Q4 2017 ESPCO Newsletter
IT’S A GREE THING! If you have attended one of my GREE product training events you have heard me say those words when I come to a feature and / or component that is unique to the GREE mini split product. One of those unique components is the second accumulator…yes, that’s right, a SECOND accumulator, in the multi-zone ODUs.
The fact that the GREE multi-zone ODU has a second accumulator gives it several unique characteristics when it comes to installation and performance.
First let me show you what I’m talking about…
Here we have the exploded view of the MULTI24HP230V1BO from page #6 of its parts manual…
Part #7 is listed as the “gas- liquid separator”, (accumulator) and part #8 as the “compressor and fittings.”
Here is an actual GREE 24K compressor for a 2 ton multi-zone ODU…
I cut the window in the suction accumulator with a Dremel tool…got to love the Dremel tool!
Now, the secondary accumulator is equal, or even larger, as you can see next…
The use of the secondary accumulator is what allows an installer to install the minimum allowable lineset per evaporator (10’), and not have to remove refrigerant from a system which came pre-charged for 98’ of lineset…BRILLIANT!
One less thing an installer has to worry about when commissioning a new system!
Another very interesting effect of having the second accumulator is what I demonstrate in Section XII of my troubleshooting curriculum.
Even when grossly overcharged, the GREE multi-zone system sees very little increase in pressure when in the cooling mode…and I’m talking GROSSLY OVERCHARGED!
In my curriculum I show that even with twice the system pre-charge (154 oz), and only 20’ of total lineset the system only gains 15 PSI from the factory charge (77 oz.), or what I call the baseline (130 PSI).
Now the heating mode is a different story! Again, as I demonstrate in the troubleshooting class, when I place the double charged system (154 oz.), into the heat mode the pressure jumps to 615 PSI…just 23 PSI from opening the high pressure switch…but then something magical happens! The inverter kicks in, slows down the compressor in turn lowering the pressure to 415 PSI and the system runs…and runs…and RUNS!
This my friends is a GREE thing!
DO NOT consider this an endorsement of over-charging GREE multi-zone systems…IT IS NOT! Purposely over-charging a system for ANYTHING other than experimental reasons is just plain stupid…yeah, STUPID!
Refrigerant ain’t cheap…don’t use any more than you need too.
Yeah, my little experiment worked great in a very specific environment, (approximately 70°F ODAT)…at 30°F ODAT the results may be VERY different!
Yeah, the inverter saved the compressor from catastrophic failure by slowing it down, thus dropping the pressure BUT, in doing so, the system lost approximately 1/3 of it’s capacity…again, on a 30°F ODAT day, that can be VERY significant!
Re-visit an article from October 2013: I thought with North Korea in the news of late, it might be interesting to re-visit an article I wrote four years ago about the USS Pueblo which remains hostage in North Korea to this day…
Bring the USS Pueblo home: I was seven years old on January 23, 1968 when the USS Pueblo came under attack by North Korean forces in international waters. The crew of the Pueblo staved off the attack for two hours as she was pursued by no less than four North Korean torpedo boats, two sub chasers and two MiG-21 fighters. The Pueblo was an ‘intelligence gathering ship’ and as a result she was armed with only a single .50 caliber machine gun and only one crew member was trained in its operation.
One of the sub chasers opened fire with a 57 mm cannon killing 21 year old Petty Officer Duane Hodges from Creswell, Oregon.
The USS Pueblo was boarded by North Korean forces and the crew would serve 335 days as prisoners, enduring brutal physical abuse and mental torture.
Why am I writing about this in my newsletter? Well, for the following reasons…
If you are younger than me, (and everyone is younger than me), chances are good you aren’t aware of what has become known as the ‘Pueblo Incident’. Although I was seven years old, I do have a vivid memory of the news reports and the images of the crew when they were freed on December 23, 1968.
The images and later interviews with the Captain of the USS Pueblo, Commander Lloyd Mark ‘Pete’ Bucher, affected me…I just had a sense that this man was a true hero…it turns out I was right. Cmdr. Bucher is credited, (by his 81 crewmembers), for leading his crew through the 11 months of captivity…leading by example, displaying courage and giving hope as they endured unimaginable brutality.
This is just one example of the brutality Cmdr. Bucher endured;
Cmdr. Bucher describes how he was about to be executed by his North Korean captives when a gun was placed at his head…he wanted his last words…his last thought…to be that of his wife Rose. He shouted out her name just as he heard the click of the gun’s trigger…the gun was not loaded. You can hear Cmdr. Bucher recount this experience in his own words in an interview at this address:
ABC 1968 30th Anniversary Interview with Pete Bucher by Diane Sawyer
Cmdr. Bucher died on January 28, 2004 at the age of 76. His death was partly attributed to injuries he sustained while a prisoner in North Korea 36 years earlier. Rose Bucher passed away just weeks ago on September 4, 2013.
The main reason for this article is this…the USS Pueblo remains to this day, a prisoner of North Korea. I find this both disgusting and unacceptable. The USS Pueblo is the second oldest still commissioned ship in the US Navy fleet…second only to the USS Constitution which was commissioned in 1797 and moored in Charlestown, MA today. Think about that…the second oldest actively commissioned US Naval ship sits in captivity today in the waters of North Korea’s Botong River in Pyongyang as an exhibit of the ‘Fatherland Liberation War Museum’. ..are you kidding me? This is an outrage!
Here’s what we all can do…write to our representatives in Washington DC and let them know we haven’t forgotten the USS Pueblo. BRING THE PUEBLO HOME!
Look, I know this is not the most pressing issue in today’s international political scene but 45 years have passed and if something is not done soon, the remaining surviving crew members will go to their graves with their ship…our ship…still in captivity.
Please go to the following address for a comprehensive history of everything related to the USS Pueblo and the brave men who served her and their nation.
May I suggest when at the above website, go to the ‘Ships Store’ and purchase a ‘Return the Pueblo’ bumper sticker and put one on each of your trucks.
See you soon!
The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of ESPCO’s sponsors and training partners.