AAON V3-E - Manual (Page 29)

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Liquid refrigerant traveling upwards in a
riser loses head pressure. If the evaporator is
below the condenser, and the liquid line
does not include risers, the gravitational
force will increase the pressure of the liquid
refrigerant. This will allow the refrigerant to
withstand greater frictional losses without
the occurrence of flashing prior to the TXV.
A moisture-indicating sight glass may be
field installed in the liquid line to indicate
the occurrence of premature flashing or
moisture in the line. The sight glass should
not be used to determine if the system is
properly charged. Use temperature and
pressure measurements to determine
liquid sub-cooling, not the sight glass.
Liquid Line Routing
Care should be taken with vertical risers.
When the system is shut down, gravity will
pull liquid down the vertical column, and
back to the condenser when it is below the
evaporator. This could potentially result in
compressor flooding. A check valve can be
installed in the liquid line where the liquid
column rises above the condenser to prevent
this. The liquid line is typically pitched
along with the suction line, or hot gas line,
to minimize the complexity of the
configuration.
Liquid Line Insulation
When the liquid line is routed through
regions where temperature losses are
expected, no insulation is required, as this
may provide additional sub-cooling to the
refrigerant. When routing the liquid line
through high temperature areas, insulation of
the line is appropriate to avoid loss of sub-
cooling through heat gain.
Liquid Line Guidelines
In order to ensure liquid at the TXV,
frictional losses must not exceed available
sub-cooling. A commonly used guideline to consider is a system design with pressure
losses due to friction through the line not to
exceed a corresponding 1-2°F change in
saturation temperature.
If the velocity of refrigerant in the liquid line
is too great, it could cause excessive noise or
piping
erosion. The recommended
maximum velocities for liquid lines are 100
fpm from the condenser to a receiver tank to
discourage fluid backup, and 300 fpm from
receiver tank to the evaporator to minimize
valve induced liquid hammer.
Liquid Line Accessories
Liquid line shut off valves and filter driers
are factory provided. Filter driers must be
field installed on 2-5 ton units. The total
length equivalent of pressure losses through
valves, elbows and fittings must be
considered
when adding additional
components in the field. It is a good practice
to utilize the fewest elbows that will allow
the mating units to be successfully joined.
Suction Line Sizing
The suction line is more critical than the
liquid line from a design and construction
standpoint. More care must be taken to
ensure that adequate velocity is achieved to
return oil to the compressor at minimum
loading conditions. However, reducing the
piping diameter to increase the velocity at
minimal load can result in excessive
pressure losses, capacity reduction, and
noise at full load. The suction line also
dictates the position of the TXV sensing
bulb for proper operation of the TXV.
Suction Line Routing
Pitch the suction line in the direction of flow
(about 1 foot per 100 feet of length) to
maintain oil flow towards the compressor,
and keep it from flooding back into the
evaporator. Crankcase heaters are provided
to keep any condensed refrigerant that