If compressors are the heart of any refrigeration system, then the service engineer’s tools are the equivalent of a surgeon’s scalpel and forceps. Kevin Glass, engineering manager at Bitzer UK, takes us through the most essential
FOR the refrigeration service engineer to perform as effectively as possible, there are a number of essential tools that he must have. These include a vacuum pump, a set of pressure gauges, spanners, screwdrivers and some other basic tools – these will allow a form of service or diagnostics work to be carried out on a refrigeration system.

Advances in materials and manufacturing processes, made by refrigeration systems parts manufacturers, are being incorporated into the components being used in today’s refrigeration and air conditioning industry along with new legislation. As a result, the number of essential tools has increased so that items such as torque wrenches and refrigerant reclaim units are now also essential tools. There can be no shortcuts.

For example, the gaskets used by refrigeration compressor manufacturers have changed from gaskets with asbestos, which were soaked in oil prior to fitting, to an asbestos-free material. These new materials should not be soaked in oil before fitting and, in conjunction with new higher tensile bolts, require a much higher torque to be applied to seal correctly. If this is not done, the potential consequences are obvious regarding possible leakage of refrigerant. The situation can be exacerbated when high pressure refrigerants and hydrocarbons are considered!

Over tightening can also give problems such as warped cylinder heads and stripped threads.

The electronic thermometer is an essential tool, when it comes to commissioning and fault diagnosis.

The readings should be recorded on a log sheet which, when completed correctly with all relevant system data, is an invaluable tool in diagnosing system problems. The most effective log sheet is the one that should have been created by the system commissioning engineer as it would give valuable information about how the system was operating when the plant was handed over.

If the information is used as a base reference point on a diagnosis log sheet and the log is completed with the data being recorded, then a large majority of the diagnosis work is done.

When the original data is compared with the recent data it will normally tell the engineer exactly what is happening within the system and would point them in the right direction.

Many calls received from engineers on site by Bitzer UK have resulted in a log sheet being faxed to site for the engineer to complete and return for valuation. Of these, very few are actually returned for evaluation. This points to the fact that just completing a log has highlighted the problem to the engineer and then the problem has been solved. In short, a problem can only be solved after it has been identified.

Arguably the most underrated and under allocated tool is “time”, due to the commercial restraints placed upon the industry. When an engineer is not given the time to identify and correct a problem he will spend most of his time trying to treat the symptoms and not identify the actual problem.

Whilst it is accepted that time can be abused by a small minority of people, it should be allocated accordingly because a lack of time can ultimately result in the greatest consumer or waste of an engineer’s time.

Some of the tools listed are not necessarily cheap and the question then arises as to who should pay for them? If a company expects its engineers to do a job to the best of their ability, then maybe they should provide the tools. On the other hand, any self-respecting engineers should make sure that, they have the tools to enable them to carry out the tasks assigned to them.

If they are not used then there will inevitably be additional costs to consider including return calls (cost to the employer), refrigerant leakage (cost to the employer/end-user), premature failure (cost to the employer/end-user), loss of reputation (cost to the employer and the employee),stock loss (cost to end-user) and production downtime (cost to end-user).

Bitzer 0845 2303 007