Refrigerant pre-charged in mini split iNDOOR unit?!


  #1  
Old 09-30-22, 01:38 PM
P
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2022
Posts: 5
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Unhappy Refrigerant pre-charged in mini split iNDOOR unit?!

Hello,

I have an issue similar to that addressed last year by a a poster here.

I have a mini-split system. The outdoor unit has 1.6kg of R32 in it and I was expecting this to be distributed in the system under vacuum.



The indoor units have the usual plastic caps of them and I expect them to be Nitrogen-charged for shipping. However, the indoor units have labels suggesting that they each have 0.6kg of R32 in them.




This is not a fully pre-charged system, that is I am not using pre-gassed line sets. The instruction manuals make no mention of the gas in the indoor units.

The manual appears to suggest that whatever is in the indoor unit should be ignored - but the legally mandatory label that lists the amount of refrigerant and its CO2 equivalent is concerning. At the same time, if the indoor units are R32-filled, I see no way of not losing this refrigerant since they only have standard flare-type connectors.

Am I simply misunderstanding the label? Or is this a variant of the system configuration that's manufactured in Europe?

Many thanks!
 
  #2  
Old 09-30-22, 04:11 PM
PJmax's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Jersey
Posts: 64,811
Received 3,922 Upvotes on 3,518 Posts
Welcome to the forums from the UK.

We don't normally discuss charging issues as in the States an EPA certified installer handles the charging.

The install manual is fairly helpful....... Manual - pdf.
Your compressor is pre-charged based on the stated normal lineset.
If you use a longer lineset than listed then you will need to add more R32 and compressor oil.
You attach the flared fittings to the compressor. You attach a vacuum pump to one of the scrader valves and draw the recommended vacuum on the system. Once completed and no leak is indicated you open the valves on the compressor and the charge is drawn in.

A responsible technician would charge the system with nitrogen first to check for leaks.
Then dump the nitrogen and charge the lineset.
Then check operating pressures.
 
q0987 voted this post useful.
  #3  
Old 09-30-22, 04:22 PM
P
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2022
Posts: 5
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Thanks @pjmax. I understand all this perfectly well.

My question relates to the gas that is charged in the indoor unit. I already indicated that it claims to have 0.6kg of R32, separately from the 1.6kg of R32 in the compressor. I expected that fund nitrogen in the indoor unit, not the refrigerant.
And as I already mentioned, the manual is of no use here.
 
  #4  
Old 09-30-22, 04:52 PM
PJmax's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Jersey
Posts: 64,811
Received 3,922 Upvotes on 3,518 Posts
Are you sure that's not .6kg of oil ?
The standard charge is xx kg of R32 and xx kg of oil.

Are you talking about this.....

The CO2 equivalent is what happens when the charge is released into the air.
 
  #5  
Old 10-01-22, 01:13 AM
P
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2022
Posts: 5
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
It’s the second image in my op, the label that came with the indoor unit. It does mention a factory charge of R32.
 
  #6  
Old 10-01-22, 05:17 AM
P
Group Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: NC, USA
Posts: 27,592
Received 2,144 Upvotes on 1,920 Posts
The line set will be charged with refrigerant from both ends instead of one. Maybe the outdoor unit can't safely contain all the refrigerant needed for the entire system so they split the charge between inside and out, based on the size of the standard line set.
 
  #7  
Old 10-01-22, 07:06 AM
P
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2022
Posts: 5
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Thanks! I'm sorry to be difficult but I'm still not sure that this is right.

See pic of the internal unit's line set connection and label.
Surely, when the plastic caps are removed, any refrigerant present just escapes. If not then, then it escapes when the unit is vacuum pumped (as the manual instructs). This system is not designed for pre-gassed line sets either, and there are no spring valve connectors, just a framed open line set.

Could the 0.6kg refer to the indoor unit's capacity for refrigerant (even though it says 'factory charge')? I don't think so because in this three-zone unit, that'd mean 1.8kg of R32 needed just for the indoor units, but the external unit has a total 1.6kg charge.

So this label is what is causing the confusion. Someone went to the trouble of telling me that refrigerant is present but there's no way not to spill it..!

 
  #8  
Old 10-01-22, 10:00 AM
PJmax's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Jersey
Posts: 64,811
Received 3,922 Upvotes on 3,518 Posts
That is the wall mounted part. It may be pre-charged with nitrogen to keep moisture out.
Since it's connected with flare fittings it will not contain R32

Some lines sets come pre-charged with nitrogen or refrigerant...... yours has flared fittings which don't usually contain any charge. That is why the manual specifically tells you that you MUST vacuum the lines out.

The installation manual covers all the different sizes of that unit. The pictures are just representative. The chart you are referring to is for the small 9000 btu unit..... not yours. You need to refer to the chart of all the units like the picture I posted.
 
  #9  
Old 10-01-22, 10:16 AM
P
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2022
Posts: 5
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Thanks Pete. I think you’re right - now what I have finally connected the 9000 btu single-zone version‘s .6kg compressor charge with the label, that makes sense. But still, if I manufactured a system that can be configured with 1, 2, 3, and 4 zone versions, I don’t know if I’d include the 1-zone label with every indoor heat exchanger.. These labels were bundled with all the indoor units, while the one with 1.6kg with the compressor..

Thanks again!
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: