Chiller Question

Tesar · 03/19/2008, 09:55 AM

I bought a used TECO CA200 chiller about a month ago. It was working great up until this weekend. It started making some real funny noises. I was wondering if anyone can help me out with this.

Basically what happens is the temperature of the tank raises to the set point of the chiller. The chiller kicks on and the fan starts to blow (sounds like a refrigerator starting up, this is how it always used to sound). After about 5 to 10 seconds of this the compressor kicks on and the fan stops. The compressor will rev up and then stop. It repeats this over and over until the tank finally drops in temp back below the set point. This takes about 10 minutes.

Do these chillers need to be recharged, like your home ac unit, every now and then? Or is this chiller on the way out the door?

Thank you in advance,
Tesar

DarG · 03/19/2008, 10:57 AM

They shouldnt lose refrigerant but they can be charged. Very very slow leaks over time arent uncommon. Chiller refrigerant leaks usually occur where the copper refrigerant lines are connected with the Titanium evaporator. These are connected with compression fitting because the copper and titanium cannot be soldered together. They can also leak where solder joints were done incorrectly when the chiller was built but the most vulnerable point is at those compression fittings.
It could be low refrigerant or an electrical problem, maybe with one of the relays. The fan kicking off when the compressor kicks on is not right. Makes it sound like there is an electrical issue.

I would call TECO and find out where to send it for service. The compressor is not going to last long at all if it really is kicking on and off or motorboating. I wouldnt run it any more until getting it fixed.

03/19/2008, 09:55 AM	#1
Tesar Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: O'Fallon, MO Posts: 1	Chiller Question I bought a used TECO CA200 chiller about a month ago. It was working great up until this weekend. It started making some real funny noises. I was wondering if anyone can help me out with this. Basically what happens is the temperature of the tank raises to the set point of the chiller. The chiller kicks on and the fan starts to blow (sounds like a refrigerator starting up, this is how it always used to sound). After about 5 to 10 seconds of this the compressor kicks on and the fan stops. The compressor will rev up and then stop. It repeats this over and over until the tank finally drops in temp back below the set point. This takes about 10 minutes. Do these chillers need to be recharged, like your home ac unit, every now and then? Or is this chiller on the way out the door? Thank you in advance, Tesar

03/19/2008, 10:57 AM	#2
DarG Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 5,515	They shouldnt lose refrigerant but they can be charged. Very very slow leaks over time arent uncommon. Chiller refrigerant leaks usually occur where the copper refrigerant lines are connected with the Titanium evaporator. These are connected with compression fitting because the copper and titanium cannot be soldered together. They can also leak where solder joints were done incorrectly when the chiller was built but the most vulnerable point is at those compression fittings. It could be low refrigerant or an electrical problem, maybe with one of the relays. The fan kicking off when the compressor kicks on is not right. Makes it sound like there is an electrical issue. I would call TECO and find out where to send it for service. The compressor is not going to last long at all if it really is kicking on and off or motorboating. I wouldnt run it any more until getting it fixed.