Sam Behncke with Kalos Services shows us everything we need to do when replacing a pool heater compressor. He goes over the recovery, installation, brazing, evacuation, and charging of a pool heater with a shorted compressor.
Sam starts by opening up the pool heater and reconfirming the diagnosis. He isolates the compressor and makes sure it is indeed shorted. For a quick recovery, Sam removes the Schrader cores. He also uses a scale to make sure he knows exactly how much refrigerant he's taking out of the system.
Before pulling out the compressor, Sam does an acid test to make sure there wasn't a burnout. When taking out the compressor, Sam also takes out the filter drier. He tries to cut the copper as close to the compressor and drier as possible.
With the new compressor in place, Sam covers it in WetRag (link to Refrigeration Technologies website below) and brazes it in. He also brazes in the filter-drier and does a pressure test afterward. There is an insignificant pressure drop and no obvious leaks with bubbles, so Sam can proceed with the evacuation. As with HVAC systems, large hoses work best for pulling deep vacuums.
The system passes the decay test, and Sam puts new refrigerant into the system (using a scale to weigh in the charge, of course).
NOTE: Some final testing procedures, such as testing the charge and the amperage, were not shown. Sam did them off-camera.
Refrigeration Technologies: www.refrigtech.com/
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