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Marine A/C- Condaria 48004 PCWM coIII-Heesen 40MTR

Discussion in 'HVAC' started by jp33, May 11, 2015.

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  1. jp33

    jp33 New Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2015
    Messages:
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    Location:
    italy
    Hi all, this is a first post for me so hoping I can get some valuable information.
    We recently had our AC serviced as the season is approaching fast and the weather is warming up here in Italy.
    We have two chiller plants on board each with their own salt water pump and circulation pump.So on chiller set #1 after service we had 'Pump alarm' come up on the screen on the chiller organizer. The service engineer at first it was a problem with the flow switch but after adjustment we still had alarm so he decided that the circ pump needed new impeller,seals etc.

    These were duly replaced and the pump re-fitted, the system was pressurized to the manufacturers spec and I also used the purge valve on the evaporator and made sure we had no air there and did the same at the highest fancoil unit on the boat. But once the system was fired up again we are still getting 'Pumps alarm'. I have spoken to the company who serviced the system and he was at a loss as to how we had a pumps alarm when the pump was clearly running??. This is AC problem number 1.

    Anyhow at the same time it was noted that the 'Salt water' pump on chiller set #2 was way too noisy and would not see out the season, so impeller and seals were replaced on this pump and re-installed, low and behold once fired up again I am now getting the same 'Pumps alarm' on this chiller set!!, It is worth noting that this set worked fine after service (other than a very noisy pump). I have good water at the pump head and checked that rotation is correct and that all wiring went back exactly the same as removed. I have also been into the elec cabinet on chiller organizer and pressed the pump re-sets but still getting the same problems.

    The AC people cant get to boat in a hurry because of workload and I would really like to try and sort this myself with some helpful advice, its my first position on a yacht and I feel the best way to learn is to jump in and have a go so if anyone out there has any advice it would be greatly appreciated, thankyou in advance.jp
  2. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I would say check the pump sensors?
  3. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    Are the sensors looking for flow or pressure?
  4. jp33

    jp33 New Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2015
    Messages:
    3
    Location:
    italy
    Hi, Sorry for delayed response. Laptop needed repair.
    This issue turned out to simply be a problem with air in the system. Once the covers were removed from the flow switches it was clear that the switches would engage once system fired up, however after some time the switches would start to flutter on and off thus causing the pump alarms. A sign of air in the system.

    So I set about bleeding all 21 fancoils on board , re-pressurizing and running pumps ,and finally after doing this process 5 times the system would run and operate with no alarms. Hooray, problem sorted and the boat is cool again.
    Thankyou very much for your feedback. JP
  5. K1W1

    K1W1 Senior Member

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    Were these alarms for the Chilled Water pumps or the Salt Water pumps?
  6. jp33

    jp33 New Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2015
    Messages:
    3
    Location:
    italy
    On the front panel it only shows 'pumps alarm', it does not say whether for chilled water or salt. The problem was in the chilled water loop.
  7. Scallywag

    Scallywag Member

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2012
    Messages:
    82
    Location:
    Islamorada FL
    Glad you got it resolved. Even one small air bubble can cause a huge problem. I'm surprised your system doesn't have an air eliminator at the highest point of the loop?
  8. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Many times you can get away with bleed the highest or in your case, few highest units and all of the air will get out of the system.