Post edited 11:51 am – August 26, 2010 by Steve Pooler

Angela said:

I've got a 24K BTU condensing unit, original CruisAir (30 years old). I have new fan coils attached to this. We had a problem with a blower on one and they took it back to the factory. Upon re-install and re-charging of that system, the compressor is now very cold and sweating and the unit has just begun having trouble coming on – short cycling – and drawing a ton of amps (drawing 80 on the ampmeter for a moment and trying to hang on at that surge, but can't). Something it did not do prior to the re-install/re-charge. I'm having difficulty getting the manufacturer to respond to my calle/emails, now. Once the compresor does get started, it's good. It has only popped the breaker once. Consequently, I have set the thermostat very low, for now, so it will never satisfy and will not shut off until I can resolve the issue or decide it's just going to commit suicide.

Cold, sweating compressor – overcharged?

Would overcharging cause difficulty in the unit trying to start? After being turned off all night long, it starts up fine in the moring and will run all day. It's when it cycles on and off periodically as the thermostat gets satisfied/calls for cooling again when it has the problem.

Bad start capacitor? Remember, it's believed to be original.

Thanks,
Ang

Hi Ang…I think I can address each & most of your concerns…

First…As much as you don't like it…The 30 year old Cruisair (it's not CruseAir) 24K unit is tough…It has a "Copeland" compressor…Cruisair did not build the compressor (or any other compressor they ever used) no marine a/c builder has the backing to build compressors….

Your 24K….Tough compressor…almost bulletproof…I gotta tell ya…You doing what you are doing with any other compressor would surely cause a OUCH…No more compressor or cooling !!!!

Honestly…I really would not run the system as you describe…Sorry that you have a charter…But I will explain as best I can….

I have no idea what DeWayne did for you…I do know he knows Cruisair cooling units as I have described before…He can/does build them.

If he built you some EBS12 units to equal your 24K unit…or even one EBS12 to help maybe one of your old EBS units…Ok

It's still a Cruisair design…Problem is, and back to your problem….In 30 years you could have junk in the system…I have to ask if both air handlers are feeding ?…Feel them with your knuckles bottom to top on the aluminum fins…If one is not the same as the other then it likely has a blockage….

If they both feel the same…Someone overcharged the system….Yes it will draw 80 amps (well not always) on startup…It's trying to compress liquid refrigerant…When it shuts off all that liquid piles up on top of that piston…Unless you give it time to boil off to the high side (more than a few minutes…Like at least 30 min) the piston is trying to compress that liquid…Which it cannot…It squashes all that stuff and does not quite trip the breaker (big breaker)….Anyway…………….

You really should get DeWayne back out…Give him a chance to make right (I'd want that same chance) or….

Please don't use that "Ole" Copeland "Gal"…She's workin as hard as she can for you & she's over 30 years old…Most that are 1 year old won't handle what she has for that amount of time…Much less 30 years….

Thanks, Steve. I have turned the unit off. I have been trying to get a return phone call or a reply to an email since Sunday. I wanted to make sure that the symptom of an overcharged unit was an ice cold, sweating compressor before I go making accusations that the tech overcharged the system.

The air coming out of both units is very, very cold (as in 40-something degrees), so I don't suspect any blockage anywhere.

I have a set of gauges onboard, I just don't remember the numbers, and how many turns of the valve stem, etc. I suppose, if I can't get any response, I could try to bleed off some of the gas, but I don't know from which side to do that.

By the way… I LOVE my old CruisAir stuff – it's the new stuff that keeps turning to rust and breaking down. This is the first problem I've had with that 30 year old condensing unit, and it appears that it's not the unit's fault.

Thank you for taking the time to let me pick your brain.

I can't really tell you what the pressures SHOULD be Angela…Because that depends on many factors…Cabin Temp, Seawater Temp & Air Flow at the time are a few…If the air handlers DeWayne built have capillary tubes sized to match the flow rate of the compressor is another big factor…

The system should be charged by compressor temp…That compressor should be room temp to slightly warm on top…Once you have the compressor running at a steady temp & still with a beer can cold suction line to the compressor…The pressures will be what they will be depending on all the other factors…If the pressures are then not normal (like below 58 psi suction which is below 32 degrees) then it's time to look at the other factors…

Compressor temp is primary here…That is…If you want to keep your compressor running & happy…The other factors…Factor in the system's overall performance, but not the compressor's longevity…This is why you charge for compressor temp.

Steve~

Again, Steve, thank you very, very much. I was finally able to reach DeWayne this morning and he's got a tech coming out at 1:30 today to adjust the gas. It was your stern warning to me in your second reply above that probably save my butt and my wallet. As soon as I read that last night, I instantly jumped up and killed all the power to that system and brought out the fans to try to start moving cool air from the pilothouse into the galley and salon. Pascal is going to meet the tech there today and make sure the gas gets adjusted to compressor temp rather than a number on a gauge which is what I suspect happened.

I have learned some very valuable information here already. Thanks again.

i was there for angela when the tech came.

he replaced the control board as a precaution to troubleshoot a separate issue.
when he tried to start the system, it woudn't start at all and he coudlnt' get any reading on the suction side, pressure was high on the other.

he cleaned the coil, which wasn't really necessary needed since it had been done recently and they turned out to be pretty clean anyway…

after the cleaning, he got it running and actaully had to add gas to the system. He had it running fine with pressures at 60 and 250. water temp is around 85 to 90 deg here in teh marina, air temp inside when started was in the 90s. it was working fine, We turned it off a couple of times and it restarted fine after a couple of minutes, I looked at the amp during the restart, it jumped up to abut 60 for a very brief time which is normal. voltage never dropped.

i cant' say that i understand how the mostly uneeded acid cleaned solved the issue…

one question for you though… any time i've had issues with dirty coil or a complete water pump failure/blockage, the compressor woudl run for a short time before the high pressure switch woudl cut off. at least 10 or 15 seconds i believe… can it trip the high pressure switch instantly? if that was the case, why wouldnt' the controller show an HPF error? controler brand is aqua air, with blue digital readouts and lights.

it works, which is the good news, but i hate not understanding when teh exact issue was, and teh tech wasnt' sure he could explain it either.