Lighter Side

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VOTE FOR THE WINNER!

Choose your favourite entry at www.hvacrnews.com.au/the‑lighter‑side And check out last issue’s winner: Advanced cooling from Brendon in Queensland.

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1 IF DR FRANKENSTEIN BUILT AN AC …

“The longer you look at this,” says Callan from WA, “the worse it gets! Condensing unit facing backwards, ducted system with 100 per cent outside air, the drip tray is the roof of the unit, no filter, and a piece of wood balancing the indoor unit.” Graham says: We would hope this is an illegal installation and that no selfrespecting tradesperson would do this. 2 SHORT SIGHTED

Ray found this on a 20kW domestic air conditioner at Glenhaven in Sydney. “The customer said it had been working like this for the last 10 years when the circuit had tripped,” he says. “Fortunately, the compressor was OK.” Graham says: Assuming this is a three-phase system, they are lucky as the breaker would only drop out two phases. Hard to tell without further investigation.

3 ROOM FOR ONE MORE?

Daniel shared this photo taken in Cairns. “When in doubt,” says Daniel, “bang another AC out!” Graham says: The trouble with replacing room air conditioners with splits is that you are left with a large hole in the wall to repair and RACs to dispose of. All adds to the cost of the job. 4 LYING DOWN ON THE JOB

Mounting issues, or a very strong wind? Thanks to Phoenix for sending this one in. Graham says: Sometimes people think that the unit is so heavy it won’t move. A big underestimation.

5 LETTING IT ALL HANG OUT

On a yearly maintenance, Tommy from Balhannah, SA, found this discharge vibration eliminator had totally come apart. “Hadn’t lost any gas and was still running,” he says. “Never seen one do this before. Amazing the strength on the discharge pipe.” Graham says: Vibration eliminators need to be bracketed and the direction of the vibration needs to be ascertained prior to fitting. Read the instructions first! Unless of course this is factory fitted – then you would hope the factory would know what they are doing.

Additional comments and observations provided by Graham Boyle, F.AIRAH, portfolio manager, heavy automotive and refrigeration at South Metropolitan TAFE. Please note that the comments are provided on the basis of the photos only and should be read with this in mind – not all issues or solutions are apparent from a 2D image.

HAVE YOU COME ACROSS SOMETHING SCARY, UGLY OR JUST PLAIN FUNNY?

If your entry is deemed the winner, a 700ml bottle of Jim Beam will be on its way to your door. Please include a postal address with your entry. Entrants must be 18 or over. Send your hi-res (>500KB) photos to Editor, Mark Vender at mark.vender@airah.org.au