Inexperienced service technicians have a tendency to add refrigerant to a troubled system in order to remedy a problem. Because of this, many systems are operating with an overcharge of refrigerant.
Optimizing refrigerant charge has always been a key part of designing cooling systems and balancing their efficiency, reliability, performance, and cost. But recently, that balance has shifted, and refrigeration engineers are once again looking at refrigerant as a key piece of the puzzle.
Bob and Tim are at a job where a customer has damaged a refrigerant line on a heat pump. When they arrive, the line is still blowing a slight amount of vapor from the split in the line.