cap tube pumps

[magnumman414]

please settle an argument between me and my boss. Does anyone belive in clearing plugged cap tubes with a cap tube pump (hydrolic type pump that uses high presure refrigerant oil to clear puugged lines). My boss uses one, I did refrigeration for 5 years before knowing what one was. Every time I have asked an O.E.M they have said not to use them and to just change the cap tube.

[angryk]

I have never actually used one. I know Johnstone sells one that pushes a tiny piece of metal htrough the tube. Once the metal is pushed through it stays in the evap. That does'nt sit too well with me, but then again if it is a cap tube that is too difficult to change, what do you have to lose?

[magnumman414]

I do think that is what my boss was talking about. has anyone used one or considered one

[zolar1]

I bought one that uses oil to clear a clogged cap tube. Haven't used it yet. THe book says it can produce up to 2000psi. I don't think the copper tubing will hold it though. It should either clear it or destroy it.

[DaBit]

The wall thickness of a captube, compared with the inner diameter, is very high. A captube should be able to handle 500 bars without problems. Thus, using high pressure oil might be able to clean out the captube. But captubes are cheap, so why not replace it when possible?

[frank]

But captubes are cheap, so why not replace it when possible?

When the captube is buried in the wall insulation as per a domestic or indeed when it is "tube in tube" then it is not really feasable to replace it.

Frank

[condenseddave]

I bought one eons ago, when I was young and had to have every tool that I could find. (Now I'm old, and have to have every tool I can find...)

It does work very well, and with the introduction of the POE oils, it saw a move from the back of the garage to the truck. Works great.

They're not super-popular, but are still available:

http://www.thermal-eng.com/HTML/5101.htm

They do work well, but are a bit messy.

[Bocko]

I used one home maid and put into cap tube R 11 under pressure over 400 bar! Successfully!

[taz24]

I used one home maid and put into cap tube R 11 under pressure over 400 bar! Successfully!

They were all used with R11 at one time and were very good at clearing blockages in small commercial 's and domestics.
We can't use R11 now though because CFC's are banned.
Iv'e not used them with oil but A thin POE oil would do the trick I spose.

Cheers taz.

[The MG Pony]

You see them on ebay all the time as cap tube chasers. I never really saw the point as I stick strictly with TXV systems.

But, as others have mentioned I suppos it does indeed have its merrits.