Carrier Transcool Air Conditioning help

[TJones]

Originally Posted by WiredForStereo

I'll have to see if I can find that. Would it be in an easy spot or am I going to have to get up on the roof and pull the hood?

Mine is an older system, it's not exactly the same as the manual.

The sight glass should be located on a line between the filter/ drier and the evaporator. It could also be built into the filter drier. My lines were hidden in duct work that ran the length of the bus. You likely have some kind of sheet metal covering the lines.

Ted

[WiredForStereo]

Originally Posted by Kentucky Dreaming

Plenty of valuable experience here. cadillackid is the best A/C guy around. It would behoove you to listen...

I am listening. Which is why I'm giving up. It's not connecting. That's a fault in the system.

I need concise procedures and examples, and when I reread it, there are things that I just don't understand how it's supposed to be done. It's easy on house A/C where the fittings are after the condenser. But can't do that on a bus. The hoses don't reach.

So I'm misunderstanding fundamental things and it would behoove me to stop before something bad happens.

[WiredForStereo]

Originally Posted by TJones

The sight glass should be located on a line between the filter/ drier and the evaporator. It could also be built into the filter drier. My lines were hidden in duct work that ran the length of the bus. You likely have some kind of sheet metal covering the lines.

I have two sight glasses that I have found, on the roof, I think after the filter/dryer.

[WiredForStereo]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

Here’s the thing now that it’s done watch it and observe. Drive it and run the AC if you wish .. the high pressure switch should shut down the compressor if the condenser is over flooded with liquid and loses capacity..

I have not had any compressor shutdowns or any signs of over pressure at any RPM up to 2000, which is my cruising RPM. I could test it at redline.

Originally Posted by cadillackid

Note how hot the pipe is between the condenser and evaporator .. if it gets hot where you can’t touch it then shut the system down you are running it hard.. it’s normal for the pipe between compressor and condenser to get too hot for touch.

The pipe gets plenty hot, no shutdowns.

Originally Posted by cadillackid

If the compressor shows signs of slugging.. Ie you hear a belt squeal or the engine feels strained even at low drive load conditions then shut the AC off.

No change in engine tone except for at the instant when the compressor switches on. No belt squeal.

Originally Posted by cadillackid

If you know what your average cruise RPM is you can run your engine speed up to that for a few minutes while parked to observe how the AC works .. and of all seems fine. You can drive the bus around town a couple times before you embark on your trip to see how it acts. If it passes the site sound and smell test then I say run it…

Will do.

[TJones]

Originally Posted by WiredForStereo

I have two sight glasses that I have found, on the roof, I think after the filter/dryer.

That should do. Do you have the em-17 evaporator like in the manual I sent or something different?

If it's the same according to the manual operate the AC on high for at least 15 min to get the high pressure side to 150 psi. The sight glass should show liquid refrigerant flowing between 1/2 to 3/4 full. I would make sure the sight glass is on a line that is running horizontally.

If it's not an em-17 evaporator I would search the interweb for other carrier evaporators and find their specific manual.

Ted

[WiredForStereo]

Originally Posted by TJones

That should do. Do you have the em-17 evaporator like in the manual I sent or something different?

It's not.

I could see liquid in there while it was sitting in the sun. Could not see any liquid while it was running.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by WiredForStereo

It's not.

I could see liquid in there while it was sitting in the sun. Could not see any liquid while it was running.

while running it was likely full of clear liquid so you cant see it.. its in whats called a "full column" of liquid mode.. manjy systems thats how you charge them is till you see a completely clear site glass.. in my experience I usually charge them to a point of 3/4 full cycling to near clear and back again like the post mentioning. however many systems are designed to be charged with a clear sight glass so thats not necessarily a bad thing to have it like that.. old R-22 and R-12 systems that was the way most people charged them was till the site glass was clear..

[WiredForStereo]

I ended up buying a recovery tank and pulling about 10 pounds back out of the system, just to make sure the compressor wouldn't be plugged. (I was supervised by my father-in-law).

Took it on a trip from here to Hood River and back. Performed pretty much flawlessly, it has far more capacity than I need, ran on low with only one or two blowers on most of the time. Outside temp around 100, only my kids and me inside.

After fire season, I'll be tearing the innards out and raising the roof.

I was thinking of mounting the condenser on the back rather than the roof, so I'd have more space for solar panels. My main concern is knowing what components need to be mounted in what orientation. Should I keep the accumulator horizontal? Does it matter? I'm thinking I want to build a new aluminum shroud for it as the fiberglass one is pretty ratty at this point.