This is a video i recorded a while back and didnt release. After rewatching it, i figured it would be beneficial to other techs to see the mistakes i made
3 things: 1 : good for you for putting this up. Nobody is perfect and we need reminders of that. 2. I couldn’t tell where your leak was but it looks a lot like cracks that I’ve had a hard time dealing. Pinholes and rub outs usually easier but cracks are hard because you don’t know exactly where it starts. 3. The hardest thing is knowing when to pull the plug. Good job.
Frustration with aluminum brazing. Funny how you go to the homeshow and some guy is brazing everything in the world like cast metal and aluminum perfectly, and you get the magic rods and they just dont work as you saw in the demo. Then you blow a hole in the aluminum or the stick wont stick like youd hoped. One thing I found is to heat up a large area of the target surroundings and clean with a stainless steel brush only, no degreaser, and putting a slight vacuum on the system sometimes helps pull that liquid stick into the crack. There is an aluminum solder out there with its own paste that is a low temp melting point that may do better. I sometimes have holes in evap pans. that would be a great piece to practice on.
I use an epoxy that withstands up to 1000 psi for tricky repairs. It’s red when mixed and add to clean surface and hit with a torch till it turns gold color. Good stuff
Yea, a friend of mine turned me on to that “ red epoxy “ stuff years back when welding rods for aluminum were not so prevalent as they are today. He raves about it for sealing holes in boat evaporators for adler Barbour evaporators. I’ve used it once , for a area on a aluminum suction line on a boat refrigerator. It worked ok. Crazy stuff.
Now, when you replace that coil, I recommend you try and weld that old coil in your spare time. The satisfaction comes only when you finally achieve total victory over that pesky leak!!!! LOL. Give it a try and show us the results. Stay strong brother.
Hey man! great vid! I am still new to the industry myself and have been in the same position you were just in. I felt like a failure a lot until my mentor (rest his sole) told me "your not a failure because you didn't succeed, your a success because you tried." So I think you did great man. Thanks for sharing this experience. Be safe out there.
Dude that’s Exactly what i would have done and what i have done with copper micro-leaks before and it has worked like “Magic”! Seeing someone else doing the same move makes me feel less Crazy! “Great minds think alike!”
I did same job with aluminum brazing, I have many failure with aluminum, but I discovered layer on I was fixing aluminum either with glue or TIG welding
I learned many years ago to weld aluminum with ox-acetylene. You have to use a carburizing flame. I used an aluminum rod with a special flux. I wouldn't waste my time doing that, I would have taken the condenser coil back to my shop and TIG welded it. If you don't have access to the proper welding equipment, take it to a welding shop and have it done right. Is it worth the trouble, it would buy you some time until the new coil comes in. I would have placed a bead 100% around the bracket, since you don't know where the actual leak is, seal up the entire area. As said though, probably not worth the time. Jim
Just more practice with the aluminum welding and you will get as good with that as you are with regular copper welding. But I applaud you for this attempt. I’m finishing up my schooling for the trade myself. Since it appears everything is coming out with the aluminum micro channel I’ll mention it to the instructor and see if he offers any advice.
Protip: next time try a propane torch (you can try with propane or map), turbo torch for map it's too hot for the aluminium and spread a lot of heat, it's more manageable with propane torch and also allows to control the viscosity of the soldering
automotive used very similar design for many years without failure in them (sans road debris penetration), then along came the brilliant engineering and energy saving green turds
There is a product Trane makes for micro channel repair that you heat and becomes rock hard- I have had some success with it but it’s pricy- also this is 50/50 I’ve had great easy results and spectacular failures- you can by low melting point aluminum rod- no flux needed that flows with propane but it’s hard to work with. The trick is run your vacuum pump while patching with said rod and it sucks in. Had some good luck with that- also had huge wastes of time. Hate micro channels. At least tube sheets it’s a pain but possible
I could be missing something but you can- assuming piping a not crazy long always pump down the charge at the unit and close off those valves. That’s how they come is closed off- pipe up, evac and open. Leak check of course under pressure- anyone who says vacuum is a valid leak test hang up on them. I have plenty of empirical proof on that- but that’s another topic.
You can pull vacuum down to 3 or 400 micron and see if it holds. If there is a leak the micron gauge will instantly spike. Of course depends on how big the leak is but it doesn't tell you where the leak is. To pin point the leak, use pressure.
Thanks for the video and explanations. I used alumaloy (without flux core) . Alumaloy recommends scratching the surface (to remove oxide film) while applying the alloy. It flows very smooth and evenly. Maybe appying aluxcore the same way would help.
Sometimes you just have to know when you are outside of your element and admit it. Everyone has an area where they are great and an area where they suck. May be worth taking that old one home and using it to practice with a few times and get a little better. At the very least you slowed it down some so it will operate until you can get it swapped out for a replacement. Plus by the time you sealed the top side I am guessing it would find another spot to start leaking. Those brackets are never fully sealed and it was almost as if the leak was coming underneath of it somewhere. But that is where you get some epoxy and slather it on to get them by if it will be longer than a week to get replacement parts in.
I was rootin for you man! lol good effort regardless. Have you ever heard of LACO heat sealing sticks? It's like a crayola. Heat it up and it melts on there like glue but hardens like a rock. It probably would've worked good for this application. Aluminum sucks to repair when you have to solder.
Like 3 years ago goodman evaps brand new would be leaking they would give you a nice little stainless-steel brush an a few special flux filled braze rods i had much success scubbing down leak area an then turn your torch on just acetylene where its pumping out soot coat the area with soot it will start to burn off around 900° i believe an when i would see the soot start to burn off shove some rod an back off the torch
Micro-channel leaks-REPLACE!.. New coil u can warranty and not have to worry,"will it hold"the few dollars they save isn't worth you having a possible call back
Just wondering why you didnt make a second attempt? It probably wouldn't have taken more than a few mins and you probably would have got it.. more heat next time. The vacuum definitely wont draw solder in, even if it did. 15-20 bar would blow it out again. I know your thinkin of the customer but sometimes u gotta have faith in your ability, ypu wont be a pro giving up so easily. Sorry if I sound harsh but its true
Technically it is not a failure when you attempt to fix something if you don't do nothing then it is a failure that an aluminum is a beach I know I've dealt with it you can't get it hot enough or you melt it to nothing LOL
The entire repair is not valid because you didn't catch the final weld on camera. Joking of course. It's good to practice on this coil to see if the AL822 is viable.
I dont think its worth it to try to patch a micro channel. How can you gurantee the fix? See what happened? Twice the work and it ends up costing a lot more overall if it fails, AND THE COIL STILL NEEDS REPLACED. . And if it does, you could have a customer that might fight you for the failed repair cost. It was a nice try and I commend for your effort. Micro channels are a refrigerant savng design, but are a tech's nightmare. Copper units are a different matter. Are you planning a follow up video?
Hey not sure how to direct message you but we have a set of refrigeration tools and would love to do a collab with you and maybe give your subs a discount code or something. Let me know your thoughts.
Good Vid ! Hey, the rook is Back ! Yea, Two spots leaking , your just gonna have more leaks every year. time to replace condenser. 1 spot , ok maybe try to repair if easy spot to get to. top leak is probably the cross tubing. How old was that unit ?
Down with micro channels! Don't waste time attempting to repair aluminum. Also, you dont have to turn the recovery tank upside-down. It has a dip tube inside on liquid valve.
When you turn it upside down it gets the tube out of the liquid. Makes recovering vapor on the liquid side easier. Eliminates extra hose or swapping ports
