Q: We had a refrigerant leak on our ductless heat pump connection outside. They just tightened it up. Is that sufficient?
A: Perhaps so, perhaps not. Ductless heat pump refrigerant line tubes are generally small and always soft ACR copper. They are soft, so they can be bent aiding in the piping installation. Being soft also makes the required “flare” connection easier to field fabricate. However, as it is mostly men doing this line of work, and men pride themselves on their forearms of fortitude, overtightening this connection is a common mistake. Specially designed torque wrenches should be employed but despite caution, tightening many times ends up either leaking worse, or the existing leak continues (we will meet again, Mr. Bond).
What we are talking about is a mechanical connection capable of reliably containing 500 PSI of pressure. This is no small feat after all, especially considering there is vibration produced by the equipment and said equipment is outside where it could be 98 degrees in the shade, or 20 below zero.
As a comparison, your tire pressure is around 50 psi, the gas pressure delivered to your home is about 1 PSI, and the cabin pressure during your flight to … anywhere fun is around 8 PSI.
This is yet another thing we take for granted as we assume those little tubes and threaded connections can contain that oh so important refrigerant. As technicians in this trade, we are sworn to uphold the EPA laws and keep this gas bottled up, but even more important is to keep out of hot water (although we do boilers also) and ensure we use the best practices available.
With that in mind, we proudly introduce, Zoom Lock refrigerant line fittings.
Sadly, we didn’t invent this technology — we would be retired by now — but we are utilizing it to provide the best system installations available. Zoom Lock fittings are machine made and perfect in their construction. We don’t want to dis on humans, but consistency in the manufacturing process means predictable results and less leaks, period. It takes an expensive compression tool to connect these little jewels to the piping system, but when we do, its game over for agonizing leaks.
While we and our customers love their ductless heat pumps, flare fittings are the weak link in an otherwise fabulous technology. These perfectly formed fittings are a thing of beauty and using them during the installation process means reliability far into the future.
Can humans make flares, yes. Can humans make perfect flares every time, doubtful.
Since investing in this technology, a couple of years ago we use it on all of our ductless heat pump installations (not quite billions and billions sold, yet). It’s a keeper and we use it more and more during service work, repairing and maintaining ductless heat pumps.
When it comes to a system with a leak(s), you start with flare investigations and end with Zoom-lock repairs. This may not be the blue pill or the purple pill, but I assure you there are no ill side effects like we are all used to hearing about. We all want any heat pump we have to operate at the highest level of efficiency and effectiveness and the correct refrigerant charge is critical. Maintaining that performance teeters on maintaining the correct refrigerant charge from the day of installation waaaay into the future.
Give AirWorks a call if we can help you keep that heater humming. Call us at (406) 257-1341.
