Oil drain at PHE

[notepanther]

The original designed of chiller does not put an oil drain at the PHE.Last time we had an ammonia leaked at the blind flange.We found out that there were some oil stuck in PHE,no where to go.What is necessary to put an oil drain at PHE ? Why oil leak to ammonia line ? and How do we know the efficiency of the system drop if cause by oil at PHE ? It will take longer run,right ? Help me please guys.Thanks alot.

[hendry]

The original designed of chiller does not put an oil drain at the PHE.Last time we had an ammonia leaked at the blind flange.We found out that there were some oil stuck in PHE,no where to go.What is necessary to put an oil drain at PHE ? Why oil leak to ammonia line ? and How do we know the efficiency of the system drop if cause by oil at PHE ? It will take longer run,right ? Help me please guys.Thanks alot.

Hi Notepanther,

over years, i find some valve & fittings have been left out for reasons i.e. costs, lack of experience, etc.

since you know it should be included, i believe it shoud be there then.

oil in your NH3 line ... it is normal but the question next will be how much should be in circulation & how much should stay in oil reservoir.

to answer that, you should know well the design of your oil seprator if there is. what if there isn't any? then, you should anticipate the amt of carry over in your system from the compressor. if you have screw comp, then mostly like the whole bunch of 200 litres will be in your piping lines.

yes, oil in piping esp. heat exchanger cause drop in performance. yes, cooling time increase. yes, it is highly noticeable. & since you know that the effect/s, drain oil from the heat exhcnager oftenly to avoid hiccups.

cheers.

Hendry @ Malaysia

[US Iceman]

Some people forget to put the oil drain connections in or they want to save costs. In my opinion, the PHE should have an oil drain pot permanently connected to the PHE. Any oil would drain down into the pot, and then manually drained when required.

If the PHE has sufficient refrigerant in it and you start to loose cooling capacity, it will most likely be because of oil accumulating in the PHE (if the oil is not drained out).