During a recent process chiller vacuum service, our engineer achieved a deep vacuum of 2 Torr. This is the same pressure as if the Torr gauge had been fitted directly to the vacuum pump.
Torr Gauge
The Torr gauge was fitted to a refrigerant hose. The refrigerant system uses a different kind of fitting used for breaking in. Therefore, an adaptor fitting was used to go between the two kinds of fitting. A specialist sealant was used between the adaptor fitting and the refrigerant system and another sealant was used between the adaptor fitting and the refrigerant hose. This completed, the Torr gauge was located in a convenient location for inspection on achieving a deep vacuum.
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Process Chiller Service Vacuum Pump
Each of our engineers is issued with a high capacity 10 cfm vacuum pump. Only the best equipment will do at Maximus Chillers. The oil was changed as per standard industry procedures and the correct level of oil was checked. The vacuum pump was ran up to operating temperature for half an hour with the inlet valve closed. This was to ensure the correct operating temperature of the oil was achieved before load was given to the pump. A steel braided refrigerant hose with bolted ends fits with the service ports on the refrigerant system. Therefore, adaptor fittings were again used to get between this hose and the vac pump.
Dehydration Process
The purpose for evacuation is the removal of moisture from the refrigerant system. Air contains usually around 50% relative humidity of moisture carried within it. Air had ingressed into the system during the works that had been carried out. The boiling point of moisture is 100°C at 760 Torr (1 bar absolute: Earth’s air pressure at sea level) This boiling point drops, corresponding to pressure until at 15°C the boiling point of water is 10 Torr. The boiling point of water at 0°C is 5 Torr. Therefore, with our vacuum pump achieving 2 Torr, a dry system is capable of being achieved regardless of the UK ambient temperature. Also, various heaters were used to speed up the process. Eventually the pressure in the refrigerant system was recorded at 2 Torr.
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Read more about the unit of pressure Torr on Wikipedia