Sroll Packs [oil Changes]

[jockfrost]

most of the plant fitted in the supermarkets which i service are of scroll type packs.how often should the oil be changed.most of them use artic 22cc polyester oil.

[Dan]

The important thing is to filter the oil. Sporlan OF series, or another manufacturer's equivalent. You should not need to change the oil unless you have had compressor failures.

[Latte]

Hello Johnb
Most major supermarkets that have Service contracts with Refrigeration companies probably expect the oil in packs to be changed every couple of years if all ok.

The problem is that with all these big packs (LT,IT & HT) if a compressor goes down or if moisture gets in the system the cost of overall repair (and cost of lost stock can be huge). Its always best in the long run to play it safe, if you have ANY doubt over the oil change it, it can save you a lot of time in the long run.

P.S. What area in Scotland do you work

[jockfrost]

I work in the central/east coast and fife area of scotland.
The point i was getting at is,that before when packs run 3gs or shell sd,it was common practice to change the oil once a year ,or when oil problems persised.
But now that the new oils on the market cost £50 a gallon instead of £10,it is now not common practice.
I come from a royal navy back ground where maintenance is carried out know matter what,which in turns leads to long life in the time the plant lasts.
how can we know if the oil still carries out the job that it was designed for,ie it is not losing its viscosity /lubrication properties.

[Dan]

I come from a royal navy back ground where maintenance is carried out know matter what,which in turns leads to long life in the time the plant lasts.
how can we know if the oil still carries out the job that it was designed for,ie it is not losing its viscosity /lubrication properties.

I would advise taking oil samples and having them tested ($50 to $75 USA), instead of routinely costing your company or your customer the larger fee associated with purchase, labor, and disposal of the oil.

Oil doesn't lose its lubricating qualities over time. It loses its lubricating qualities from extreme circumstances, such as overheating, moisture, electrical failures and debris accumulation related to compressor wear, and oxidation accumulation.

Blindly scheduling changing the oil is actually worse than failing to have the oil properly analyzed, because you may target a looming problem with a proper analysis, and only permit a bad condition to more slowly continue with an oil change.

[bilmul]

before you have the oil tested can you visually check it's condition, ie what colour is it compared to new clean oil?
can you carry out an acid test? take a small sample from a compressor or resevoir does it feel gritty.
common sense will tell you if the oil needs changing but also look at the other sytem componants separator, oil filters, resevior regulators etc