COPELAND SCROLL COMPRESSOR TEAR DOWN 

One easy safety tip is I know of someone who died due to cutting open a container with oil vapors inside, and it exploding due to the oil vapor/air mix and a spark from their grinding wheel. You can run a nitrogen purge while cutting, which should help reduce the risk. Thanks for making these videos as is is very cool to see what is inside.

As a nonprofessional subscriber who watches because because I like knowing how mechanical things work and enjoy the logic of diagnosis, I had hoped that you would have shown how the actual scroll mechanism works. I know that i am not your intended viewer as I assume that the professionals learned that on day 2 of tech school, but how a scroll compressor works has puzzled me since I first learned that they existed may years ago.I would guess that you have many others who watch not because they are refrigeration techs, but because they are curious. I still enjoyed your logical approach, determined how it was murdered very much even though it left me wanting more.

I am a residential maintenance technician still I like your videos . Great compressor analysis . I hope I will become commercial service technician.

We just had a “new customer” call to a restaurant. WIF down. Unit (installed new by others) in 2019. Compressor #2 installed in 2020 (by other). I confirmed this compressor was shot too. I Replaced the compressor, and during pump down test, noticed it did not shut off. I assumed bad lo pressure control. When I undid the capillary line I notice the stem was in the suction line. It must have been there since day one. The only time the unit ever shut off was in defrost. Ran for 3-4 years constantly and in a vacuum too. I Told the customer he’s all set now and might notice a “rebate” in his monthly electric bill. 😂😮

Excellent educational and motivational video Chris. Keep up the great work!! And stay safe out there especially with summer weather coming up! Stay hydrated.

Love the fact that you take time out to bring us these videos.

Great video, Chris. It would be interesting to see videos of you opening up other failed components.

I think a contributing factor may have been a faulty solder point where the incoming line that melted off was soldered to the overload switch. The points don't look burnt, but the joint into the switch is, implying that there was pretty big resistance there. I will say that the points do look used though, and in an ideal situation a thermal overload switch should look brand new.

No disassemble Johnny 5 is alive Just not that compressor😂😂

love how he said got to bring the big impact out and its a dewalt :) he knows whats good

"Can we fix it? Nope it's f....."

You can tip the oil out of the suction port. Have a site where they have killed a few compressors due to dirty condensers, they chop straw for cow bedding near by and you can clean the condensers one week and they are dirty the next. Have now fitted a delay timer so that the compressor won't restart immediately when the hp resets, reduces the starts per hour to a safe level and lets things cool down before trying to run again. Trigger the delay timer from the crank case heater supply (assuming its on a NC contact on compressor contactor) so its a delay on restart. It won't affect normal running as usually 6 minutes (or whatever you decide) will have passed before normal cooling signal is sent, and also by doing it this way if the timer fails it fails in default run so system works ok.

No way!! I literally just cut a scroll compressor apart and fixed it. The bush that allows the motor shaft to spin and oscillate the moving scroll had seized. I cleaned it up nicely and it runs beautifully.

Thank you for the the shared ideas Ismael Rwanda kigali down in Africa

That overload looks like the lid switch on my old (now replaced) washing machine. The full machine current went through that switch. On my machine, the contact pin shifted slightly, causing an arcing fault to happen. The switch on your compressor looks similar. It melted because it was arcing. I might be wrong, but that's what my eyes tell me. Thoughts on the HPC trip problem: As much as I HATE electronically controlled equipment, it may be neccisary for this problem. A simple microprocessor to count trips. If it trips more than maybe 2 or 3 times in a 2 hour period, then lock out and require a manual reset. Maybe just lock for an hour or so, then auto-reset ONCE. If it trips again, then lock until reset manually.

Being a compressor detective will lead you to your cause of failure. CSI Riverside....starring HVACR VIDEOS......it was Mr Plum in the library with the candelabra...😂. Awesome video and detective work Chris....we all should be compressor detectives and figure out why they died ir were murdered.

591 Thumbs uP I had a Chris Sighting on May 4. You were south in the pass coming out of HD around 2 ish. I didn't get a chance to honk and give you a thumbs up, of course you would have thought I was some crazy person....:)

This is so bad ass to see. Thanks so much for doing this Chris 😊

Good job Chris.

Your awesome dude I’ve learnt a lot from you more the. I ever learnt in school

Those toc contacts were like new I think that was a manufacturing defect on the coil to toc connection... are they crimped or soldered??? Either way it was done badly..

Chris, now that you got that compressor stripped down, save those silver contacts. Over time, it will add up in value. Who knows how our economy is going if we'll need something to buy or barter with. Some in Washington don't value our future.

Best compressor autopsy vid yet

I took one of those Frederator compressors pissed off the EPA in the process, but I made it into a silent air compressor

See this quite a lot. It bugs me a lot that compressors use an internal overload.

Keep cutting everything open, you will always learn something. From what I understand the circles are from the CNC machining process. They can be seen in places where parts don't rub or orbit.

We have sensors all over the place that link to the company issued associate phones and other inventory equipment. Any pressure or electrical related alarms are sent to the management teams but over temp case warnings and warnings on the walk in doors being left open or even if the cases are overloaded with product the phone will pop up a notification telling us to go check it out. It even puts a work order in if no one checks on it and clears the message out in enough time.

Break-down maintenance is most popular with bars and restaurants .

It's always painful to see a part you installed that is busted due to a lack of maintenance, I just ordered a compressor for a mobile merchandiser that's only 3 years old (the compressor not the unit) I'm pretty sure the last time the condenser was cleaned was when the compressor was replaced. I showed up, compressor is about 80% blocked with dust and it's short cycling. Gauged up it short cycles then stays off for about 2 minutes, the pressure is equalized even with the compressor running. My bet is the compressor short cycled on head pressure until it broke the valve plates but either way I'm sure it short cycled on head pressure until something broke. I agree on opening your compressors when you can, I deal with a lot of semi hermetic compressors because I do supermarket refrigeration and I can confirm Copeland and Carlyle don't really care if you open them and poke around as long as you put it back, never cut the body of them though because they reuse the core, even if it's not warranty don't cut it because you will be throwing your core return in the trash.

We have the same issue in AZ. HP tripping during the summer. We're trying to switch all our equipment to R448a from R404a in order to bring down our high sides.

So there wasn't any high side temp or pressure controls other than inside the compressor? A manual reset control would have protected the compressor.

I've never seen a compressor with compression fittings on it like that. you know when you got compression fittings installed on your compressor pipes you're changing it way too often. I'm not sure what kind of maintenance you think could have saved the compressor but the only regular maintenance that could even help is cleaning the coils.

Educational thanks! Got a question for someone...I used to work on Island resorts and the catamarans would pitch heavily in rough seas and the fridges never missed a beat as far as I know. Tilting of a fridge is not recommended whilst it is running due to the oil getting into the refrigerant..is that for old fridges only(worn seals)?

That’s wire’s burned indicates of multiple reasons. 1. It could be restriction of condenser coil air flow. 2. Overcharge system. 3. Power supply conductor loosen contacts. The first two is related to what your mentioned about short cycling, and that’s related to either over charge or dirtied condenser coil. I’m in Iowa state. The temperature difference, and average altitude around it will play a big role when it comes to charging system.

Unsure if it's normal or not, but when you pull the head off of the compressor, the bearing? race is not perfectly round, it's a bit oblong, with one side missing a substantial amount of material. Now because it's a scroll, that could be perfectly normal, just looks weird. Edit: Seeing the overload in that condition, I agree with @jeremycampbell3497 that this was most likely an electrical connection failure on the terminal. Weak joint from the factory -> vibrations in the rack and some flooded starts due to lack of maintenance caused the crack to widen -> compressor starts going off on thermal overload, and the current running through the damaged joint begins overheating the terminal until it fails. It may have shorted just enough to blow the breaker, but then disconnected when things cooled off.

A WAG: If the overload keeps switching rapidly, the contact get really hot and that might melt the insulator.

Great Vid, Thanks I disassembled a LG compressor from a 3.5T Lennox air conditioner condensing unit. Symptoms: Low differential pressure output to input (HS pressure low, LS pressure high). Could not find anything wrong inside compressor. Ever seen anything like that? Replaced entire condensing unit as fix. Thanks

i always cut a compressor with a blender to make it fast.

In a case when the compressor has open windings like this one, would a suction line filter drier be smart or would a liquid line filter suffice?

We had an identical Copeland scroll like that fail in the walk in freezer at work. The controller would lock out with an error code showing phase imbalance, when measured it was 15% more. We bypassed the controller to run the unit till the new one arrived and it held out. It was only about 5 years old and in good condition and the only non serviceable part failed!!

looking back at my home country as people cut open compressors to repair them... and they work quite good afterwards, how do they do it? don't know, but they do it.

At 6:00 as to fault to ground? With it submerged with oil, degraded oil can be an excellent conductor. With the removal of the degraded oil an draining it is possible loss.. But I totally agree with you.. I am always opening comp on weekends cuz I am puzzled an I am anal as exactly why it failed… lol I open a warranty one once an?? Lol I got in trouble for hazmat leakage during shipping back… not for cutting it open but for oil residue seeping into the cardboard 🤷🏻‍♂️( edited for oil base clarity )

I like to tear everything apart that's failed. 😁 shred tear shred

Awesome video can you do a reciprocating compressor next?

Can you cut a r290 compressor? I would like to see if it's any different...

IF IT does not have a manual HP rest what do you recommend ?

I suspect they didn't notice because they're A) Severely Understaffed... B) Their Staff are Incompetent... C) They just don't give a rat's read end... or D) Some combination of All of the Above...

Love your videos! Couldn’t there been water/moister in the system that overloaded the compressor?

some say, that impact does full torque not immediately, but after 10-15 continuous work. so, 1-3 seconds touch is not so efficient in teardown

17:01 Is there some kind of contactor interlock system that can detect when a motor loses a leg (for longer than a specified threshold of time to prevent nuisance tripping) and kick out requiring a manual reset?

Maybe a compressor delay? Why or why not ??

Good video 😊

These motors are just small for their hp rating. They expect the refrigerant to cool the motor . If they made it bigger so many would have not failed. That motor is smaller than 1hp industrial induction motors or pump motors.

So, drop in a salvaged stator, put it all back together, crudely weld up the case, and put 'er up on eBay as "rebuilt" at a price only 25% higher than the cost of a new compressor. (Hey, gotta get something for all your labor, right?)

Are there compressors out there that actually can be opened and repaired and returned to service?

I would say it's manufacture failure. Lose connection to the terminal.

What do you think about measurequick disabling screenshots? Im pissed.

Here’s a novel idea for customers and everyone that does not do routine maintenance. Go ahead and charge every single customer for recurring maintenance. That way there are no issues and you can save them tons of money.

Nice!!!!!

I always tear things apart just to learn the problems & how it work

Had to break out gold and black to get it apart.

Do tou wash towels after (how) or throw em away?

Loose connection from factory at overload

Its awsone when you take it apart to know what it looks like and the problem

You check the bearing for shaft current.

those compressors do no seem like they are designed to be repaired... is that even a thing? do you send them out to be rebuilt or something or do the all just go straight to the landfill?

It's a shame to lose a compressor to such an easily fixable issue. That said, thou shalt not F with pressure vessels. 😅

These wires sometimes break at the overload protector from vibrations I think. I had the same problem on a failed Maneurop MTZ piston compressor. Everything inside was totally fine and looked like new, only one wire broke off this overload switch, wasn't even melted or shorted - but it caused an open winding and unfortunately made the compressor unusable.

What would cause the copper plating?

I tore down a recip a couple of weeks ago for my guys. Same issue happened where I had LRA with no grounding. Single phase 240v. Both metal contacts broke off on the start winding. I replace all start components when I replace compressors. I found the old cap and saw that someone had put in a 20uf cap on a 35uf compressor. I now have the parts in my office for a "wall of shame" moment.

How long does it take to cut a comp open from beginning to end?

So this thing protected itself to death.

Much Love

Compressor had a heat stroke.

Why do scroll compressors sound so much like reciprocating piston compressors? I would think scroll compressors would have a much smoother sound. Perhaps you professionals can tell the difference, but to me they sound pretty much the same.

Man the smell of that nasty overheated refrigerant oil is awful.. some of the worse oil smell across the board of oils

What's the big deal and frankly who the hell cares? So much drama for so much nothing.