Today's call....

[The Viking]

OK,
I will give you another brain teaser (even thou I had complaints about the last one...)

Got called to a manufacturer of household appliances today where they complained about water "leaking" from one of the A/C unit.

The unit in question is part of a Toshiba VRF system and all other units on that system is working as expected.

This is what it looked like:


Attachment 1992
Attachment 1991

So, give us your thoughts.......

[monkey spanners]

They are testing kettles or similar appliances and it is too humind in the room.

[Obi Wan]

Several things come to mind.

1, humidity level is too high in the room, maybe wet bulb temp is above the the operating range.

2, Thermostat is switched on for too long, either the by room temp sensor reading to high or the unit is in emergency mode (if it has one). The cool air off is cooling the metal parts below dew point.

3, Expansion valve is stuck open.

4, Cross wiring/piping.

Here are a few thoughts!

Obi Wan

[The Viking]

OK M-S,
I give up, you also visit Kenwoods down in Havant??

But you were right.

96 % humidity in the room. (measured with both digital gizmo and old fashioned whirlie)

They are using 21 litre if water every hour (That does not include what they are pouring out, just what's boiling off)

I called Munters and asked for advice and they gave me a budget figure of £50K !Hick!!

[monkey spanners]

Lucky guess Viking, i've seen the same thing at Culligans where they bottle water for those 20L cooler thingies. I noticed the green stuff on the light fitting and thought it must have been humid for a long time in there. I've not been to Kenwoods, most of my customers are small companies or dairy farms.

Jon

[Brian_UK]

Would have thought that a decent ventilation system would have been better.

[nike123]

Would have thought that a decent ventilation system would have been better.

Then you need more cooling capacity or heat recovery.
If they install hoods whit their own makeup air above moisture generation places, problem is probably solved

[Argus]

So, give us your thoughts.......

Initially, and on a serious note for a moment, I think that you (or more precisely, your customer) may have a serious potential electrical safety problem.

Consider the current safety rules in the UK on electrical equipment in bathrooms, given the humidities that you mention, the environment is the same.

No doubt there are adequate earth points, but I would question the safety of any electrical equipment that is not adequately protected from moisture in those humidities, not just the ceiling unit. You can check this in the IP codes that are part of the mandatory LVD safety testing testing.

If nothing else, you may have a duty of care to put this in writing to your customer. At the least it provides you with an adequate defence if there are any accidents.



.

[TRASH101]

A hood/ cabinet would surely be the best solution although condensate would have to be drained off, but there is an opportunity for some decent heat recovery. As Argus points out the electrical aspect of the room is a worry. Is the room fabric a " clean room " style of build ? and did Munters advise descant units ?

[TRASH101]

sorry I just looked at the photo again to see the block wall OH DEAR. Tell them to build a room fit for purpose the tight fisted ba*!*$%s

[The Viking]

Thank you guys,

The job is in hand...

(Even thou they refused my suggestion of moving the testing outside, and guess what teir argument was....
"What will happen when it rains"!!!!!)