5uperheat charging cur$es !

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Superheat charging curves for technicians

August 3, 2000

Figure 1. Charging capillary tube (cooling-mode only . (Courtesy o! "he "rane Company. Charging air conditioning systems is much di!!erent than charging re!rigeration systems. #any charging cur$es and tables are used in the air conditioning !ield. #anu!acturers may $ary in the style o! superheat charging cur$es and tables that they may o!!er !or their e%uipment. Ho&e$er, the same underlying principle holds !or all tables and cur$es. Figure 1 is an e'ample o! a superheat-charging cur$e instead o! a table. "he cur$e is based on (00-c!m)ton air!lo& at *0+ relati$e humidity across the e$aporator coil. "he steps to charge a system according to this cur$e are listed belo&. 1. #easure indoor drybulb temperature (,-" . "his is the return air at the air handler. .ote/ 0se &etbulb temperature (1-" i! the percentage o! relati$e humidity is abo$e 20+ or belo& 20+. 2. #easure outdoor ,-" at the outdoor unit. "his is the condenser in air temperature.

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3. Measure suction pressure at the compressor and convert it to a temperature using a pressuretemperature chart. 4. Measure compressor in temperature on the suction line near the compressor. 5. Calculate the amount of compressor superheat. Compressor superheat is all the superheat the compressor sees. It is a combination of evaporator and suction line superheat. Compressor superheat is sometimes referred to as total superheat. 6. ind the intersection !here the outdoor temperature and indoor temperature meet" read degrees superheat. If the compressor superheat of the s#stem is more than 5$ higher than the chart reads% add refrigerant vapor into the lo! side of the operating s#stem until the superheat is !ithin 5$ of the chart. If the compressor superheat of the s#stem is more than 5$ belo! !hat the chart reads% recover refrigerant until the superheat is !ithin 5$ of the chart. &ote' (l!a#s let the s#stem run for at least )5 min after adding or recovering refrigerant from the s#stem before recalculating compressor superheat. (lso% if the s#stem is using a ne!er alternate refrigerant that has a temperature glide and !ill fractionate% li*uid refrigerant has to be throttled into the lo! side of the s#stem !hile the s#stem is running to avoid fractionation.

igure +. ,-++ pressure-temperature chart.

R-22 example
-et.s consider an ,-++ capillar#-tube or fi/ed-orifice s#stem. 0he indoor 120 3 45$" outdoor 120 3 65$" suction pressure at the compressor 3 65 psig or 34$ using the pressure-temperature chart 7 igure +8" compressor temperature on suction line 3 54$" and compressor superheat 3 +5$ 754$-34$8.

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3uperheat char!in! cur"es for technicians

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The intersection of the 90? outdoor temperature with the 80? indoor temperature says that there should be about 17? of compressor superheat. Our system has 20? of compressor superheat. This is within 5? of the superheat chart so the system is fully char!ed and the technician would not ha"e to add any refri!erant to the system. The theory behind these tables and cur"es is simple. #et$s ta%e the cur"e in &i!ure 1 for e'ample. (s you mo"e to the ri!ht on the bottom a'is the outdoor temperature rises. )otice that for a constant indoor *+T or ,+T -lines that slant downward from left to ri!ht. as you increase the outdoor ambient temperature the operatin! compressor superheat decreases. The reason for this is that there is now more head pressure pushin! the subcooled li/uid out of the condenser$s bottom throu!h the li/uid line and the capillary tube0meterin! de"ice. This will force more refri!erant into the e"aporator and !i"e less superheat. (nd this is why some systems will flood and slu! li/uid at hot outdoor ambients when they are o"erchar!ed. The superheat cur"e will pre"ent this from occurrin! if followed properly. 1eferrin! a!ain to &i!ure 1 if we assume a constant indoor *+T across the e"aporator coil of 75? and increase the outdoor *+T from 70? to 105? we can see that the operatin! compressor superheat will fall from 22? to 0?. This is caused by the hotter outdoor ambients resultin! in hi!her head pressures which push more li/uid throu!h the capillary tube and into the e"aporator. 3o it is normal for the system to run 22? of compressor superheat when the outdoor ambient is 70?. *o not add any refri!erant to this system because if the outdoor ambient climbed to 95? later in the day the system$s compressor would slu! or flood from li/uid refri!erant reachin! it. )ote4 5f the relati"e humidity is abo"e 706 or below 206 use ,+Ts instead of *+Ts across the e"aporator coil to compensate for the "aryin! latent -moisture. loads. (nother interestin! point about &i!ure l is if the outdoor temperature stays constant and the indoor drybulb or indoor wetbulb temperature increases the operatin! compressor superheat will increase. This increased loadin! of the indoor coil with either sensible or latent heat or both will cause more rapid "apori7ation of refri!erant in the e"aporator. This will cause hi!h compressor superheats and is a normal occurrence. 8any technicians will add refri!erant in this case and o"erchar!e the system. 9owe"er it is completely normal for a capillary or fi'ed orifice meterin! de"ice system to run hi!h compressor superheat at hi!h e"aporator loadin!.

Troubleshooting
1eferrin! one more time to &i!ure 1 as the outdoor ambient stays constant at 95? and the indoor *+T across the e"aporator coil rises from 75? to 95? the operatin! compressor superheat will rise from :? to 22?. (t a 95? indoor air *+T and a 95? outdoor air *+T the superheat should normally be 22? accordin! to the chart.

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)uperheat charging curves for technicians

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This seems like an inefficient system with an inactive evaporator and is the greatest disadvantage of a fixed-orifice metering device. However, this is the only way to prevent slugging and flooding of refrigerant with varying indoor and outdoor loads that air conditioning systems experience. The main advantage of fixed-orifice metering devices is their low cost. If this system had a TXV as a metering device, it would control a constant superheat and keep the evaporator active at high- or lowheat loading. This is ecause the remote ul of the TXV is a feed ack mechanism that tells the TXV what the evaporator superheat is at all times. Technicians are often hesitant to measure and use !"Ts when working on air conditioning systems. However, it is important to get these measurements when in the field. !"T gives an indication of oth the latent #moisture$ and sensi le heat loads on the coil. % simple thermocouple with some moist cotton wrapped around it, placed in a hole drilled in the air duct, will suffice. There are also more sophisticated devices on the market for measuring !"T. % psychrometer is pro a ly one of the most popular. It consists of a sock wrapped around an ordinary dry ul thermometer. &sychrometers that are slung around a swivel connection are referred to as sling psychrometers. The technician simply wets the sock with distilled water and places it in the airstream until a temperature sta ili'es. !ith oth a ("T and !"T, the technician can get the percent relative humidity of the air y referring to charts or graphs. )ome manufacturers provide a slide-rule superheat-charging calculator. %ll of these means of charging air conditioning systems operate on the same theory descri ed a ove. %s one can see, charging capillary-tu e and fixed-orifice systems in air conditioning applications follow pretty much the same underlying theory. However, it is strongly recommended to consult with the manufacturer of the a*c system to use their exact methods of charging using their charging curves and ta les. )ome manufacturers use different curves and ta les for different models of their e+uipment. ,ther manufacturers have eliminated the need for a !"T ecause of custom-made charging curves that represent their la oratory tests on the e+uipment. In general, however, the charging ta le in -igure . can e used with all capillary-tu e and fixedorifice air conditioning systems if a !"T and ("T are used, and the /00 cfm*ton #1.02$ of evaporator air is esta lished.

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2uperheat charging curves for technicians

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Orifice-specific curves

Figure 3. Compressor superheat charging tables for a split a/c system using an orifice for its metering device. (Courtesy of York Corporation, Unitary roducts !roup."

#ften, separate charging curves and/or tables $ill be created for capillary tube and fi%ed orifice systems. Figure 3 sho$s a set of t$o tables used for charging a 3&ton, split, residential, '&((, air conditioning system incorporating an orifice as the metering device. )he condensing unit $as precharged from the factory. * line set of +, ft $as used in this split&system application. -%tra refrigerant charge had to be added simply to fill out the e%tra volume of the suction line and li.uid line $ithin the line set. #ften, manufacturers $ill specify ho$ much e%tra charge to add to split air conditioning systems according to $hich evaporator $as used and ho$ long the line set is. /onger line sets and other indoor coil matches may re.uire additional charge. )he technician must follo$ the manufacturers0 instructions to find out ho$ much e%tra charge to add to these systems.

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-uperheat charging curves for technicians

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The two tables in Figure 3 are used to properly charge this split system. The following are instructions from the manufacturer: After calculating the extra charge for the evaporator and line set, operate the unit for at least 1 min until pressures and temperatures stabili!e. "easure and record the indoor #$T using a sling psychrometer and the outdoor %$T using a thermometer. "easure and record the suction pressure at the suction service valve port. &sing Table 1 of Figure 3, note the superheat value corresponding to the intersection of the indoor #$T and the outdoor %$T. #ith the superheat value obtained in Table 1 of Figure 3 and the suction pressure value, find the intersection of the values in Table ' of Figure 3. This value is the re(uired compressor inlet temperature ta)en at the suction service valve. To bring the suction line *compressor inlet+ temperature in line with the re(uired value from Table ', add refrigerant to the service port to cause the suction line temperature to fall, and recover refrigerant to cause the temperature to rise. ,hec) flare caps on -chrader fittings to be sure they are tight. %o not over tighten. Again, if you aren.t sure how much refrigerant charge to add or recover, always consult the manufacturer for a copy of charging tables or curves. This information could be a simple phone call, fax, or e/mail away.

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