Singapore enjoys a relatively hot and humid climate throughout the year. The country never has the popularly known four seasons of the year. Because of this, many business premises, homes, offices, and public transport systems are fitted with air conditioning equipment just in case the weather chooses to flare up or fluctuate unpredictably. The air conditioners keep temperatures low and bring a refreshing environment within a home or at the place of work. However due to constant usage, air conditioners wear out and need constant monitoring and servicing to avoid breaking down completely. The servicing of an air conditioner may involve minor repairs or completely replacing the worn-out parts.
Here is a look at how to measure the pressure of an air conditioner compressor.
Within the air conditioning system is the compressor. The compressor forms an integral component of the air conditioning system. It works so intensely and may even get hot as a result of the build-up of the pressure inside. It also needs constant lubrication as a result of it’s ever moving parts. When lubrication is lost, it may not just function as expected. When the compressor fails, it may produce severe noise upon operation of the air conditioning equipment. The compressor plays the significant role of pumping cool air from the evaporator into the condenser. It first raises the pressure and the temperature of the air, then finally pushes it into the condenser. The compressed gas should never enter the condenser in liquid form, as this may damage the compressor. The compressor therefore needs a careful and constant monitoring, to enable it function effectively. One of the aspects that need trouble shooting is the pressure within the air conditioning compressor
Measuring the discharge and the suction pressure:
The measurement of the suction and discharge pressure is done with the help of refrigeration pressure gauges. However even without a standard pressure gauge the digital multimeter can be used to measure the discharge and suction pressure in the condenser. The digital multimeter is important in verifying the accuracy that the pressure gauges can reliably achieve. The following steps are followed to measure the pressure recorded by the standard gauges, using the digital multimeter:
· The pressure module hose pipe (usually yellow in colour) is attached to the hose pipe that carries the refrigeration gas fixed on the gauge set.
· The pressure module is attached to the digital multimeter and the module function is set to the standard pressure gauge units.
· The blue and red hose pipes are attached to the suction side of the system as is done during routine servicing.
· The blue handle on the system’s manifold gauges is opened to enable reading of the pressure. When this is done, the system’s suction pressure is put into the pressure module. The pressure reading on the digital meter can be taken and compared to the reading on the standard pressure gauges.
· In certain instances, the pressure reading on the digital multimeter may be different from the pressure reading obtained from the standard pressure gauges. This is because most digital multimeter are far much accurate as compared to the standard pressure gauges.
· If you want to obtain the discharge pressure on the compressor from the digital multimeter, the red handle on the gauges need to be open and the blue valves closed. By doing this, the pressure of the system is fed into the module. Removing the module however simply involves the reverse process of assembling the whole system.
· Care should be taken to block the raised side of the gauges first, and not forgetting to remove the cooler gas from the high side gauge. This can be achieved by allowing the compressor to operate freely as it transfers the cool gas from the high side pressure gauge into the lower side pressure gauge.
You can also measure the pressure on the digital multimeter and the pressure module without the use of the manifold gauge. The following steps are taken:
· Take any cooler gas hose pipe and fix it to the module hose pipe fitting part.
· Link the cooler gas hose pipe with the main service port on the air conditioner compressor unit.
· On the pressure module, read the cooler gas directly after opening the main service port of the system.
· If you don’t have the digital multimeter, you can take the discharge and the suction pressure readings separately and manually recording them for comparison.
· If you have the digital multimeter, it is advisable to have the suction pressure reading as the minimum pressure gauge and the discharge pressure reading as the maximum pressure gauge, respectively.
· In order to remove the pressure and vacuum modules, the step-by-step procedure followed in assembling the whole unit is taken again, this time in a reverse way. The high side pressure gauge must however be removed carefully to avoid injuries as a result of accumulation of extra- high pressure gas. Always use precautionary measures when unfitting the high pressure gauge from the system.
· You may opt to close down the compressor before you remove the gauge, to ensure pressure settles and is distributed equally on both gauges. This however happens only when removing the pressure gauge from the high pressure unit of the system.
An air conditioning system needs to have it’s component parts functioning properly for effective performance. Any malfunction will lead to severe altering of its efficiency. It may end up operating at temperatures far below the normal operating temperatures, resulting to increased power consumption. At times, it may become too noisy, thereby disturbing one’s comfort at home or place of work. In other instances, the air conditioner may begin leaking abruptly, a clear indication of the presence of a malfunction. These can be avoided by regular and proper servicing of the system, at least after every six months period of use. The routine servicing operations carried on the air conditioner involve frequent lubrication of the moving parts, cleaning of the essential parts quite often, topping up of the gas when used and proper cleaning in instances where chemicals are used.
