For a hermetic or semi-hermetic unit, checking for and removing acid is probably the most important maintenance check! The operating life of refrigerators, heat pumps, and air conditioners are severely shortened by acid levels as low as 50 parts per million of acid! These acids can be formed by chemical reactions with components and/or materials of construction, lubricating oils, and/or impurities.

Depending of the refrigerant and oil being used in the system two types of acids, organic acids (such as oleic acid), which are soluble in the oil (and do not vaporize) and therefore stay predominately in the liquid oil in the compressor oil sump and inorganic (mineral) acids (such as hydrochloric acid), which are only slightly soluble in the oil.

Big commercial systems are very important because they can contain several thousand kilograms of refrigerant. Vehicle air conditioning and domestic appliances also contain fluorocarbons, however, and they also need to be looked after properly.

Requests can be made by telephone, e-mail, or fax (578-5597). Provide the following information: Name, phone number, building and room/s, date and times the a/c needs to be on. A three day notification is required to ensure requests are properly scheduled.

Send a letter to Facility Services-Energy Services requesting the change. Please include the building and room numbers requiring the change, the requested hours, the reason why the change is requested, and the name of a contact person to discuss the change.

For questions regarding maintenance, please feel free to download a maintenance manual for your particular door.

Air compressors are rated on the volume of air entering the compressor and stated as cfm. The amount of air entering the air compressor, referenced as displacement cfm, is not equal to the amount of air the compressor exhausts, delivered cfm. The less efficient an air compressor is, the greater the difference between displacement cfm and delivered cfm.

The air conditioning term "ton" equates to 12,000 BTUH (British Thermal Units per Hour). A 3 ton air conditioner is capable of removing a combined sensible and latent (humidity) load of 36,000 BTUH per hour (3 x 12,000).

Air conditioning is the control of temperature, humidity, air movement, and the quality of air in a room. Basically, we need air conditioned space is to maintain the indoor conditions in comfortable manner and control or improve the conditions of an industrial process so that its quality of the products is enhanced.