Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Air Conditioning Tech Advice Needed

This is topic Air Conditioning Tech Advice Needed in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=000764

Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 03-23-2003, 09:39 AM:

Our theatre is cooled by a 100 ton Trane centrifugal chiller. This type of system maintains an internal vacuum. This means leaks are air inward rather than refrigerant outward and are impossible to detect and the treatment is to coat every joint with a liquid which will be drawn in and stop any leak. A purge pump operates to maintain a 25 in. vacuum. Even with a recovery system a small refrigerant loss is inevitable. The refrigerant is R113, one on the soon to be prohibited list. The question is--is there a replacement for R113? I've been told that R123 could be used but with a 15% efficiency loss which would be acceptable as there is considerable excess capacity. Service campanies and Trane offer only rhetoric and bullshit. Can anyone here shed some light? Replacement of the system is at present not possible.

Posted by Mark Maxwell (Member # 1355) on 04-21-2003, 12:53 AM:

I would say what you need to do is ask the manager of the largest and buisiest reasteraunt in town who does their' maintenance and ask them. I've worked in several reasteraunts, and even in the dead of winter the kitchen is burning up, they have walk in coolers, several freazers, air conditioning for the floor, and cooling units under the salad bar. All of thease have to be constantly maintained, or you can be shut down on the spot if there is a problem, or bacteria could spread and cause a patron to get food poisoning and possibly die. Whoever they use for maitenance has to know their' shit, and can probably anwere any question you have.

Posted by Jon Bartow (Member # 241) on 04-21-2003, 09:38 PM:

http://www.epa.gov/ozone/snap/refrigerants/reflist.pdf

A complete list from the US EPA