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Thread: Hall of shame.
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17-01-2007, 07:53 PM #101
Re: Hall of shame.
Well, there's a whole condenser to store it in eventually. And I love freezing it up when the solenoid opens.
Side note: we don't usually call it suction accumulator, but liquid strainer. It more gives the idea... it doesn't accumulate like a receiver, it strains liquid from vapour.
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18-01-2007, 09:37 AM #102
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22-01-2007, 06:18 PM #103
Re: Hall of shame.
How about this one.Afew years ago I was commissioning on a supermarket refit,as usual the cases were coming on line in stages.As the weeks went by the last of the cases were fitted and then the problems started.The pack was running flat out and the cases were not getting temperature,suc press was almost 70 psi(R404).I got on to the project manager and told him I was having major problems with the plant, and he threw a wobbler "what the !!!! have you done wrong on the commissioning you useless !!!!"was his reply.I said that in my opinion the pack was undersized for the case duty,but he said the pack design duty was 15% above the case duty.The company sent in a "troubleshooter" to check my work.He started cutting risers looking for oil logged pipes and baisicaly pulled the job to bits and would not listen to me.After almost a week he left site and the problem was not rectified.The design engineer went through all his sizeings and said they were spot on.After almost two weeks of empty cases the problem was found.The case manufacturer had upped the sizes of the case evaps and had not told anyone,we had to put 36" on a condensing unit And the plant ran as sweet as a nut.
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22-01-2007, 08:50 PM #104
Re: Hall of shame.
Hi Ronb
Who ended up paying for the C**k-up
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23-01-2007, 02:39 PM #105
Re: Hall of shame.
As far as I know the case manufacturer got hit with the costs.I got lots of overtime though.
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23-01-2007, 02:54 PM #106
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24-01-2007, 08:53 AM #107
Re: Hall of shame.
Yes.Were your cases manufactured by a company begining with N.
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24-01-2007, 10:45 AM #108
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24-01-2007, 11:45 PM #109
Re: Hall of shame.
I work in the Transport Refrigeration side, as it is a small industry there's not many of us at it. The whole industry is short staffed.
Going back a few years we took on a commercial engineer who in his words was 'the dogs b******s.
After a few weeks in the workshop he was moaning about not getting the chance to get on site. A job came in localy and off he went, (just a simple N.P.T)
After half the day had gone with no contact from the 'Engineer' i was asked to call in to where he was on my way back to the depot.
"There's something wrong with the compressor, I know the engine's turning the right way but the compressors running backwards the pressures are the wrong way round"
Bearing in mind the compressor will run either rotation this was baffleing. After climbing up the ladders and having a nosey I told him what the problem was.
"You have your gagues on the wrong way round"
"NO I HAVE NOT, look i followed the pipework back to the compressor, there's the accumilator tank back to the compressor"
Thats the RECIEVER tank I said!!!
Why he followed the pipework back and missed the condensor doing so I do not know
Last edited by The Wanderer; 24-01-2007 at 11:49 PM.
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25-01-2007, 05:20 AM #110
Re: Hall of shame.
that last story reminds me of a guy who started with the company I was with at the time . Sent him to a commercial refrig job. He came back later and was asked , how did you go .. he said
"There was some bubbles in the sightglass so I let the gas out until there wasnt any bubbles" !
He was marched out of the place .
I guess the LP was at fault as well if it kept running after he worked his magic
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25-01-2007, 10:25 AM #111
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29-01-2007, 03:10 AM #112
Re: Hall of shame.
And yet when it comes to capital spending... the cheapest usually wins...
*sigh*
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18-02-2007, 03:40 PM #113
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21-02-2007, 03:22 PM #114
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05-03-2007, 03:33 PM #115
Re: Hall of shame.
hi
only today i was called to look at a split that wasnt working , when i got there it was going out on hp. checked unit out and it was running ok for a couple of hours and then cutting out. i decided that it was ethier mostire in the system are over charged. the coils where clean and fans running ok aswell. when i started reclaimimg the gas i niticed that there should only be 3.7kg of gas in it. by the time i removed it all there 6kg taken out of it.....
some cowboy had been there before me...
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06-03-2007, 07:36 PM #116
Re: Hall of shame.
service call by an engineer, complaint of system 'not doing anything.' gets to site alls looking good only thing missing is the pipework though! Wired and drain done, just not piped customer had paid bill though!
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07-03-2007, 09:11 PM #117
Re: Hall of shame.
siting here going through all the stuff that I have missed reminded me of a very amusing story that happened to my son while he was visiting in december ( I get him when mommy decides she needs a break)
So said kid arrives in the middle of high season with all hell breaking loose and as all 6 year olds are they are inquisitive as hell, have to touch everything, hang on everything, grab screwdrivers and imitate Dad at every opertunity, and yes irritate the life out of Dad (aka boss) and all hired help!
Picture this "sitting in the guts of a 5 star hotel with a poolheat pump that is "blowing" digital controllers", so nothing beats a good old standard electro-mechanical unit, said unit gets fitted to the heat pump and like all 6 year olds, he don't listen!, he don't like shoes, he is on holiday at the sea, he doesn't WANT TO wear shoes, he stands in the puddle of water forming under the pool heat pump and hangs on the machine like all good monkeys will do and WHAMO!!!!
he does the spaso dance, shrieking at the top of his little lungs "it bit me, it bit me"
well first a concerned father sorts out the problem, and then a hell of a lot of laughter, and a few crocodile tears from monster child and all was sorted out.
the moral of the story is such "kids always know better, and no macine however firmly it is bolted to the floor still needs to be held up by a kid"
the cause of the "spaso dance" was the neutral was lying in water in the casing of the machine, the hotel got the bill to upgrade the wiring of the unit.
the outcome of this story: utterly priceless! can't wait till the kid turns 21 to repeat the story to his peers!
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07-03-2007, 09:32 PM #118
Re: Hall of shame.
This reminds me of when i was younger helping out my dad by holding the lead lamp (briticent gripa, who remembers them?) so he could see what he was doing. " dad I'm getting a shock off the lead lamp!" reply " no your not "
fizz fizz fizz
" dad i'm getting a shock off the lead lamp" reply " no your not, shut up"
fizz fizz
" give it here i can't see OW!! I got a shock off the lead lamp" I think no sh*t sherlock. Turns out it had 72volts coming down the earth. You've got to love working on farms!
Cheers Jon
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08-03-2007, 09:23 PM #119
Re: Hall of shame.
Got called out to a small grocerie shop. Dairy case not working. One of the guys adjusts the timeclock and "OW!" he gets poke off of it.
Hm..bit odd. Anyway so I unplugs it and take apart the plug to check whats going on..
Turns out one of the doughnuts who own the shop crossed the live & neutral and had wrapped a bit of foil around the fuse to stop it blowing..
Change the plug and sort the wires and switch to see what happens.
BZZZZZZZ CLICK
Job done lol
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09-03-2007, 11:43 AM #120
Re: Hall of shame.
Got a call from a moron who'd got an ALOC alarm (inspection door open).
I told him: "you've got the door open. Just close it".
(I hear him going to the building door and slams it).
"Still can't reset".
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09-03-2007, 12:43 PM #121
Re: Hall of shame.
Hi all,
Service call to local boozer ice machine. whilst waiting for first cycle to end i noticed this little beauty.
2 x porter lancastrian coolers serviced by tee'd pipework and condensing unit outside somewhere.
Liquid line consists of 10mm microbore.
suction is 15mm tube tee'd to 28mm tube all done with yorkshire fittings and extra plumbers solder for extra strength and safety in mind.
All works fully backed by the cellar services fridge/plumbers warranty.Takes a licking, keeps on ticking.
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09-03-2007, 09:57 PM #122
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16-03-2007, 10:38 PM #123
Re: Hall of shame.
ive been called to a pack after another engineer had left it after several hours and after many phone calls! he told me that hed left the pack running but there was a problem with the control circuit. when i got there i found the control circuit fuse blown because the press switch cable rubbed through. fair enough,
but he had wedged compressor contactors in with card board to keep them running!!
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21-03-2007, 12:20 AM #124
Re: Hall of shame.
Hi all, this is my first post and I have 2 stories to tell. The first begins when I was about 12, we used to have a large domestic chest freezer in the utility room of my parents house, it was fairly old and the dividers kept collapsing as they do which would annoy the hell out of my mom. So my dad, being the diy genius that he is breaks out the battery drill and starts drilling new fixings into the side. You guessed it, TSSSSSSS, straight through the evaporator. Wasn't funny at the time but I often wonder if he hadn't done that would I have had an interest in becoming a fridge engineer.
My second is 15 years later. I get a call-out early one Thursday evening, a local supermarket chain who has their own engineer and are having problems. I arrive on site to find this guy fitted a new compressor on the Monday but can't get it going, food delivery due Friday morning first thing. He tells me "just keeps blowing fuses" Its a brand new condensing unit. so I ask to see the old one, he takes me to a new looking compressor and says "this one ran for a week and packed up, I can't get the other one to run" Turns out he replaced the whole unit, then the compressor failed and the one that won't run now is the second new compressor. I spend hours here and can't sus it out so take the wiring of the panel and compressor info away to have a think and to come back next day with some ideas. While at home having a think I come across the cause of the problem, the original unit was star delta, the new unit is part-wound. The other guy left his job and the country.
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29-03-2007, 09:40 PM #125
Re: Hall of shame.
I was once called out for a water cooled chiller having a broken condenser, which lost all refrigerant into cooling water. It turns out that the condenser was connected to tap water and all water was then wasted into sewage. The high level of oxigen in tap water corroded the condenser.
But this is not the funny thing.
I called the engineer of the installer and asked for a pressure test. He came downstairs with a nice black bottle... no pressure reducer.... ads sticker on it... strange OFN I thought...
Where did you get it, I asked
From the warehouse upstairs, he answered.
I went upstairs, and into the warehouse, which was shared with a bar of an adjacent fitness gym.
I looked around... you guessed. He disconnected the co2 of the soda dispenser and brought the bottle downstairs...
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31-03-2007, 01:22 PM #126
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31-03-2007, 06:25 PM #127
Re: Hall of shame.
Did you check his Kit for a bottle of jin and some orange juice?
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12-05-2007, 01:27 PM #128
Re: Hall of shame.
Had a bad day today.
Attended a call this morning (Saturday) to a display fridge storing cheese with storage underneath.
Call was a noisy condenser fan motor, said to my wife I wouldnt be long.
Got to job and changed fan motor, checked unit operation and found sight glass bubbling, superheat seemed ok unit wasn't flooding back. Had a look for leaks but nothing obvious.Unit was labeled 134a so added some gas shortly after doing this it started to flood back. Thought I better check orifice size in TEV, open evap cover,TEV is R22.So I change TEV,whilst changing this I notice compressor is actually R12 model, mineral oil
Out comes the 134a, new dryer and in goes the drop in replacement, of course pressure control was set for r22 cut in was about 55 PSI, not to mention thermostat was a domestic two door type. Then of course the inevitable phone call from my wife asking me why a simple job was taking me so long
Anyway fridge is now running fine.Client could not understand why I had done all this "extra work" as the fridge had been running fine for 2 years
Why is it that hacks can set up fridges like this and get away with it for ages, yet if I set it up this way the comp would be dead after a week.?
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12-05-2007, 05:55 PM #129
Re: Hall of shame.
Are you sure they didn't replace oil, I do that with R-12 units, should the compressor be in good condition I'll clean it out with iso alcy then dry, vac, refill with POE.
Any case I feel for ya mate.
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14-05-2007, 01:39 AM #130
Re: Hall of shame.
Ah that old chestnut - where have I heard that one before ?
Maybe the customer is not telling you everything , like they had some " mate " try to do the work a week ago and now they have decided it need an expert so sort it out.
Dont you know the old saying " everybody knows a fridgy " this saying is very common in Adelaide anyway .
I guess this customer isnt a regular of yours - hopefully he will be now .
Oh yeah and dont you love it when the wife is hassling you along with the customer. Use this one next time - say you will be home by half past , just dont say which hour.
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14-05-2007, 01:40 AM #131
Re: Hall of shame.
Ah that old chestnut - where have I heard that one before ? Maybe the customer is not telling you everything , like they had some " mate " try to do the work a week ago and now they have decided it needs an expert so sort it out.
Dont you know the old saying " everybody knows a fridgy " this saying and practice is very common in Adelaide anyway .
I guess this customer isnt a regular of yours - hopefully he will be now .
Oh yeah and dont you love it when the wife is hassling you along with the customer. Use this one next time - say you will be home by half past , just dont say which hour.
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14-05-2007, 12:06 PM #132
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14-05-2007, 12:30 PM #133
Re: Hall of shame.
G'day Toolman.
I was over in Adelaide about a week ago to go to a wedding, nice place.Something suss about eating a pie floating in pea soup after a long night on the grog though.
I guess this customer isnt a regular of yours - hopefully he will be now .
Oh yeah and dont you love it when the wife is hassling you along with the customer. Use this one next time - say you will be home by half past , just dont say which hour.
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16-05-2007, 01:20 AM #134
Re: Hall of shame.
Ah the old pie floater - Its a tradition here but not as popular as it was once.
Lots of Cafe & eaterys here open till all hours trying to make a buck , I guess because its outside the casino that helps the poor barstards come out of the casino broke and can only afford a floater.
Did you have the sauce on top of the pie ? The colour combination is a classic trigger to make people throw up the nights drinking into the nearest bin
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19-05-2007, 08:13 AM #135
Re: Hall of shame.
hi guys ive being to a butcher were the previos tech went to put prolong inside the compressor and told the customer that comp will last longer.when i got there i found that the whole system needed to be replaced
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19-05-2007, 12:31 PM #136
Re: Hall of shame.
It'll last indefinatly now its not working and wearing out.
Ignorance time, whats prolong?
Jon
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19-05-2007, 09:41 PM #137
Re: Hall of shame.
I just worked on a large sandwich cooler, as the saying goes: Any thing worth doing is worth doing right, apparently that includes screwing up! Horrid wiring (Fire hazed and more) 3K BTU/H compressor, not too bad R-134a they at least got the refrigerant right, but used a 1K btu/h orifice and a grossly under sized evap <_< never put a sticker in stating the refrigerant, and of course I've had to do so much to the thing the customers are wanting it don cheap under sized evap and rotted door seals.
"Why isn't it geting cold enough?"
Geee, I wonder? !
So I told them I'll make it work but no worrenty and no gurentee's and they signed on that, so Happy hacking I hate doing it but I can make it work for cheap, but if she blows Up I'm telling them I'll only be using fresh ordered parts.
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24-06-2007, 02:24 AM #138
Re: Hall of shame.
mmm, I'm ashamed to admit... this is my wiring I just descovered... (I'd forgotten about it)
tho in my defence, I did it up a ladder, with a broken leg, at midnight, 2 weeks out of hospital after a motorbike doing 140mph drove into the drivers door of the transit van I was driving.... (pretty banged up, van written off, me airlifted to hospital etc...)
it was one of those things when you don't really realise that you're making bad descisions.... but you are
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24-06-2007, 04:06 AM #139
Re: Hall of shame.
Originally Posted by The MG Pony
This is just setting yourself up for a fall!
BTW, how are you working on systems if you have not been to school yet? Do you have any licenses to be doing this for the general public???If all else fails, ask for help.
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24-06-2007, 04:33 AM #140
Re: Hall of shame.
I'm working with an engineer who is, It is his company, He is training me untill school starts when it is finnished I'll be put on as a full time aprentice. For now it is working on basic systems, he checks them over first, so far not a beat missed!
In the end It still didn't perform to a level I considered acceptable and told them it could not be patched and they need to either get a new unit or get the manufacturors parts. my instrcuter agreed with my idea that the plant on it is plainly under sized for the way it is built.
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24-06-2007, 11:04 AM #141
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24-06-2007, 03:01 PM #142
Re: Hall of shame.
no, he survived just past the accident (people who stopped told me this... I was trapped in the van) but pronounced dead when helicopter arrived
I still fill my pants every time a motorbike goes flying past me too... I'm quite lucky that I was just poping around the corner and didn't put my belt on, otherwise I'd be dead too.... the impact trapped my foot next to the accelerator and broke my leg, but as the door hit me it knocked me over so i was sitting on the passenger seat and out of the way of damage to the rest of me.
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02-07-2007, 09:10 AM #143
Re: Hall of shame.
check this out!!
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02-07-2007, 11:42 AM #144
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02-07-2007, 04:29 PM #145
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02-07-2007, 08:19 PM #146
Re: Hall of shame.
hey at least he had a good pipe rout!
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09-07-2007, 01:46 PM #147
Re: Hall of shame.
Reading all of these makes me glad I don't do field service anymore! I've got two from my service days, both for the same company at the same Supermarket as a matter of fact. No wonder they started using a different company!
First off, I had been there perhaps a month and was just a helper to one of the techs. We go in to a large walk in used for meat cutting. They just had us install 4 new gravity coils and they weren't working. After some head scratching we notice that, while each coil has its own TEV they are piped in SERIES! SO we spent a day repiping the whole system so more than 1 TEV would get some liquid.
Second, same store. They had a Case for cakes that just wouldn't keep temp. Seems like they were looking for ~20°F but I can't remember. After a couple of compressor replacements (actually I think it was 4) it was noticed that the shelves stuck out past the load line so the air curtain was just dumping on the floor. I don't thin they ever told the store manager...
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11-07-2007, 11:09 AM #148
Re: Hall of shame.
Most of my hall of shames are about cowboys not wiring up units properly, putting underated cable/isolators on it, and doing really dodgey flares.
I have once incident I still give my boss crap about though.
He calls me up on friday and told me I have to change two tx valves on a cabinet. He spent the afternoon there and that's his prognosis.
So I have to wake up 6am on a saturday morning and change these valves and recharge the system (which is on the roof, in the rain)
I call him a few times, asking WTF?, he's given me 404a valves, the unit I'm working on is R22, and it has no gas in it. He assures me it's 404a, do it anyway, and charge it up.
Bottom line, there was nothing wrong with the valves, he condemned them because he was getting normal pressures on the roof cond unit, but no cooling.
He was actually looking at the wrong cond unit.
The system was r22 with a massive leak on the sight glass, which he could have fixed on friday in 1 hour, instead of draggin me out of bed to stuff around all sat morning.
I really ripped into him, his excuse was "it was raining I was in a hurry to get off the roof", my retort was "it was raining on saturday too, yet I had to fix your stuff up"
His next excuse was "I was looking at the unit the previous tech told me it was"
I replied " theres a gauge port on the evap EPR, how could you condemn two TX valves without even at least cracking the flares open"
The guy is pretty smart, 50+ year old fridgey that knows most things about really old school stuff, chillers, blast freezers, plus keeps up to date with electronics and all modern commercial a/c and refrig etc. But I'm not letting him live this one down.
Also this cabinet was the one that didn't have the carel controller wired up to the solenoid that I mentioned in another story. Plus the EPR on it was welded in backwards.
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18-07-2007, 06:28 PM #149
Re: Hall of shame.
Asked for two 10a supplies and got this
Last edited by monkey spanners; 26-09-2007 at 11:17 AM.
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24-07-2007, 11:55 AM #150
Re: Hall of shame.
take alook at these aircon installations http://picasaweb.google.com/propernasty/HallOfShame
most were spotted on my holidays there are many more where this came from.
regards hendrag
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