Hi all,

Had a 404a secondhand installed a couple weeks ago. It was running fine for about a month, then had it switched off for about a month. After restarting, the system wouldn't function. Hooked up the guages, high side slightly low (175 psi), low side very low (10 psi). Added charge till high side was 210 psi. Low side did not get higher than 15 psi. Changed the liquid line filter and cleaned the TXV screen - no change. View glass dry, flash gas only from time to time.

The liquid line coming from the compressor going to the condenser gets extremely hot after only a few minutes (130 °F). Because of this I can only run the unit for a few minutes, not sure if compressor can handle the heat - so superheat and subcooling are probably not useable. Except for the first few loops the rest of the condensor stays at room temperature.

I would expect the sight glass to be full of liquid if the restriction would be at the TXV, correct? I checked the solenoid valve too. Am I overlooking something, or is the logical conclusion that I should try to clean the condensor?

Any help or suggestions are much appreciated as I am located in the middle of nowhere in Tanzania - the nearest technician is about 700 km away and due to his workload may have months before he has time.

Thanks and best regards

Florian