Responsible Refrigeration
BARNEY RICHARDSON
QUALITY AND EFFICIENCY OF SERVICE AND / OR REPAIR
By Barney Richardson
Barney Richardson is the director of South African Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors Association ( SARACCA ) and sits on various other boards within the HVAC industry , including the South African Qualifications and Certifications Committee for Gas ( SAQCC ) Gas .
It has always puzzled me as to how different service companies organise their maintenance and repair contract work .
What constitutes a good service technician , whether it be routine service work such as filter cleaning or general plant or unit cleaning and monitoring , or a breakdown ? Another side of service work is to carry out refrigeration checks and possible repair work after detection of faults , gas leakages or breakages .
What is in the service vehicle to support the service practitioner in the field ? If it is just for filter service and cleaning work , it will not be sufficient for the very different requirements of the refrigeration service repair mechanic .
The filter servicing vehicle is usually fitted out with cleaning materials , replacement filters and bags for disposal of dirty filters . How many of those who are tasked with filter work take care not to contaminate workplace and new replacement filters with the dirt and dust from the old filters ? If the new and old filters are allowed to bang about in the back of a bakkie this can happen .
The profitability of the service contract is related to losses when
brand new filters are damaged or dirty before even being used . This can cost the company thousands of Rand each month if there is not proper care and checks are not carried out .
For the service and repair company , the fitting out of a bakkie or van is significant in what is actually needed . The consumable requirement will be refrigerant gas such as R410a - commonly used in room air conditioners or other commonly used refrigerants . Maybe a cylinder of R22 if the plants are of an older vintage . There will also be a range of cleaning materials needed .
Every service / repair mechanic must have a gas welding set like a portapack to start with . Then , essentially a refrigerant recovery unit and service cylinder or two depending on how many different refrigerants one may encounter . An accurate scale is a must-have when recovering gas and when recharging a system . Of course , a good vacuum pump is necessary too .
Because of the nature of refrigeration and the plants installed , copper tubing , bits and pieces , and some common size fittings will always be in a handy box . A selection of compression fittings and small diameter soft drawn tubing is also always nice to have .
Which parts that will need replacement on a regular basis can be difficult to decide . They can be items such as pressure switches for low or high pressure and those for oil safety . The LP and HP pressure switches can be usually standard ones , but for electrical switch gear , for example for contactor coils it can be difficult with so many different types of contactors in use . An experienced service mechanic will , through experience , build up a knowledge of what will be needed regularly .
Besides the selection of commonly used parts , the company ’ s service manager will know what make of equipment the company has installed in recent years . Alternatively , if it is a new service contract not installed by the company , a survey of the plant and units will give the information of the make and composition of possible parts needed . This will also apply to the replacement filters . The service planning will have a schedule of what type and sizes of filters that will be required on a service visit in order to have the filters ready for that day .
A major breakdown will need a full survey of the nature of the failure and an estimate prepared for the client before the repair can proceed . Compressor replacement is always a big deal . If it was a burnout , flushing of the system will be necessary and burnout kits fitted with the fresh clean refrigerant which will be charged into the system .
You must be way ahead of your competitors to ensure that the quality and efficiency of your service and / or repair is the best in the industry . Of most importance is that all service and repair staff are qualified and competent in what they do . Being registered with SAQCC Gas and being in a position to issue a certificate of conformity when work on the pressure system has been completed is essential . RACA
www . hvacronline . co . za RACA Journal I August 2021 47