Trane Chiller Question...

[TomFitz]

Hi Y'all,
I have a question concerning a Trane Chiller Model RTHC that possibly someone may be able to help me with..
This 400 Ton chiller was installed 2 years ago and the user has had problems with start-up when the chiller the system has been shut down for any length of time (over 20 days)..

Upon start-up it shuts down on alarm and the readout states:
"Loss of oil in the compressor – Unit has shut down –reset is required."

I have heard that this is a common problem with these chillers and that there is some kind of retrofit that can solve this issue...

Has anyone encountered problems with this particular model?

Thanks for any input....

TomFitz
Savannah, Georgia

 

[remp]

Tom fitz,

I am not an expert on chillers but I think this is a common problem on water cooled chillers with no flow control on condenser water line. When the system is shut down for 20 days or so is the temperature in the condenser water pipe dropping due to exposure to outside? if so you may require a throttling valve, bypass valve of VSD on the condenser water pump, to reduce the water flow through the chiller during start up.
Ask trane for advise, and let us know how you get on.

Regards
Billyq

 

[gaffatape]

Tomfitz, a possibility you might want to look into further is the turbocor compressor. Because the turbocor compressor is oil free it could be possible to retrofit with one of these, then the problem of the oil not moving through the complete system ceases to be a problem.
hope this helps

 

[ChrisConley]

gaffatape,

This may be off the mark, but do you by any chance have something to do with the sale, design or marketing of Turbocor compressors? I've read 5 posts by you know that mention them.

 

[Stormxtc]

TomFitz,

Look up my post in Multile Cooling Towers/Chillers thread. I think this may apply to you.

Some Trane chillers do not have oil pumps and are driven by a pressure difference between the evap and cond of 280Pa. Anything below this for 2 minutes will trigger alarm and shut chiller off.

Billyq is correct with what he says about your condenser water temperatures and the requirement for a throttle valve or bypass valve on the condenser water side.

StormXTC

 

[gaffatape]

Chris Conley,
at the moment i do not have anything to do with the sale, design, or marketing of the compressor. That being said, you aren't too far off the mark. I used to work for a company that was beginning to install them around the place and was very impressed with them. i used to be in the computing industry and was impressed particularly at the melding of the two areas. refrigeration, with hi tech. i am also related to one of the design team. However, i think the compressor tends to sell itself, without any of my assistance.
very observant of you however.