Customer
A major HVAC system manufacturer providing residential and light commercial packaged and split Air Conditioner systems.
Application
High pressure refrigerant charging of AC/HP systems in a high volume production environment.
Challenge
ISO B style quick connectors were used to connect the refrigerant charge line to the AC/HP unit. High pressure in the charge line made it excessively difficult to connect the quick disconnect “coupler” to the QD “plug” / “Tip” by hand and workers were experiencing ergonomic injuries. In addition, increased difficulty connecting the charge line directly translated into an increased risk of refrigerant inadvertently escaping to the atmosphere creating a safety and environmental hazard.
Project Goals
• Simplify connection of the charge line to the unit for the line worker
• Reduce/eliminate ergonomic and safety issues
• Eliminate the need to develop high pressure connection tools internally
Solution
The customer chose to implement FasTest’s CoreMax RQD high pressure refrigerant charge line connector. The connector incorporates a manually actuated shut off valve and an integral “Reclaim” port that can be activated to prevent refrigerant loss to the environment. In addition, the connector incorporates a green indicator ring to alert the line operator that the RQD Is fully and safely connected BEFORE actuating the lever to open the flow of refrigerant into the system.
Results
FasTest’s RQD connector offered a simple, fast, leak-free connection to pressurized charge lines, that virtually eliminated both ergonomic injuries and dangerous refrigerant emission leaks for the customer.
