Fri, 08 Jul 2005 22:58:45 -0700
in MID:<
[email protected]>
Well,comeon,don't leave us hangin by a,ahem,string.
Scene: Motel complex in a remote (away from usual service area) regional area.
in Western Northern Australia
Problem : Central Plant A/C Breakdown - Mid Summer @ > 38Celcius Ambient
Some years ago I had a crew doing an "on the fly" Refrig Compressor change out
and Chiller Tube repair on the above plant.
For those that do not know. The chilled water "cooling vessel" for these type
A/C systems is a multi tube cylinder where the water flows around the
refrigerant cooled inner tubes. Known as a "shell and tube chiller".
http://www.ccs-tubes.com/
This unit had suffered a "freezeup" in the past as the crew discovered on
stripping down the unit for cleaning.
[The residue from the burnt-out semi-hermetic compressor (this rack had some 12
separate Carrier 6D series compressors) has to be removed and dehydrated
integrity for the whole system reinstated after such repairs]
The earlier freeze-up had caused a shifting of the plates,, that hold the tube
bundle together along the whole chiller shell length,, making the traditional
method of scrubbing out very difficult.
Our company used extended 12guage shotgun brushes and saddle lint as an
absorbent media for cleaning out,,after flushing the tubes with solvents and
cleaner.
As the tubes were "bent in two arcs of plane" the guys were having hells own
trouble getting the solids out of the tubes.
Refrigerant circuits have to absolutely spotless.
On a trip to inspect work the job was not getting done, with that difficulty
creating some frustration and delays both at the workface and at operations
level for both our Company and the Motel.
I confirmed the degree of difficulty in doing the job the "standard" way and had
a bit of a think about solutions.
I had a thought to then go down to the local corner store and buy a packet of
tampons. We then threaded pvc insulated multistrand copper cable (3/029/1.0mm
building wire in Aussie) through a couple of tubes and tied a few tampons on.
The sound those suckers made as they were drawn through I will never forget -
sort of a cross between a fiddle and a bass trombone!
Did it clean??? You betcha sweet bippy it worked!!
As the tampon swelled the gunk got swept in front of them and left a pretty
clean tube at one pass. In fact you had to be careful as too slow and the risk
was there of getting a lodgment, never happened but it was apparent it could.
We did two passes on a few tubes and declared the idea/process a success.
There were over 300 5/8" 16mm tubes in this sucker ,,so back to the shop I went.
The bloke behind the counter near on fell over when I bought all the 3 cartons
he had ,,,shaking his head as I left to go down to the Chemist on the advice
that was where he stocked from.
I forget now many I bought there but the Chemist would not take a Company
Check.. I had to pay cash from my own pocket and carry them all out to the car
myself in a few trips!!
He had some definite ideas about my character I would say <g>
The end?
I had to head back home so I didnt get to see the show. The crew had many a
laugh retelling the story and mimicking the "music" they made. Of course in
those days PC was not so rampant so the uses of tampons could be
discussed and jokes made openly. I'll leave you to ponder on the connections
that can be made between tampons, music , pull-throughs and pussies - the ones
that are too high to eat grass,, not the four legged bird killing kind!!
(apols to pjm-see my sig <g>)
So if you want to try it.. get a length of 5/8 0r 3/4 hard drawn Cu tube and
rinse it with a little water, vegetable oil, and maybe a drop of power
kerosene(av-gas)/methyl benzene or some other light solvent. Run a tampon
through it,, the speed at which the tampon travels determines the harmony and
tone of the produced "music"...your own "string" orchestra!
ba Boooomm!
jL
