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OK, so now I get to display my lack of knowledge. I am here to learn so hopefully I can find some way to give back as well.
Can Refrigerant Overcharge cause icing?
Can Refrigerant Overcharge cause icing?
i concur.The first rule is when confronting a problem, go back to the basics & think about it awhile. Unfortunately, this business is very scatter-brained in education & training because what we do is educated guesswork. I don't think we should be so hard on someone in the trade earnestly trying to learn or find a solution. In the heat of battle we all can end discombulated, tired at the end of the day. Suggestions regarding the basics to be posted are helpful though. We all were once rookies, actaually still are.
Yes, there has to be other issues. The worse I have seen was with a system where the tech had charged a five ton piston metered system to the proper superheat, as per my instructions to him.I have never heard of an a/c system icing from an overcharge without other underlying conditions. Roboteq can you give some details on how these overcharged systems caused icing. I have only seen overcharged systems cause icing with refrigeration systems.
I would think the superheat would have been low well before he got the proper amount of refrigerant into the unit, if he was actually measuring superheat, you should have found it undercharged after correcting the airflow issueSo, I cleaned up the coil as best I could, fired the thing back up and removed several pounds of refrigerant that the tech had added in order to get the superheat proper with no airflow.
The technician was a government maintenance tech for the school system trying to get air conditioning up and running after a major hurricane hit. So, there is a very good chance he was trying to get the suction temps up, but, the superheat was proper when I first got to the job. The problem of course was having proper superheat with too low of a suction line temperature. The saving grace was a constant heat load.I would think the superheat would have been low well before he got the proper amount of refrigerant into the unit, if he was actually measuring superheat, you should have found it undercharged after correcting the airflow issue
more likely he was trying to get the suction pressure up and wasnt measuring superheat
I'm not looking for a solution, I already resolved the problem. This was in 2005, not a current issue.well what type of metering device was the system equipped with? a TXV system is charged via subcooling and fix orifice is done with superheat. maybe thats the problem.
No you have not chubblesI've seen compressors encased in ice due to overcharged conditions.