To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

HVAC questions

JCV

New member
Joined
Jul 14, 2023
Messages
1
Evening brothers, I’ve been strictly doing HVAC & Electrical work since 1997. I started my company in 2005. I’m Statewide Electrical licensed. Also I work on , install water cooled HVAC Systems for motor vessels. That being said, this has never happened to me before my vacuum pump or gauges was faulty and it pumped all my vacuum pump oil into the air conditioner system. I’m not above are too proud to ever ask anything or receive advice. So can somebody please give me a suggestion. I was going to print a new vacuum pump on it and pull a vacuum for like 24 hours after flushing with R11. Also, the customer ran the system for two days after I killed the breakers and told him not to. Any suggestions how to get this system back 100% also, it’s a brand new compressor and condenser coil on a Bard Unit
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

American Locomotive

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 8, 2017
Messages
10,947
Location
Rhode Island
How do you know your vacuum pump oil pumped into the system? That should be pretty much impossible unless your vacuum pump like flipped over while you turned it off and the system was under a vacuum.
 

pcmeiners

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
7,886
Location
In the only town in Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg.
If a vacuum pump has no check valve built in or it malfunctions, mineral oil ladened vapor and any droplets around the interior intake area of the pump could easily back into a system in a vacuum state. Small contamination, but still contamination to synthetic oil.
 
Last edited:

danski0224

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 29, 2005
Messages
13,382
Location
Near Naperville, IL
Power failure or similar? I've read that the vacuum pump oil could be pulled into the system under some circumstances, but that actual outcome seems difficult at best.

Customer operated system, with service valves closed? Either impossible or damaged.

Operated without refrigerant? Impossible or damaged.

There's no way to remove the oil through evacuation.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

P0234

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 6, 2012
Messages
3,241
Location
NoVA
Remind me NOT to hire you.
So you'd rather hire what the majority of techs would do, pretend it didn't happen and just recharge it and hope you don't get called back to this customer?

Nothing wrong with someone trying to learn more. Seems like a scenario that doesn't happen a lot. But yeah, go ahead and be a **** to him.
 

fitter30

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 23, 2019
Messages
2,968
Location
Peace Valley,mo
Evening brothers, I’ve been strictly doing HVAC & Electrical work since 1997. I started my company in 2005. I’m Statewide Electrical licensed. Also I work on , install water cooled HVAC Systems for motor vessels. That being said, this has never happened to me before my vacuum pump or gauges was faulty and it pumped all my vacuum pump oil into the air conditioner system. I’m not above are too proud to ever ask anything or receive advice. So can somebody please give me a suggestion. I was going to print a new vacuum pump on it and pull a vacuum for like 24 hours after flushing with R11. Also, the customer ran the system for two days after I killed the breakers and told him not to. Any suggestions how to get this system back 100% also, it’s a brand new compressor and condenser coil on a Bard Unit
System in deep vacuum gauges open power problems oil can be sucked into system. What refrigerant,description of the system and how much oil?
 

pcmeiners

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
7,886
Location
In the only town in Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg.
"System under a deep vacuum pump stops from a power problem the system will pull oil from the pump."

Have rebuilt 8 vacuum pumps, different brands, all vane type which are the usual pumps. All had the actual vane pump body basically in the middle of the housing, with an air space above, and above that the vacuum pump inlet. In vane pumps I rebuilt, the actual pump is not submerged in the oil, as the pump body must ***** air from above the oil level. Result, a vacuum could **** oil mist and a few small droplets of mineral oil if a check valve fails, in the upright position. As pointed out by American Locomotive, if a pump without a check valve or a failed check valve were to fall on it's side, and the pump powered off a considerable amount of oil could enter a vacuumed system. An overfilled pump will not pump at all, as the air inlet is blocked by oil, the pumps compression area fills with oil, oil is not compressible, pump stalls.

"start over dump comp. flush everything."

The entire system is contaminated with dirty mineral oil, the compressor, lines, filters. Flushing would need to be extensive ... new filters on both gas and liquid lines. Costly mess
 
Last edited:
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom