P-trap It works just fine for what we're doing. I get it? I Understand, but the coil is not going to last that long. They rot these things out in no time, so there's no sense in trying to spend a bunch of time gluing and cutting miter fittings for insulation.
It's just not practical on this kind of stuff. Then we are flowing with nitrogen right now. So all right, we got those guys braised in. We got to inspect them with a mirror real quick.

then we'll put a cap on here and Slide the insulation on all right. So we got the line set ran. We changed the insulation to this because I don't like the look of the UV rated insulation. We left a spot for the sensing bulb to mount.

then we'll seal it up. everything's braised in. We're going to start the evacuation and then uh, we're gonna Mount the sensing bulb. We got the TXV magnet on there so we can do a pressure test.

Oh, that was for brazing and then we're going to wrap a drain line heater around this so we're moving. Hello? All right, we're still finalizing some stuff. Um, doing a pressure test right now and it's passing 155 PSI I Think it started at 156 so I'll let it deviate one PSI or a little bit right around there. That's fine.

Um, so we're going to do evacuation now and we just got people working, people still doing electrical, drain line, heaters, all that stuff. So just getting ready to start this. Uh, we're doing the evacuation and came down here to Mount the sensing bulb and realized that that is a 404a TXV There's nothing on the data tag labeling that this unit is 404 but Up on the Roof The condensing unit is 448a and it's pre-charged the manufacturer on this. Um, the customer buys it direct right? I don't they just have this stuff shipped to me? So we didn't check the TXV of all things.

so luckily we caught it before we started it up. We hadn't even released the refrigerant. you just heard nitrogen flowing through it right now. So I Got a kit in my van I'm going to go out there, we're going to build a TXV and then we'll get back up here and we'll replace it.

Luckily I have this kit and I keep all the Txvs in my van. So what they have in there is a straight through valve. so we're going to use the Ebqe. that's this valve right here.

We have a low temp 448a system so that is a Victor zebra power head and it tells you everything on here if you don't already know and then my tonnage is gonna be I think a blue cartridge three quarter to one and a half. I think we're also check the tonnage but I think it's 12 000 BTUs 13 000 BTU So that's going to be right there. So we're going to need a blue cartridge out of here. so we'll build the valve and then we'll get this guy sweating.

Got a fully built 404 I mean uh, 448a low temp valve right here so I'm gonna unsweet it. Get the new one. Sweat in. We got nitrogen flowing through.
We got a solenoid magnet still on there so let's get this all right. I got some of the Viper wet rag heat blocking compound protecting the TXV I'm gonna go ahead and get it. sweat in. We still got nitrogen flowing through.

I'm using the old TXV to kind of prop up the solenoid valve so that way my line doesn't fall out and We're Off to the Races Get this guy up and running. hopefully soon. All right. TXV is installed, cleaned up.

Um, I'm just working on mounting the sensing bulb now and uh, get the solenoid coil back over here. We still got the magnet flowing because we're pulling the evacuation on the system right now, so well, disaster averted except for kind of burnt my solenoid magnet a little bit, but hey, it still works. So we've got the evacuation running. I Got the sensing bolt mounted insulated.

So what I typically do is I use 7 8 by 3 4 wall insulation for the normal pipe right and you can see the transition right here. We're going to tape this hole too, by the way, but then I go inch and an eighth ID by three quarter wall for right here because it goes right over and then you do the self sticky stuff and then just wrap it with foam tape. So all right, we're waiting for the evacuation and what I'm doing is I'm filling the holes. so we have this tape that has the texture of the walk-in made by 3M I don't know what it is I get it from my supply house.

they have it but it's really nice stuff and it actually the color matches the walk-in you know, and over time it fades just like the walk-in but this is cold. You can clearly see they got some sort of a leak right there too. Um, but this is cold in here. So we got to take the map gas torch.

you dry it off, first you heat it up with the map gas torch, then you apply the tape, then make sure it's nice and warm and then we're going to keep going around to all the holes in doing that and then I got someone up top and he's going to spray foam at all. All right. So we got all those holes right. There's a little bit of foam coming out of there, but that's fine.

The foam you really don't like when it first comes out, you can carefully kind of wipe it down. but other than that, just leave it alone and it'll uh, it'll dry and you can just peel it off and then you have this hole right here. It's all taped up and it's full of foam. those ones over there.

The new coil was smaller, so all right there. All right. So uh, we're pretty much done in here. We still need to foam this because we had to move the drain line down because this drain right here.

It was too short to go through the original drain line hole because all the new coils are small or taller because of the Awf compliant stuff. So we ended up drilling a whole couple inches down the drain line. For this goes into the beer walk-in We uh, took care of that. We put a drain line heater on it and that's pretty much it.
So we're going to go up like I said, check on the vacuum and hopefully get ready to start this guy up. So this is my drain line coming through and the secret to this is that you, um, you buy the non-expanding like this is Windows and Doors so it won't. It doesn't expand very much, it just expands a little bit. It just fills gaps right, and then clean up the wall, heat it up, and then we'll tape it.

But we taped and foamed both of them on the other side. so we've got some tape on there now. All right. So uh, we've got multiple people here.

I've got one guy at the breaker panel, one guy on the roof. We're checking phase rotation and we're all on a conference call. so that way he can check phase rotation. I'm down here making sure nothing blows up when we turn on power and then we're all just working together.

So it's all about the teamwork when we're doing this stuff. Another thing you got to be careful about on these is overloading of the compressors. Uh, especially on a startup because this is a hot pull down. Now that's part of the reason why the evaporative fan motors don't start up right away.

We're running about six and a half. seven amps somewhere in there, but uh, the Rla on the compressor I believe was like 14 or something. But you always want to watch that, you want to make sure we're not overloading the compressor. We are flooding back right now, but the evaporator fan motor is more than likely are not running yet.

So I'm gonna go downstairs, wait for the evaps to come on, and uh, we're just going to watch it kind of run for a little bit. Make sure everything's good. All right, Evaporator fan motors are running. We're going to give it some time.

We are frosting up coming out of the TXV a little bit. That's to be expected right now. So we're going to let the thing run, let it warm up, and then we're going to. Once it gets cold in here, we're going to test the defrost heaters so we're not done yet.

All right. We uh, flipped the guy in to defrost and it tripped the breaker, didn't even blow a fuse. it tripped the breaker right away. So we got to figure out where this problem lies.

Something is going on here in this. So we shut it off at the disconnect switch. we're going to check our fuses, make sure they're not bad, and then we got to go through here. And we're going to start by checking colors, making sure everything's going where it's supposed to go.

And I mean everything's wired up where it's supposed to be on the clock the way it's supposed to be. So we need to look down at the evaporator too and see if there's something funky going on. All right. What I did was I tested power.

Uh, we had three phase. We reset a breaker downstairs. Okay, I disconnected the compressor because I didn't want to be tripping anything with the compressor in the circuit so the compressor has no power going to it. Then what we did, we tested continuity to ground.
We had nothing that was shorted to ground. Okay, so we disconnected three and X because whatever's happening happens when we put it in defrost and right now we are not tripped when I disconnected 3 and X. So our next thing that we're going to do is we're going to test voltage to see if our we're getting proper voltage from in to here. But hey, wait a minute.

there's a problem. There's a problem with this clock because look at 202 but our condenser fan motors are running one to end. Uh, let's go four to N. Why is our condenser fan motors running? Are we on a fan cycle switch? We must be on a fan cycle switch.

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Oh yeah, because it's not pumping down. That's why.

Okay, all right. Yeah, yeah, that's what it is. Okay, so connection families are running because of that. All right now.

we have power from three to N which is 208 volts. Okay, oh wait. we lost it. Why did we lose it here? Three to N.

We lost power. We should have power from three to N. Oh, what's going on? Something's not right. Look at, look at.

we're like oh there it goes. Okay, maybe it just wasn't making good connection. So we have power from three to N. But something's going on here.

So we need to go downstairs and investigate the coil, see if maybe something's miswired in the coil. So I came down here and I think I found what the problem is. So if we look right here, our number three wire is going to H3 it should be going up to three. H3 Essentially is neutral or common, not neutral.

It's the N wire the common. So H3 is the other side of the heaters. So basically we're not running through the heaters right there. We should have three going to one side and if you look at H3 it jumps over to H2 then goes through to heater safety, then goes through to N.

So we basically have a direct short to line two. So because basically three is going to be line one, coming down needs to go through the heaters, then come back to H three and then that goes over to H2 and then that if goes to N. So I think if I take this right here on H3 and put it up to three. I Think our problem will be solved.

Now we have 202 volts to the defrost heaters and uh, I can hear that the defrost heaters are running. Let's go ahead and test one and we have current. So I'm going to test to make sure all the heaters are working. We just had an error in the electrical and that's why we test everything before we leave.

It would have been a crappy call if we didn't test everything and then we had to come back in the middle of the night, right? So all the defrost heaters are working and we're good to go. It is back on. It is in refrigeration mode, but we're waiting for the temperature controller to call. So uh, it brought the Box temp up pretty high when we ran it through defrost and everything.
So here in a second, the temp control should call and the fan should go to high speed. They're running in low speed at the moment because this does have a two-speed operation. There we go high speed and it is on and running. All is well.

it's all sealed up. Everything's good. Again, it's going to take time to bring this box completely down to Temp because it got nice and warm 40 something degrees in here. So as we're running on the roof, this unit does not have a head pressure control valve.

This one just has fan cycling. Therefore, we just clear the almost impossible sight glass to see because the manufacturer did not think things through when they put the sight glass where they did with the giant suction line in the way. It's just so dumb. but whatever it will.

I Look forward to the day that we cut that out and put a spoil in dryer and sight glass and be done with that stupid stuff. But I Mean, come on. move the sight glass up. Two inches.

Three inches. That's ridiculous you. When the cover's off and it's raining and you're trying not to get everything wet and you're trying to charge the system, all you can see is a suction line. I Mean, even if you go way down there, you know.

But like, that's yeah, it's hard to get your head down there. That's just dumb. Now you take the top off, You can kind of see it. But whatever, you know.

um, pressures wise got 100 saturation? about negative one Vapor saturation. That's not too bad. These things are super efficient. Again, we're running a Clear Sight glass.

it's coming down in temp cold suction line. Coming back, my saturation is a little bit lower on the low side than I want it to be. but again, we're going to let it operate, let everything break in. Um, because we're not going to try.

adjusting the expansion valve on the box isn't down to Temp So as long as there's no major problems and it's cooling, we're going to leave it be. we're not flooding back. We'll uh, we'll come back and we'll check on everything you know. Like I said later.

So in a day or two, we'll come back and check evaporator Super 8 maybe even adjust it a little bit. So we came back the next day. It's like three o'clock in the afternoon and the things partially frozen up. They've got frost all over the shelves, all over this stuff.

They're clearly leaving the door open. Brand new. They're already leaving the door open. Come on.

So I'm putting it through a long defrost right now. Just a little bit of frost on the front of the coils that still needs to melt off and then we're going to hopefully be able to check. Superheat. All right.

It just kicked in. it's all defrosted. Everything good. So I've all probed up upstairs and downstairs.
uh, meter voltage meter upstairs, testing amps on the compressor and I'll be able to just watch the unit come down to Temp evaluate its operation sitting down here in the air conditioning. so kind of nice. fans just turned on. So now we can, uh, just let the unit operate.

we'll go sit down and watch the pressures outside. So basically, instead of just sitting down upstairs waiting, I can beat it here. So I've got a voltage meter telling me we're on a time delay. There's an anti-short cycle time delay at the contactor, so we know when this turns on, but we can see everything else.

We're registering about 107 degrees on the roof. it's not quite that hot. I Think it's getting some radiant heat off the roof deck right now. All right, we can see now my compressor is running at about seven amps right now.

201 volts being delivered. See? the outdoor air is already dropping as it starts moving air because it was just getting radiant off the off the roof basically. So we're gonna let the Box run for a little bit. I Want to evaluate superheat, but we really got to let it run for a while.

Interesting numbers: I'm looking at I have a clamp Up on the Roof getting suction line temperature 41 degrees on the roof and then 14 degrees down at the evaporator. so we're gaining 26 and a half degrees of temperature in Fahrenheit obviously. Um, you know through the insulation basically running through the hot. Attic So We use three-quarter wall insulation I'm curious how much of a drop in heat gain we would have if we used one inch insulation.

Pretty interesting. I'm bored here just watching this thing come down to Temp It's going to be a while, so my box temp right now is at about 18 degrees. My saturation is really low, so I'm expecting some super heat adjustments here, but I'm going to give it some more time because I don't want to go cranking on the valve yet. We currently have 24 degrees of evaporator superheat, which is too high for a freezer, but again, you don't really want to adjust on the superheat until it comes down a little bit more in temperature.

I Might go do a couple cranks on it, but just want to be careful because as it gets down to Temp it can really start acting wonky if you adjust on it too much. All right. Um, I'm watching the Super 8 kind of range. I did make some adjustments on it.

it dropped down to about four degrees Super 8, then came back up to about nine. We're almost down to temperature box temperatures at about 10 degrees, so we're getting there still tripping out about how high our TD is evaporator TD is 28 degrees. All right, this is about as far as I'm going to watch come down to 10. it's ranging between five and eight degrees evaporator superheat box temperatures at about seven degrees I'm pretty confident we're good I'm not really too worried about this, so in hindsight, I wish that liquid line would have been straighter, but it's polishing a turd on this roof.
There's really nothing going on. you know, like there's no great way to support everything this wood like? We're gonna have to do something eventually, but you know this equipment doesn't even last that long. Um, this guy right here. Sight glass is clear.

everything's good up here. No problems, you can't see the sight glass. That's something that's silly I pointed it out like barely. nope, can't even say it there.

You got to take the whole top off to see the sight glass which I think is a bit silly, but it's working about as good as it's gonna be I'm not a huge fan of you know how everything turned out I don't like uh, the mismatch on the equipment which I think is leading to that high TD but I didn't buy this. You know the customer buys this stuff and has it shipped and you know is what it is right? So I want to ask you guys something when it towards the beginning of the video before the crane lift happened, there was something that happened. Nobody got hurt, but someone could have gotten hurt because of something that was done in properly and uh, it's a learning lesson, you know? had a discussion about it. I'm curious if you guys caught what it was.

Okay, so let me know in the comments if you guys caught what happened before the crane started lifting, something happened and someone could have gotten hurt, but they didn't. So I'm curious if you guys know what it was. Okay, it was all cool, nothing bad happened. Uh, I'm not going to say what it was because I'm curious if you guys caught it, but I did talk with the other person and just said hey, you know there's a better way to do this that way you potentially don't get hurt.

Okay, so I'll leave it at that. Let me know in the comments if you caught it, what you think and remember, you always want to take care of yourself, You want to think about yourself first, right? Your body is very important to you. You don't want to hurt yourself. Okay, so let's talk about the crane incident.

So I was having someone else signal the crane and then when it came time, I took over the signaling when we were lifting or directing the crane over to lift up the old unit and I was directing the crane and I told him to Boom up. Okay, I said boom up because what was happening was the ball was too far past the condensing unit and so instead of of hoisting down, I said boom up because as he booms up it would have re it would have brought that the ball would have traveled closer to the crane and I was going to tell him to Boom up until the ball centered over the condensing unit. Then I was going to tell them to hoist down right? Well when I told him to Boom up he started hoisting up and it took me a minute to realize what was happening because I wasn't watching the um the the end of the crane I was watching the ball and so I saw the ball going up and then my other guy will that was on the roof. What you could see kind of the confused look on his face because he was telling me to Boom up right and he's like wait what's going on and then and then I finally realized what was happening.
The crane operator thought I was saying hoist up when I was giving him this signal right here which is the signal for boom up. lift up the boom and the ball would have moved. It would have traveled towards the crane because as he naturally lifts the boom right and he's got a load hoisted or even the ball as he lifts it, the ball is gonna move with the the boom right? So anyways, I was a little bit bummed that the crane operated and I had a discussion with him after and it totally makes sense. Okay, unfortunately, there's too many people that don't understand proper hand signals.

Okay, and the crane operator did explain it to me and he said, look, he goes a lot of people give me the weirdest signals and sometimes I don't know what they mean because you know he said that. A lot of times people don't understand the proper signal. So he's used to dealing with people doing move or these weird hand signals and different things all the time. right? So you know and again.

But it's still if you're giving someone proper hand signals. If if someone tells the crane like this, boom up. that means boom up. That doesn't mean hoist up right.

It was all good. It was. You know, not a big deal, but it is frustrating and it is kind of scary if if you're giving hand signals to someone. It just goes to show that you really really need to be paying attention to what you're doing.

That one took me a couple seconds. Luckily, nobody got hurt, right? Um, you know and and it is what it is. But I'm noticing this kind of stuff more and more. Okay, it's just one of those things.

so let's get on with the job. Uh, overall, the job turned out pretty good. Couple things that I didn't like. Okay, uh, number one.

Obviously we had an electrical mishap, but it's it's okay. It happens Okay. Had a discussion with the guy that wired up the coil and just said hey, look, you landed a wire on the wrong spot he Landed It On H3 instead of number three I get it. Okay, honestly, why do they have H3 on there? It's kind of silly.

they should call that something different. really. I get it, it's heater three but come on, call it something different. That's just a silly thing.

You know, whatever life happens, you know we figured it out. It was all good. You guys saw me troubleshooting through the problem. One thing that I will say is you know I I thought maybe I was gonna have to turn and I did I turned the power back on but I pulled the compressor out of the circuit because I didn't want you know it being subject to uh, shorting something or something.

you know when we were trying to troubleshoot it. So words you know something to think about when you're doing that kind of stuff. The other thing that I really didn't like how it turned out and you know I I get it is the way the liquid line like I Really, you know what? I probably need to get is one of those 3 8 line straighteners they make like a line straightener. It has a bunch of ball bearings in it and when you travel it back and forth, it actually straightens out the line.
I probably need to pick one of those up because that would have really helped in this situation. I could have straightened out that liquid line a little bit better, but you know it sometimes is. Polish and a turd when they don't really have the proper stuff on the roof for you to wire these things up and you know it is what it is, right? Life happens. You can't always be perfect.

Other than that, um, there's a little bit of a mismatch as far as uh delivered BTUs for the evaporator and the condenser and I do believe that was partially or if not, completely, responsible for the high TD that we were seeing the evaporator TD Um, but other than that, everything else really went okay. I Mean it's just a normal, typical job like I said in the very beginning of the video I Really, really wish we could spread this out over a little bit more time and we weren't under such a rush trying to fix or replace to a complete retrofit, evaporator, condenser, and uh, line set in a short amount of time. you know? I Really would have liked to have been able to do that and spread it out over two days, but it's not very practical. These customers don't want you to do that.

But man, you know, if you, if you've never experienced a refrigerator truck when you're trying to do a retrofit, refrigerator trucks are so much nicer because you just don't feel pressure. You're just like, okay, I'm just doing my thing customers not coming in and out of the box. You know we're not trying to keep the doors shut, all that good stuff, but you know you know this is just the kind of stuff that I work in and you have to learn to do this stuff a lot. And um, you know sometimes you get spoiled and the customer has a refrigerator truck, but it's not very often for me.

so we did our best within the time frame, got the system operational and everything turned out pretty good. You know there's little things here and there, but you know again, you can't always be perfect. So I really appreciate y'all Please leave me some feedback down in the comments. If you haven't already, please consider checking out my website Hvacrvideos.com Merchandise available on their hat: all kinds of different hats.

We have the dad hats, we have the flat bill hats. We have the standard original hats like this one. um, beanies, sweaters, t-shirts, all kinds of good stuff on there. So check it out Hvacrvideos.com If you guys are interested in supporting the channel, a really good way to do so is go to Truetechtools.com if you're interested in purchasing any tools and they have something that you like if you like their pricing.
and I can vouch for their selection, I can vouch for their customer service and their pricing is pretty darn good too. But if you use my discount code big Picture one word that is an affiliate code. You get an eight percent discount when you use that code and then I get a small commission. That's a great way to help support the channel a couple other ways.

but the easiest way. The easiest way to support this channel is literally just watch the videos from. Just Just watch them. Okay, just watch the videos completely.

That's the easiest way. Okay. And then uh. there's another couple other methods.

Uh PayPal Patreon YouTube Channel memberships All of those are great ways too. There's links in the show notes of this video and that's pretty much it. I Hope you guys have a a nice Independence Day For those of you in the United States Uh, the Fourth of July is coming up. I Hope you guys get to spend some time with the family, have a great barbecue.

That's what I'm looking forward to having some friends coming over, barbecuing, hanging out, and just hanging out with the family. So I Hope you guys get to have a good time too! Thank you so very much for all the feedback, the support, the comments, the interaction you guys have on all my social media platforms. It's very humbling. I Really do appreciate you and we will catch you on the next one.

Okay, we got the drain line in we need to seal up the holes. Line set is ran P-trap Now we we used the um the rubberized insulation but we changed to this right here. You dumb? all right. So we got the line set ran.


42 thoughts on “The crane operator didn’t know the hand signals”
  1. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Patrik Filipsson says:

    Your coworker lifted the old unit with his back and not his legs.

  2. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Almost Everything Apple says:

    The other guy bent with his back. NEVER BEND WITH YOUR BACK!!!!!!!! (even tho I do😅😬) always bend with your legs. I’m only 14 (and I bend with my back) and I already get some back pain. So please DO NOT bend with your back. Service area Ottawa??

  3. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Alec O'Brien says:

    Your coworker was setting on the edge of the roof

  4. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Ken S. says:

    Never, Ever, Ever, Walk Under the Crane Ball Boom. That Load Slips and your Employee is Dead.

  5. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Ken S. says:

    Often Wonder who the Geniuses 🤪 are that Design this Equipment when they Hide the Sight Line behind the Pipe Insulation. 🤪👎

  6. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Ken S. says:

    The Signals the Crane Operator didn’t Know are the Most Elementary or ABC’s and there is NO Way he should have been granted a License without knowing it🤪👎

  7. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Hooligan says:

    Ik I'm 2 months late to making a comment but it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to have a discussion between your crew and the crane operator so that everyone is on the same page.

  8. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Ralph & Emy M says:

    OSHA says to discuss and agree to hand signals before beginning the lift.

  9. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Sir Campbell says:

    Would asked him to get off job site, hire someone that knows how to do the job…

    And yes i have … Service area Barrhaven??

  10. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Tracy Sellman says:

    I used to see this a lot from inexperienced crane operators working for mom-and-pop type of companies, and Yes from inexperienced apprentice HVAC techs and installers. I used to keep on first-name baizes, with good pro-level crane operators and would ask for them by name. We were installing a $175K 45-50 Ton commercial unit on a theater and the crane operator was so bad he tipped the crane up on two outriggers and smashed a Jaguar costing about the same amount. it took two months for the factory to replace the unit and thank God, it was not over the theater roof it could have killed people inside watching a movie if it came through the roof. PS: The only reason the crane did not end up on its side was the load straps failed. Man, what a nightmare. The year was 1989 the location was Tucson Arizona the names have been removed to protect the stupidly innocent! Que: The Law and Order intro music! lol PS: The other guy needs to learn how to lift weight with his legs and NOT his back, bend at the knees and hips, and keep his back straight, the first time he slips or dislocates a disk in his back he will learn a hard lesson. Service area Orleans??

  11. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Alex Ray says:

    I assume the improper practise was – Lifting with your knees and not your back! I work in the theatre industry, I know all about lifting with your knees!

  12. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars ne0rmatrix says:

    I have done various jobs on construction sites for the last 15 years. We have meetings every morning for about an hour. I generally go over every detail with anyone I don't know in fine detail. I work a variety of different jobs. Over the last 10 years or so it has been more and more about safety and on excuses for not following regs etc. Most large sites have a ton of paperwork and pretty much every site has multiple orientations for people new or returning after a certain amount of time. It can be kind of ridiculous but I have seen some pretty stupid things and that is with people who actually know there jobs.

    Saw a experienced crane operator complete lose it and had to be removed from site because ppl kept putting their bags and tools on his concrete brick he used for morning weight tests. He was fired on the spot for unsafe operation of a crane. I had a meeting with the CSO, TSO, labor foremen, and the LCT on site that morning and we have put up physical barriers to prevent people from being able to get the block. Someone took down the tape and barriers and put their crap on top of unit. He ended up jerking it up and it swung around and slammed into the CSO trailer causing significant damage. It was a pretty stupid move. He was experienced and should not have lost his cool. Actually beyond stupid to do that. But hey humans right?

    That led to full site shutdown for a while. We sat in meetings for days about that.

  13. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Brian T says:

    retired now ,worked my whole life in the HVAC trade , i try to direct a crane once for a roof top installation it was very comical, after that i worked on the ground or set the unit. I love the sound of a the crane pulling up to the job,the beeping,, the noise of the crane raising up

  14. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars pomonabill220 says:

    You are soooo whiney!
    Maybe the crane operator had a hard time seeing YOUR hand signals! Mr. Perfect just MIGHT have screwed up! Are you in Nepean ?

  15. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars abx42 says:

    Nope, I missed it.

  16. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Russell Nodder says:

    Why is your man sitting on edge of roof with no harness? Not the way that should be done

  17. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars zsmith45 says:

    I always keep a set of handheld radios just for situations like this. More common problem than you'd think these days.

  18. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Daniel Elise says:

    Can someone tell me what a P trap is?

  19. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars M.A. M.R. says:

    I was a first year apprentice 10 years ago, crane signals are the first things that are taught and one of the most important.

  20. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Michael Morassi says:

    Because the customer bought the equipment, what is your policy if you will on any guarantee/warranties?

  21. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars John E Tucker Jr says:

    Your co partner improper lifting measures .😊

  22. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars stephen feldmeier says:

    you know no matter what you do, there is a learning curve for everybody. Don't criticize people for what they don't know, educate them instead. Just remember your first day at work on how much you didn't know. I worked in the aircraft maintenance industry for 16 years, everyday was a learning experience for everyone – me included. But look at what are you doing, you're making these videos to educate people like me who own a furnace/ac unit on how these work. You're greatest strength is you know how to teach, the hardest part of the job for most people. Always remember, a site supervisor is a mentor first, a supervisor last.

  23. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars sean peterson says:

    I had a 100 ton unit 5 feet from the curb… using walker talkies.. everything going smoothly when our walk is talkies picked up another crane crew who was saying down down down… almost ruined the day. Always go over hand signals with everyone on the crane pick before starting

  24. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Daryl Bennett says:

    No usually commenter but YourBack breaks before your legs, and Dont get between the Load and the outside wall, unless you can fly.

  25. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Kenneth Johnson says:

    How do you manage to get a crane operator's license and never learn hand signals?

  26. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars SealsTech says:

    It’s crazy how “MF in charge” has a look. You are now one of 7 GC’s/superintendent/managers that I know that look like carbon copies of my boss. You started out worrying about forgetting a P trap and ended up risking being smashed by a rent-a-operator. You never know where the day may lead. 🍻

  27. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Andrew Simmons says:

    I don’t want to be mean, or criticize I could be wrong to cause camera wasn’t a great spot to see hand signals, boom up and boom down, arm, fully extended with thumbs up or thumbs down, to boom in or boom out fully extend arm when thumbs up or thumbs down with a squeeze motion of the other fingers, and of course, to hoist up and hoist down, is index finger in the circle up or down

  28. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars HVAC & Refrigeration says:

    Never give a crane operator by hands signal, but do the phone communication instead. I learned that many times with them.

  29. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Steve Jay says:

    I love these videos and learn a lot from them… but 2 things bothered me about this. First – I hate when people run insulation through the box instead of just the pipe… the insulation gives an avenue for air to travel, thats why you see ice cycles on traps all the time. The 2nd was the floor — hard to tell from the video — but if this box was on grade Im guessing you have a frost heave issue. lastly — why should you not slide insulation over a P-trap? thats just a question – Ive never heard of that being a problem and that feels like something I should know — someone help me out on that one. Thanks for the content – I always feel like I learn something

  30. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Jay bird Jay says:

    I seen a lot of problems with that lift that could’ve been resolved with a pre-meeting. Second, I don’t understand why your using a t-4 pin torch tip and not a rose bud when it comes to brazing that size of a line.
    Another thing is nobody should’ve been sitting on the wall side directing that crane, you should’ve had the proper equipment so you could’ve seen over that wall. That was a serious accident waiting to happen. Are you in Kanata ?

  31. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars J Pol says:

    The 3 things I saw wrong were sitting on top the wall without a safety harness….walking under our standing under a lift or empty ball and physically lifting with your back instead of squatting and using your knees! Other than that….everyone survived! Lol. What did you see wrong? I won't get into lock out tag out for the electrical because we couldn't see both sides of the power off. The roof man needed to go down and lock out that breaker himself to be safe on the roof disconnecting the wires. Later! J Pol.

  32. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars johnny Johnson says:

    Its a Solenoid? or a Sealenoid? 😀

  33. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars ChucklesNuts says:

    after a crane operator dropped a 1500lbs unit on the roof of My work. Corporate mandated that radios be used when crane operators where charging out equipment. The roof luckily was a truss roof and it didn't penetrate through to were people where.

  34. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Jeremy Carlson says:

    One thing I did notice is when he stuck the gauges into the old condenser when the fan was still running. Luckily the fan shut off because it finished pumping down but that could have been bad.

  35. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars For Last says:

    Before starting any operation we have a safety meeting and make sure we discuss communication before the operations. And most crane operators have walkie-talkies.

  36. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars zombiediarhea says:

    Joe Biden operating the crane Service area Kanata??

  37. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Samuel Jarquin says:

    roof hatch was open

  38. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Samuel Jarquin says:

    roof hatch was open

  39. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars keenan walker says:

    My whole hvac company is trained to signal cranes we do it every week Are you in Orleans ?

  40. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars rody goossens says:

    Use an walkie

  41. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Jason says:

    That's crazy to think a crane operator doesn't know the signals. I use cranes for the same HVAC related lifts only a few times a year and still know all the signals. These operators spend their entire day, every day using these signals and don't know them? I even know the hold the load while booming up and down signals… On the other hand, we once had someone who knew most of the signals, but didn't know the "slow" commands. So as the load was being hoisted up and down, the operator was just going full bore and almost ripped the curbs off roof and slamming the unit down hard on the curb.

  42. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Joel Brown says:

    As a NYC Tin Knocker, each and every crane pick has a pre-pick hand signal review…
    ONLY THE PEOPLE INVOLVED: crane operator, 1 or 2 guys when out of line of vision pick or landing.
    ALWAYS, I've had to swap out operators because the assigned guy was hung over and couldn't function ( on a huge Polution [poop] plant in the Bronx that had 3 operators on sight… cost me coffee & buttered roll).
    Great videos brother
    Bronx Love 😎

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