More leaks than a farmers market...

[monkey spanners]

Had a call to a new customer, 5hr 250 mile round trip, they were unimpressed with their local guy so i got recommended to them.

The main problem was the wash system on the milk tank, these new ones need a wash program writing for them on a laptop if the default wash is not working out.
It depends on the size of tank, 15,000L in this case and the water pressure etc how long fill times for the hot and cold water need to be etc.
Spent three hours messing about getting it to work ok, and then they wanted a check over the fridge systems while i was there....

Now i've seen bad brazing before, i've even been guilty of some if truth be told but i have never seen so many bad joints in such a short piece of pipe
Thirteen joints in elbows and a tee as the suction lines exited the tank at the top, acces to this was from below 8ft up in the air with a gap 1ft wide between the tank and the plate heat ex and milk lines.
All the brazing was full of bubbles/holes, one leaked so bad the leak spray wouldn't stay in it! i brazed over it all with some 15% rods and it turned out much better than i thought.
Then i noticed another joint 9" up the suction line didn't look too clever either, on closer inspection the system had originally been installed using plumbing solder and all the heat i had put in had melted this joint too....

The phials on the txv's were clamped over the fittings, i could poke a screwdriver between them and the pipe...

After talking to the customer it turns out the original installers were lawn mower repair men, you couldn't make this stuff up

Eleven hours on site, 10kg R22, other bits and pieces, be lucky to get any change out of a grand, moslty due to the poor work of the original installers.

I'm doubtfull the new drop ins will be compatable with plumbing solder based on experience with R134a in the past so i think they will need to budget for new pipe work in the near future.

Now finally to the question, is plumbing solder even legal for refrigeration service?

Jon