RACA Journal February 2025 RACA_February2025 | Page 42

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up excess tubing behind the condenser . However , should you have the correct tooling this is not necessary
Kusaan , the use of indirect refrigeration systems can also be used to reduce the amount of refrigerant required for a system . Indirect systems are frequently used in industrial refrigeration systems as well as commercial / industrial air conditioning systems . These systems utilise a chilled water or brine system on the evaporating side of the system and a condensing water system on the condenser side . This gives us the advantage of keeping all the refrigerant in the plantroom reducing refrigerant requirements substantially . Additional advantages can be found when considering that the refrigerant does not circulate into any retail , commercial or public space .
The most common application occurs when there is a large
Basic indirect system . number of cooling positions distributed throughout a building . The supermarket industry is frequently using this type of system for food storage and display equipment . The refrigeration system is placed in the plant room and the heat transfer for system cooling and chilling is maintained with the use of intermediate heat exchangers and a so called ‘ secondary refrigerant ’ and a cooling water circuit . These systems are frequently found in the air conditioning segment of the industry applied for example to shopping centres , office buildings and hospitals .
Another aspect is vibration , as the effects of vibration include tubing and component failure and leakage . It then follows that vibration should be minimised . This is especially relevant for refrigeration circuit components generating pressure pulsations and liquid strokes , such as the compressor , solenoid valves and refrigerant circuit tubes that are not properly fixed . Heat exchanger fans , improperly installed or imbalanced , may also generate vibrations that can affect the structural integrity of tubing and cause vibration breaks .
Follow good installation practices for both refrigerant piping and electrical installations :
• Fit vibration absorbers correctly
• Components that are not part of the refrigerant circuit should not be attached to it or held by refrigerant pipes
• Unintended contact of cables or other auxiliary materials to copper tubing should be avoided

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RACA Journal I February 2025 www . refrigerationandaircon . co . za