Starting Up a New Chiller w/ Jeff Neiman

HVAC School - For Techs, By Techs

Bryan Orr

Training, Careers, Airconditioning, Self-improvement, Hvac, Business, Education, Refrigeration, Heating, Ac, Apprenticeship

4.8 • 985 Ratings

🗓️ 28 April 2017

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this podcast, Jeff Neiman shares an overview of his chiller startup procedure and some things he looks out for when starting a chiller after the initial chiller installation.

The actual chiller startup is typically the factory's responsibility (per the manufacturer); however, the "startup" that we're talking about refers to the installation and early maintenance.

The first step is preparation. Neiman recommends having a copy of the installation manual and reading it beforehand. You should also have a "request for startup" or pre-commission checklist. You also want to make sure there is water in the system before starting up a chiller. Technical datasheets are also useful to have on hand.

Once you get to the job site, inspection will be your main job. You can look for dents in the coils and other signs of damage from shipping or mishandling. Review the installation location. Make sure there is proper clearance around the chiller. As with other HVAC units, liquid in the compressor is catastrophic. So, make sure that the screw compressor is warm and liquid-free. Although centrifugal chillers have separate oil systems, heat is also important in those chillers because it warms the bearings.

Next, you can open up the panel and check the power. Perform a voltage imbalance calculation to make sure your voltage is satisfactory. Check for proper wire sizing and the number of conductors. Check that the piping has been done properly for the flow direction. The condenser fan has set screws, and it would be wise to verify their tightness.

Then, you check your water flow to make sure it fits all the correct parameters on your technical datasheets. Check the valves, flow, and pressures as specified.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of HVAC School is made possible by generous support from Testo and Carrier.
0:09.4	And when I say it's made possible because of their support, That's not like a joke.
0:13.8	Like I'm not just saying that because it's like, hey,
0:15.4	it's in our contract that I have to say that.
0:17.0	No, it's actually the truth.
0:19.4	The reason why I'm able to produce as much content
0:21.8	as I do, I get a lot of questions about that. How do you produce as much content as I do I get a lot of questions about that
0:23.2	how do you how do you produce so much content well it's because they're supporting it they're
0:26.7	backing it I'm a business owner there's no way I could justify spending as much time
0:30.6	as I do on HVAC school if there weren't some companies that were willing to
0:35.2	pitch in and say hey we believe in what you're doing and we want you to do more of it
0:38.5	and both testo and carrier have done that and it's really appreciated. So if any of you appreciate the work
0:45.0	that we're doing at HVAC school then I would encourage you to also appreciate the
0:49.8	effort that carrier and test to have put in to backing us and making it possible.
0:55.0	Now one thing I want to address real quick.
0:57.0	I had somebody recently say, you know, why are you telling everybody they need to buy these expensive
1:00.7	digital gauges if they're brand new into the field and they don't even know how to read
1:04.6	Super Heat and Subcool.
1:06.8	One thing I want to point out is I am not an advocate of using digital tools in order to do math or to do calculations or to understand things for you.
1:18.0	I'm a huge proponent of the technician understanding everything that they're doing and simply using the device as a way to make the job quicker and even more importantly and this is the key thing here to make it more accurate.
1:33.0	In order for a measurement, like let's say superheat or sub-cool,
1:38.0	to be an accurate measurement.
	...

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