Problem designs

[WebRam]

What is the most common design fault found out there?

lets here your thoughts.

[kevin]

Access, you should try repairing a flake icemachine jammed behind an engine on a fishing trawler while its in the middle of the north sea, in rough weather..........
access goes right out the window (or porthole in this case)

[WebRam]

Originally posted by kevin
Access, you should try repairing a flake icemachine jammed behind an engine on a fishing trawler while its in the middle of the north sea, in rough weather..........
access goes right out the window (or porthole in this case)

Kevin, do you go out with the fishing boats all the time ?

Is that your Job?

Or do you work for a company that does a lot of repairs to the fishing fleets?

[subzero*psia]

I agree with these guys, ACCESS is the biggest issue in the field. Unfortunately it is driven by mainly by the end-user... they only have X amount of square feet to work with and the manufacturer makes the equipment fit a footprint.

Sometimes I dread the thought of getting into some equipment because I know it is going to take me a few hours to make a 15 minute repair. I never thought I would say this but INSTALLATION is the way to go, put it in like you are the one that is going to have to work on it.

[WebRam]

Originally posted by subzero*psia
I agree with these guys, ACCESS is the biggest issue in the field. Unfortunately it is driven by mainly by the end-user... they only have X amount of square feet to work with and the manufacturer makes the equipment fit a footprint.

Yep, but I also think its driven more by cost. How many times have you come across a unit that had been slipped into the ceiling void rather than build an acoustic chanber on the roof to house it?
And sometimes this also ends up being a safety issue as well

[Dan]

I had occasion to pop up the hood on my car yesterday. I used to work on engines when I could sit on the fender and use normal tools. Needless to say, I don't know a thing about that tightly packed machinery residing under my hood now. I will never see the actual battery, for example.

But the cars have dealerships, and the dealerships are equipped with special tools and well written procedures regarding the order of events both in diagnosing and performing the repair. They even suggest how long it should take.

What we work on is not so mass-produced, thus we use normal tools or invent convenient ones that apply to a fair range of equipment. And the stuff we work on is often emplaced in unsercerviceable circumstances. I think working on a car in an attic would be even frustrating to an expert auto mechanic.

Dan

[Dan]

Lousy wiring diagrams and wire color-coded black.
Unfriendly electronic controllers that require passwords.
Unexplained time delays that can operate in series.
Steel components that rust such as accumulators, end bells, shutoff valves, filter shells and galvanized drain pans.
Condensate evaporator pans with the discharge piping used as the heat source.
Bottom mounted self-contained equipment.... heck any self-contained equipment.
Commercial blower coils that cannot defrost the distributor tubes.
Anything that can be described as OEM and cannot be found in a catalog or warranted by the local wholesaler.
And perhaps the worst one of all:

Voice mail on the customer support line.

[WebRam]

Originally posted by Dan
Voice mail on the customer support line.

Ooh, I here you on that one Dan ......

[Brian_UK]

Well I think most of the sins have beeen covered above and I agree that installation is the thing.

I work for a firm of basic split-bashers (well OK they do a bit more someties) who, like most UK contractors are not at all concerned with the accessibilty required for follow on maintenance.

This wouldn't be so bad if they didn't secure service contracts on what they've just put in and Joe Bloggs here and his mates have great fun trying the reach it all.

And why is it that all the big cold stores seem to have the evaporators just out of reach when you are at the top of a frozen ali-ladder?

Theres that's better, it's off my chest now and onto yours.

[Dan]

Pardon my ignorance, but what the heck is an ali-ladder?

Dan

[WebRam]

It might be one of those ladders with the circular frame around it to stop you falling backwords .... maybe

I never understood the need, you can still fall down the way !!!!!!

[subzero*psia]

Perhaps it is an Aluminum Ladder?

[WebRam]

Now THAT is a more realistic answer

[iceman8691]

I totally agree with Mark, accessibility can often be the worst part of an otherwise good installation, dont you just hate having to carry gas and tools up vertical hoop ladders?
Then theres the big supermarket chain, (you know the one "every little helps")who think its a good idea to stick all the packs up on the roof with no plant room and only a staircase to get all your tools/ gas/ compressors up to them?? Yeah sure "every little does help".
Maybe i'm just whingeing cos ive been off laid up with a bad back today, but at least my boss was nice enough to come and see (check up on)me at 0930 this morning!

[Norty]

Since so many have been mentioned, I'll add one that gets me...Pipe threads on refrigeration racks. They leak like crazy. I've noticed a slow trend going towards gasketed rotalock fittings instead of pipe threads for liquid eyes, sight glasses, relief valves, etc. Only problem is it took too long in the first place.

[750 Valve]

Supermarket cases!!! Somebody has to stop beans being put loosely on the shelves and for god's sake would somebody design a pan to catch broken milk before it sits and ferments for two tears until the drain blocks up from sludge, evap motors trip out swimming in goo and I'm called in by some impatient loser manager at 3am to catch some disease that hasn't even been discovered yet! Can't wait to clean out my next fish case either...NOT!

[FreezerGeezer]

ABSOLUTELY, 750.

I used to get exactly that sort of call from jumped up, over-egoed greengrocers (AKA 'every little helps' managers).
It'll take more than £19000 a year to get me back there.
At least enviropak type pack systems have some sort of roofing to keep the weather off you though. Very few chiller manufacturers seem to have picked up on that.