Another trick to see if these leak byif you are returning, is to place a balloon over the outlet side. If it seeps out when it gets warm, you’ll see it. If your concerned if it’s only warmed air in the balloon, before you remove it start up your leak detector and sniff the balloon contents.
You should loosen the collar on the stem before closing the valve. Then retighten once in place. Moving the stem without doing so damages the seal of the collar which leads to future leaks from the stem.
Every time I see a PRV I'm reminded of a time I was working on a rack in a supermarket motor room and an electrician cut the power to the condenser fans, the prv's blew and suddenly I could not see or breathe. I was feeling my way to the door light headed and not really knowing what happened... Someone had set the high pressure controls to 500 psi cut-out. Lost about 400 lbs of r-502 as well.
@@rookierefrigeration4357 A few years later it happened again, a coworker was replacing a SORIT valve, he closed the liquid line and suction line ball valves but not the hot gas defrost ball valve and the circuit went into defrost... Be careful out there guys.
Really... now you might want to say to yourself, why was the compressor operational? There is no way for that to happen if all the fans were dead on a system not jumped out everywhere. The compressors shouldn’t have been running if the fans were not powered, they are fed with the same control line as the compressor contactor. And most of the time, the same contactor feeds the compressor. Then you might want to ask yourself,” why didn’t my high pressure safeties open?” You have bigger problems than a sparky taking out a fan.
on our old 502 systems the high pressure cut out was set at 325 psi.used 400 psi relief valves.the system should shut down on high pressure control before any relief valve blows
By the way, I was told many years ago, the relief valves are not to protect the system, but required by code for all pressure vessels to protect Firefighters.
Loctite 554 is made for refrigerant. That is the red sealant on the old relief valves. Also I keep the plug in on the exhaust side of the relief. If the plug blows out u know where ur leak is
I have the same issue with the meuller PRVs not being in stock at my wholesaler. However I was told that the superior valves have a lower flow rate and aren’t technically supposed to replace the meuller valves. In Canada anyways. Great video
Its been a while since I have used the h10 but if I remember correctly when you block air flow to the sniffer it gives a false alarm. I noticed that before replacing the pressure relief valves and using the h10 there was no room for the sniffer to " breathe " . After the replacement and using the h10 there was a small tilt between the valves and the sniffer allowing it to breathe and not causing a false hit. Like I said its been a while since ive used it . Something to think about . I could be wrong
The breakaway torque for Loctite 565 (if it was that) will decrease with temperature rise. I know from first hand experience that a few seconds of propane burner flame on the joint will make the difference. Thank you for posting.
Great stuff, by experience thoses relief valves always leak even if they reset themselves and you don't loose all the refrigerant. I use teflon tape and a little bit of leak lock but if the company gives me the premium stuff, the Loctite for freon is IMO the best product you can use there. Never had a leak with that stuff ! What happened to your previous Stratus ?
Curious you mentioned you have returned your stratus under warranty. Can you elaborate please? I’m questioning my stratus too and a bit disappointed especially after dropping the large coin. My infinicon has been awesome so was hopeful the stratus would be better yet. What was your “warranty issue”?
Rick Weidenfeller I noticed that at first the Stratus was !100%!! Amazing. Found everything under the sun. Loved it. After about 3 months of using it exclusively I started noticing I wasn’t finding as many leaks. So 1 day I busted out the H10 and ran them both. Boy was I surprised. Also when it was new it competed with the H10 great. H10 always had a sensitivity advantage but the Stratus is great at pinpointing leaks when you’re in a saturated environment. So I contacted Inficon and they exchanged it no questions.
Just a question when applying the taflon tape do u wrap it in the same direction u are tightening?.with regards to the service valves that the relief valve was attached,i dont see u loosen the gland when front seating or backseating .
1. I wrap the Teflon so the direction of the threads are the same. When you tighten it the tape won’t fall off. 2. You’re supposed to loosen it a bit. But. 🤷♂️
Might have got some oil in the leak that is stopping it for the moment. Have heard it can happen for some REALLY small leaks. But some detectors are just a little better than others.
Those two dislikes are probably from keyboard engineers that asked why you didn't pull a vacuum on those fittings and why you didn't use the elbow torque tick tool 🤭🤭
Thanks for the video! Find a tube of Loctite 565... it’s good for 10,000 psi. Just keep it off the first two threads.. 👍. Stick with the H10, you have to trust your tools!
Loctite 554 was the standard for refrigerant threads, but it’s tough to get the connections apart after it sets... Loctite 565 and 567 work well because they are PTFE Sealants. This is for threaded connections only, not flare connections.. There is also Leak Lock by Loctite. The biggest problem with using sealants on anything in a refrigeration/AC System is being messy about it, which is why you don’t put it on the first two threads. Use whatever you are comfortable with.. I hope this answers your question. Best Regards.
@@rookierefrigeration4357 like what I have seen in the past if a low level finds a leak they will front seat it and with the double your safe back seated or front seated
It also helps when they need to be replaced. No need to recover. With large industrial systems, and especially with ammonia, it’s very common to have manifolds that allow relief valve replacement without line breaking or opening up the system.
@@rookierefrigeration4357 The three way valve should be seated to one port or the other. The three way valve is there to do exactly what you did change one at at time with out having to pump the system out. But the relief valve capacity for the vessel is designed for one. Mid seating the three way valve is discourage practice. The vessel according to ASME, ASHRAE requires to have only one relief valve, or a soft plug. I am in the industrial ammonia refrigeration and we are required to replace them every 5 years.
Go back and look at the footage of how tight you did the first one from the second one. On the first one you had a few threads visible, on the “fix” with Teflon tape and nylon, you buried the threads all the way down,.....tighter. On these I, like Jim P, use Leak-Loc. Never had a leak with that stuff. The only caution with it is to not seal he first two threads. As with any thread sealant.
Dude, one day after watching and commenting on this video, I found a sick pisser out of a 3-way manifold valve stem for the relief valves on a Hussmann rack with Bitzer screws... Has a low level alarm, so I guess I’m gon’ hafta charge ‘er! I wish I could send you the video... Got an email RookRefer? I’ll send it to you
Another trick to see if these leak byif you are returning, is to place a balloon over the outlet side. If it seeps out when it gets warm, you’ll see it. If your concerned if it’s only warmed air in the balloon, before you remove it start up your leak detector and sniff the balloon contents.
Good job 👍I haven't seen one with two relief valves like that.
Didn't know until now. We work for same company but in California and you in texas. Nice to see a fellow employee posting.
Thanks bro. 💪
Good video!, I put a balloon on those relief valves , made my life easy on those older systems.
You should loosen the collar on the stem before closing the valve. Then retighten once in place. Moving the stem without doing so damages the seal of the collar which leads to future leaks from the stem.
Every time I see a PRV I'm reminded of a time I was working on a rack in a supermarket motor room and
an electrician cut the power to the condenser fans, the prv's blew and suddenly I could not see or breathe.
I was feeling my way to the door light headed and not really knowing what happened... Someone had set
the high pressure controls to 500 psi cut-out. Lost about 400 lbs of r-502 as well.
Damn. That’s dangerous bro. Glad you made it out.
@@rookierefrigeration4357 A few years later it happened again, a coworker was replacing a SORIT valve, he closed the liquid line and suction line ball valves but not the hot gas defrost ball valve and the circuit went into defrost... Be careful out there guys.
Really... now you might want to say to yourself, why was the compressor operational? There is no way for that to happen if all the fans were dead on a system not jumped out everywhere. The compressors shouldn’t have been running if the fans were not powered, they are fed with the same control line as the compressor contactor. And most of the time, the same contactor feeds the compressor. Then you might want to ask yourself,” why didn’t my high pressure safeties open?” You have bigger problems than a sparky taking out a fan.
on our old 502 systems the high pressure cut out was set at 325 psi.used 400 psi relief valves.the system should shut down on high pressure control before any relief valve blows
By the way, I was told many years ago, the relief valves are not to protect the system, but required by code for all pressure vessels to protect Firefighters.
the relief valve protects the vessel.keeps working pressure of vessel in check.
Hey Macias, it's good to tighten the valve by letting bleed some gas out to avoid trapping air. Good repair 👍
Also, you’ll note the end is threaded for units inside a mechanical room to be piped outside the building to dump the charge safely.
Loctite 554 is made for refrigerant. That is the red sealant on the old relief valves. Also I keep the plug in on the exhaust side of the relief. If the plug blows out u know where ur leak is
I have the same issue with the meuller PRVs not being in stock at my wholesaler. However I was told that the superior valves have a lower flow rate and aren’t technically supposed to replace the meuller valves. In Canada anyways. Great video
Its been a while since I have used the h10 but if I remember correctly when you block air flow to the sniffer it gives a false alarm. I noticed that before replacing the pressure relief valves and using the h10 there was no room for the sniffer to " breathe " . After the replacement and using the h10 there was a small tilt between the valves and the sniffer allowing it to breathe and not causing a false hit. Like I said its been a while since ive used it . Something to think about . I could be wrong
The breakaway torque for Loctite 565 (if it was that) will decrease with temperature rise. I know from first hand experience that a few seconds of propane burner flame on the joint will make the difference. Thank you for posting.
I was gonna do that. But I didn’t want to go to my van. Lol
yep, heat it up for easy removal :)
You can’t beat the sensitive of the H-10.... I’ve found pin holes in copper lines with my H-10
Great stuff, by experience thoses relief valves always leak even if they reset themselves and you don't loose all the refrigerant. I use teflon tape and a little bit of leak lock but if the company gives me the premium stuff, the Loctite for freon is IMO the best product you can use there. Never had a leak with that stuff !
What happened to your previous Stratus ?
hi, how to identify if refrigerant in low charge or not enough refrigerant in the system by seeing in the "sight glass"?
Curious you mentioned you have returned your stratus under warranty. Can you elaborate please? I’m questioning my stratus too and a bit disappointed especially after dropping the large coin. My infinicon has been awesome so was hopeful the stratus would be better yet. What was your “warranty issue”?
Rick Weidenfeller I noticed that at first the Stratus was !100%!! Amazing. Found everything under the sun. Loved it. After about 3 months of using it exclusively I started noticing I wasn’t finding as many leaks. So 1 day I busted out the H10 and ran them both. Boy was I surprised. Also when it was new it competed with the H10 great. H10 always had a sensitivity advantage but the Stratus is great at pinpointing leaks when you’re in a saturated environment. So I contacted Inficon and they exchanged it no questions.
Just a question when applying the taflon tape do u wrap it in the same direction u are tightening?.with regards to the service valves that the relief valve was attached,i dont see u loosen the gland when front seating or backseating .
1. I wrap the Teflon so the direction of the threads are the same. When you tighten it the tape won’t fall off.
2. You’re supposed to loosen it a bit. But. 🤷♂️
Might have got some oil in the leak that is stopping it for the moment. Have heard it can happen for some REALLY small leaks. But some detectors are just a little better than others.
You gotta be precise with those deteks they’re great when you learn them a little bit.
Those two dislikes are probably from keyboard engineers that asked why you didn't pull a vacuum on those fittings and why you didn't use the elbow torque tick tool 🤭🤭
derrickenbuenosaires I would have opened the seal slightly enough to purge. Do you think it would allow it to seal properly under a little pressure?
What cleaner do you recommend to clean drift eliminators on cooling towers????
Thanks for the video! Find a tube of Loctite 565... it’s good for 10,000 psi. Just keep it off the first two threads.. 👍. Stick with the H10, you have to trust your tools!
Agreed
Did you say you like using loctite 565. Versus the teflon tape and nylog?
Thanks.
Loctite 554 was the standard for refrigerant threads, but it’s tough to get the connections apart after it sets... Loctite 565 and 567 work well because they are PTFE Sealants.
This is for threaded connections only, not flare connections..
There is also Leak Lock by Loctite. The biggest problem with using sealants on anything in a refrigeration/AC System is being messy about it, which is why you don’t put it on the first two threads. Use whatever you are comfortable with.. I hope this answers your question. Best Regards.
To put the tee angle valve to the middle. You just guesstimate?
Only ever seen a valve block like that on NH3 and Co2
Use leak spray to see if you have pressure when removing anything your unsure of
Funny thing is I didn't get Chris's "Tick" joke... I spent a few moments looking for a "torque screw driver" like his 🤦♂️🤣.
I'm in thinking about buying a new leak detector. What do you recommend?
H10 all day
@@rookierefrigeration4357 Thanks!
Thanks for the educational videos!
Thanks for watching
That’s common then? Cuz we have hotels that we find leaks on those all the time on racks. Those are code in Crook County Chicago
Excellent Bro! Why those units are allways so clean? 🤔
🤷♂️. Nobody touches them.
I think Chris has a true tech link for the click elbow lol
I’m gonna ask him. Lol
Wow good video
I love this channel
❤❤❤❤
Friends Refrigeration system thank you bro
Nice work 👍
Nice Work, Thanks for the Video
teflon to hold 450 psi back, lol. i know i know, ive done it too, but it does not last forever
It’s gonna be fine
Is that R448 there at the end I see
449
i see you are using teflon tape on threads.we used an approved pipe dope on any threaded connection.
You can keep that stradus, I have the torque wrench if you need it. I will get me an H10 later
Nice job and video
Good video brother
Have you ever worked on CO2?
Only a few times. Not exclusively though.
Why two valves on the system doing same thing
Dwayne Doxilly probably redundancy. If 1 fails there is a backup
@@rookierefrigeration4357 like what I have seen in the past if a low level finds a leak they will front seat it and with the double your safe back seated or front seated
It also helps when they need to be replaced. No need to recover. With large industrial systems, and especially with ammonia, it’s very common to have manifolds that allow relief valve replacement without line breaking or opening up the system.
@@rookierefrigeration4357 The three way valve should be seated to one port or the other. The three way valve is there to do exactly what you did change one at at time with out having to pump the system out. But the relief valve capacity for the vessel is designed for one. Mid seating the three way valve is discourage practice. The vessel according to ASME, ASHRAE requires to have only one relief valve, or a soft plug. I am in the industrial ammonia refrigeration and we are required to replace them every 5 years.
Good to know bro. Guess I was taught wrong.
Those wire cables on them are so annoying I always cut them off 👍🏼
Go back and look at the footage of how tight you did the first one from the second one. On the first one you had a few threads visible, on the “fix” with Teflon tape and nylon, you buried the threads all the way down,.....tighter. On these I, like Jim P, use Leak-Loc. Never had a leak with that stuff. The only caution with it is to not seal he first two threads. As with any thread sealant.
Yeah I noticed that. Maybe there was still some stuff in the lower threads of the 3 way valve. Good catch
What I do is tape a rubber glove over the relief valves so if they blow or leak I know.
Had a relief just like that piss 300 lbs of 22 on a 210 ton unit before it was caught.
Lol. Nice. $$$$
Loctite 567 man, wouldn't use anything else for pipe threads on refrigeration
Watch out for the Bat Flu !!
Awesome video, thx
👍👍👍
Thx buddy
Lol leak detector music class
Es el mono
Love to send you video of my test. Email address?
Refertechmac@gmail.com
I heard the click 🤔😂
Get sponsored foo
Lol. I wish
Rookie Refrigeration email them. Tell them you advertise their products and they can pay you or send you items for you to review in your videos.
Dude, one day after watching and commenting on this video, I found a sick pisser out of a 3-way manifold valve stem for the relief valves on a Hussmann rack with Bitzer screws... Has a low level alarm, so I guess I’m gon’ hafta charge ‘er! I wish I could send you the video... Got an email RookRefer? I’ll send it to you
Refertechmac@gmail.com
Rookie Refrigeration; Sent 🤙
Lol 😂
+1
bad review for inficon
Unfortunately
First comment woot