This happend to me last week... 3 weeks into the job first day by my self I walked up to a lennox hvac unit with a tripped breaker... being new and not not knowing any better flipped it with out checking anything first for grounded compressor etc. It exploded... a 460 v scroll compressor. Im glad I didn't get hurt. Lesson DEFINITELY Learned
Too bad it's an RTU. It's so satisfying telling your boss and his bosses that you're reluctant to reset the breaker because you know it's the wrong thing to do, and then having it explode in front of them when you do it because they order you to. The most satisfying thing is being the only person still standing where you started, and the only one not to flinch.
This is why any basic refrigeration book recommend DO NOT reset an equipment which had trip circuit breaker before make sure compressor motor is not shorted or grounded.
Mine exploded after changing the capacitors and relay! Which were tested and tested bad! Not all the time it's gonna be shorted to ground. Sometimes is just freaking crazy things happening
@@vicenterivera69 Same farad rating on the capacitor as the original? If not then it was a rather large or sharp voltage spike in which case I'd recommend the customer get a whole home surge suppressor.
@@chronically.advocating yes they were exactly the same. I have a small inventory. I swapped it for new ones, put the voltage back on...and boom! There goes the compressor. It was a crazy experience for me. And yes!! The place has really bad voltage spikes! It's a supermarket on a remote island.
This is nothing! Way back in 1977 when I was just a trainee/helper working in the service department of an HVAC company in Florida, I had just started to remove the service panel door from a 440 - volt 3 phase 10 - ton split system condensing unit that had stopped cooling The service mechanic I worked with was an asswiper pot smoker,, who didn't tell me he was going in the building to turn the t-stat on. And I was removing the terminal cover off the compressor, and was hunched down between the wall of the building and the condensing unit service opening,, and I remember that I needed to get up and walk to the service truck to get a nut driver. Well,, I didn't get halfway to the truck when "KABOOOOM" ......and I mean frikken 5 shotgun shell ..."KABOOOOOM" ...... and there was a frikken huge explosion, just like frikken NAPALM BOMBS HAD EXPLODED!!!!! If I hadn't needed to get from between that building wall, and the condensing unit just when I did....... for a fact ...... I wouldn't be here to write this comment!!!! The huge orange rolling balls of napalm-like fire (because of all the compressor oil!) were 30 or more feet high!!!!! I would have been burnt to a crisp!!! And I was a young married guy with a baby boy!!! Till this day,, I want to kick the living shitsky out of the service man, Bill Manchester!!! IF YOU'RE READING THIS BILL, YOU WERE A FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!!!
That is a crazy story my man! Someone was looking out for you for sure! People don’t realize the danger of working with these type of units and love to watch RUclips videos and think they can do any repair. Replacing a part is not a big deal, it’s the inherent dangers of gas, electricity and carbon monoxide that are so easily overlooked when you don’t know the consequences of a single action which could cascade into a deadly one. Thank you for sharing that story!
This is caused by an electrical short between the wire connections where they go into the hermetically sealed compressor “fusite”... the refrigerant and oil blast out and make a huge mess and the compressor is now basically a “boat anchor”.
Compressor terminal burn out. Be glad the terminal cover was on, I've seen them turn into a flame thrower. Always make sure that cover is in place before applying power just for this reason.
It's funny I remember the old timers telling me they banned propane refrigerant at one time because people's houses burned down 😂😂 Funny how the wheel keeps turning
"Was working before YOU touched it!" 😉 Kidding. Got to respect the potential for shit to go sideways, especially when working alone. Be smart, be safe. These terms are not mutually exclusive.
I had a water source heat pump up in a ceiling, compressor ohmed grounded at the contactor. Went to pull the leads off the compressor to ohm out and the entire terminal came off and proceeded to spray me with nasty oily water. Was not expecting water to spray out of compressor, still better than electrical fireballs that others described.
@@mrbyamile6973 or hot oil/chemicals. Coulda been worse. Btw I've installed those before, in a multi-million dollar pent house suit. I guess I've been pretty lucky over the years, to avoid dangerous situations, or just worked smart.. Bit of both?
You need to see when a refrigeration unit compressor at a supermarket explodes. THATS impressive! Took out 6x8x8 FEET of two layer thick cinder block wall at the Safeway I worked at! The 600 Volt 3 phase AC going to it helped of course. Big ol' York 3 cylinder two-stage compressor and I THINK a Baldor 10 HP motor. I heard and FELT it over a mile away at MY house! Our "backroom" freezer storage unit for a 50x100-ish zero degree walk-in. Had an old-fashioned cooling tower on the roof-may have been anhydrous ammonia cooling-had foot-thick ice on the walls and ceiling and coils, and the floor was 4-6 inches of ice we walked and fork-lifted down. It was mounted on the ground by the wall. This was back in the mid 1960's- maybe as late as '67.
Tyson wearhouse had it bad with the 1,000,000 btu unit blowing head gaskets. Green forest Arkansas. Clear a building in no time, alarms going off, supervisors yelling get out now.
@@nightmareinaction629 600v still alive and kicking in 2022, dunno about in hvac but we still use ungrounded delta 575 mains. Only have a problem once 2 legs short to ground, when it's only 1 just have real bastard legs.
@@nightmareinaction629 well.... a cetrifugal chiller where i work operates at 700v 7 phase AC it got some 7 phase vfd and inverter to convert the 3 phase 480vAC input.
That happened to me one time on a on a Goodman 410 a is a residential split system They left nitrogen and opened the service valves and ran the system But did not explode on the installers stallers it exploded on bloated on me the very next day when I came out to troubleshoot The installers forgot to let out the nitrogen Pressure test
I’ve seen the aftermath. I got a service call one night at a papermill and one of the on-site. Electricians took it upon himself to turn the power back on without checking anything the whole inside of the condenser was coded and burnt oil.
You better watch out! This one time at band camp I was working on a heat pump issue and asked Google ".......what happens if the heat pump and air conditioning functions were running at the same time?" and it said that it could overheat the coils, explode, and kill everyone within a 30 mile radius!!!!...... After staring at this answer for about 10 seconds,.....I literally fell down laughing because I know that's not possible.... but that's what it said on Google!!!!! Not joking. 🤷♂️
Just happened to me right now😂😂😂 7 compressor refrigeration rack and #6 blew a head gasket. I’m amazed how quickly I killed power and valved it off before loosing 500-lbs. I held my breath as the motor room filled up with vapors immediately
Why did the Compressor Explode BECAUSE THE SERVICE TECH DID NOT PULL A PROPER VACUUM OF THE REFRIGERANT LINES BEFORE IT WAS CHARGED WITH REFRIGERANT THEN THE MOLECULES OF MOISTURE AIR MIXED WITH THE OIL IN THE COMPRESSOR AND AFTER TIME THE VISCOSITY OF THE OIL BROKE DOWN AND IT TURNED TO ACID WHICH ATE THE VARNISH OFF THE COPPER WINDINGS OF THE INSIDE OF THE COMPRESSOR -- OR THE COMPRESSOR WAS WIRED FOR THE WRONG VOLTAGE AND SOMEBODY PUT THE WRONG DATA LABEL ON THE COMPRESSOR
Typical Copeland scroll, Tecumseh recips tend to fail in a less explosive manner and when not run into the ground they last forever, I've got one from 1981 that's still used regularly throughout the summer
I have a question for experts here. I'm not familiar with technical english regarding air conditioners but I'll do my best to explain situation. There was one air conditioner which was 1 year out of order. Service crew came, put pressure gauge to measure pressure - it was 15 bar (allegedly normal pressure in idle position). Then they turned on air conditioner, everything looked fine, no strange noises, nothing unusual. Few minutes later pressure fell to 8 bar and after that, without any warning, huge explosion in compressor area. Part of compressor was found 70 meters away. There was also fire from compressor oil and complete pipeline went missing - it blew it away. Service crew were injured but all survived. One of the crew noticed loose valves which indicated him that someone else was trying to repair the air conditioner before. Loose valves were impossible if device was left untouched for 4-5 months in city area near the sea. He is guessing that someone was trying to repair air conditioner, first by pumping nytrogen into the system and left it there for months. If that's the case, why explosion few minutes after turning the device on? I would suspect shortcut if compressor blew immediately after turning on, but he exploded minutes later, after working without any suspicious behaviour. What do you think happened? There were evidence of tampering with device but no one can't explain why explosion minutes after turning on. My best guess is that if extra nytrogen was in, it was burdening the system and when compressor started to put more pressure, system reached pressure maximum and exploded. But why was valve reading pressure falling and not increasing if that's the case? Help.
If non condensables (nitrogen or air) were left in the system it could cause a high pressure problem but normally a high pressure switch would cut the system off or if there was no HP switch, an internal pressure relief valve would cut in. Most compressor shorts or burnouts are caused by contaminated systems. If a good vacuum was not pulled on startup and if a filter drier was not installed, water (even from humidity in the air) can form hydrofluoric and hydrochloric acid which will eat away at the insulation in the windings and eventually cause an electrical short. There are other issues that can cause this too but a compressor with a clean refrigerant system ( meaning oil and refrigerant) with a clean evaporator, condenser and air filter, with proper superheat and sub cooling will basically run forever.
Years ago I was driving with my dad and the ac compressor blew up. Just heard a boom and just a big puff of white smoke came out. I think he had to replace everything. The compressor the hoses and the evaporator all just blew up. It was a 91 Taurus wagon
Ahhh yes this is what we call The Black Death. It's not just the compressor that's toast, so is the TXV, evap, and condenser as that refrigerant oil mix along with metal shavings is pushed throughout the entire system. Looks like another rooftop HVAC goes down in a black bomb of glory (play on Bon Jovi's Blaze of Glory).
Gotta love a pin blowout! I had one happen to me once on a 1/3hp reach in cooler at a packed chain store grill and bar during the lunch hour. _That_ was a fun one 😂
Two weeks ago during a routine pm on a carrier rtu, the disconnect started sparking and caught on fire. Good thing it was on the ground and my afire extinguisher was close by. That happened in a split second
@@user-ln7of9gs4s to be honest with you. It happened so quick I never got to check the terminal on the disconnect but I will tell you it was aluminum wire and not copper. 4/0 wire. Don’t ever cut corners and use that, always uses copper uses let’s amps which in turn causes less heat.
The climatuff reciprocating compressor on my parents' Trane air conditioner exploded in a similar way back in 2013 got a dry shipped condenser installed unit instead of an entire system at the time but, it was a 20-year-old system at the time. It wasn't as messy since it's a 240-volt single-phase system. It blew out the terminal plug. In your case, you most certainly have replaced the whole system.
Refrigerants in general are usually dangerous, there's propane and isobutane that are explosive, others that are mildly flammable and/or heavier than air, and there's even a few semi hermetic dichloromethane systems around, probably the least dangerous is carbon dioxide though it's still deadly in the right concentration
@@themonkeyspaw7359 I know how dangerous it can be, but compared to isobutane and propane it's less dangerous, dichloromethane is pretty tame if stored and used correctly but when you get stupid with it you'll learn one hell of a lesson
Years ago I watched a window air blow up sounded like fireworks for 5 minutes and then fire came out of the back of it .but cant figure out why it didn't trip the breaker before that
I have a very rusted out compressor in my dining room ac . The compressor base is basically falling off and the mounting brackets are gone..but it sounds so quiet and cools like brand new.. the compressor was freezing for for 6-7yrs before i finnally cleaned the evaporator and now everything is normal but due to that ice forming every day on the compressor for 7yrs of it's life it has rusted pretty bad.. i will replace it once it explodes or if i have 2 3 days off from work in coming weeks i will recover the charge and replace the compressor. I know tiny bit of hvac work and previously replaced condenser and compressor on a Whirlpool window unit on my own.
Hvac tech-“I warned you. This ac is old and dying. This beouch just exploded” Business owner -“just get the hose and cool it down” Hvac supervisor-“ wtf” Business owner-“ your tech was the last one who touched it. “ Hvac supervisor-“f you. We warned you about the shorts in that old unit. May the shorts be with you “
Glad you are safe. Thanks for posting. Exactly same thing happened to me yesterday. I just turned the AC switch in the breaker panel it exploded. Do you know what might have caused this in YOUR scenario?
This happend to me last week... 3 weeks into the job first day by my self I walked up to a lennox hvac unit with a tripped breaker... being new and not not knowing any better flipped it with out checking anything first for grounded compressor etc. It exploded... a 460 v scroll compressor. Im glad I didn't get hurt. Lesson DEFINITELY Learned
How many far from distance of exploded?
@HCnetworks 还有中文留言。
I think it's fine. Wait for it to cool down and power back on 🤣
Yeah just cool it down with the water hose 😂
Patch the compressor and then charge the refrigerant using LPG gas 🤣
@@LabArlyn Duct tape over the hole should hold it.
Go get the water hose boys time to cool this baby down
Might as well through in a hard start even if it's 3 phase
The ol’ atmospheric recovery!!!😂.
Lmfao😂😂
Yeah no kidding and here the epa wants you to recover the refrigerant LoL.
If you put a towel over it, technically it didn't happen.
This is EPA, we are fining this man $25,000
In eastern hemisphere we always do the good old atmospheric recovery.
Too bad it's an RTU. It's so satisfying telling your boss and his bosses that you're reluctant to reset the breaker because you know it's the wrong thing to do, and then having it explode in front of them when you do it because they order you to. The most satisfying thing is being the only person still standing where you started, and the only one not to flinch.
The hell with that they’re either gonna let me troubleshoot it or they can turn it on themselves
This is why any basic refrigeration book recommend DO NOT reset an equipment which had trip circuit breaker before make sure compressor motor is not shorted or grounded.
Aaand allmost no one do it 😁
Mine exploded after changing the capacitors and relay! Which were tested and tested bad!
Not all the time it's gonna be shorted to ground.
Sometimes is just freaking crazy things happening
@@vicenterivera69 Same farad rating on the capacitor as the original? If not then it was a rather large or sharp voltage spike in which case I'd recommend the customer get a whole home surge suppressor.
@@chronically.advocating yes they were exactly the same. I have a small inventory.
I swapped it for new ones, put the voltage back on...and boom! There goes the compressor. It was a crazy experience for me.
And yes!! The place has really bad voltage spikes! It's a supermarket on a remote island.
You show this to the customer and they're like "can you just top it off?"
ain't no one wanting that bill lol
@@keithmichael112 Sir I put an entire tank of refrigerant in your unit and the pressure is still reading zero. Would you like me to add another?
@@nbarrager make that r22 as well.
I think it just needs a little Freon
To everyone - A quality pair of safety glasses are comfortable to wear and just might save eyesight
This is nothing! Way back in 1977 when I was just a trainee/helper working in the service department of an HVAC company in Florida, I had just started to remove the service panel door from a 440 - volt 3 phase 10 - ton split system condensing unit that had stopped cooling The service mechanic I worked with was an asswiper pot smoker,, who didn't tell me he was going in the building to turn the t-stat on. And I was removing the terminal cover off the compressor, and was hunched down between the wall of the building and the condensing unit service opening,, and I remember that I needed to get up and walk to the service truck to get a nut driver. Well,, I didn't get halfway to the truck when "KABOOOOM" ......and I mean frikken 5 shotgun shell ..."KABOOOOOM" ...... and there was a frikken huge explosion, just like frikken NAPALM BOMBS HAD EXPLODED!!!!! If I hadn't needed to get from between that building wall, and the condensing unit just when I did....... for a fact ...... I wouldn't be here to write this comment!!!! The huge orange rolling balls of napalm-like fire (because of all the compressor oil!) were 30 or more feet high!!!!! I would have been burnt to a crisp!!! And I was a young married guy with a baby boy!!! Till this day,, I want to kick the living shitsky out of the service man, Bill Manchester!!! IF YOU'RE READING THIS BILL, YOU WERE A FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!!!
That is a crazy story my man! Someone was looking out for you for sure! People don’t realize the danger of working with these type of units and love to watch RUclips videos and think they can do any repair. Replacing a part is not a big deal, it’s the inherent dangers of gas, electricity and carbon monoxide that are so easily overlooked when you don’t know the consequences of a single action which could cascade into a deadly one. Thank you for sharing that story!
I think we're all equally hating Bill right now after reading this story.
@@kingb468 😁
Good grief 😟
If i was bill i would've yelled at you for blowing unit up.unit was fine when he went inside lol.
This is caused by an electrical short between the wire connections where they go into the hermetically sealed compressor “fusite”... the refrigerant and oil blast out and make a huge mess and the compressor is now basically a “boat anchor”.
Nice explanation my man! You are exactly right!
How much does it cost to have a boat anchor like that lol boat anchor
Not really... can also be a problem with two phases touching
@@jamesfisher5958 You'd have to know a few HVAC technicians and find one out of warranty that doesn't have to be sent in for examination
My ac unit did not explode
Compressor terminal burn out. Be glad the terminal cover was on, I've seen them turn into a flame thrower. Always make sure that cover is in place before applying power just for this reason.
Would have been more spectacular if it was using the newer pure propane refrigerants....
It’s 16 Oz or less for R290 so you won’t see it on these
It's funny I remember the old timers telling me they banned propane refrigerant at one time because people's houses burned down 😂😂
Funny how the wheel keeps turning
"Was working before YOU touched it!"
😉
Kidding.
Got to respect the potential for shit to go sideways, especially when working alone.
Be smart, be safe.
These terms are not mutually exclusive.
Nice... Don't think I've ever seen a compressor pop in real time like this.. I always came to the crime scene after the fact, like a detective.
lol it’s happened twice to me in the last year
I had a water source heat pump up in a ceiling, compressor ohmed grounded at the contactor. Went to pull the leads off the compressor to ohm out and the entire terminal came off and proceeded to spray me with nasty oily water. Was not expecting water to spray out of compressor, still better than electrical fireballs that others described.
@@mrbyamile6973 or hot oil/chemicals.
Coulda been worse. Btw I've installed those before, in a multi-million dollar pent house suit. I guess I've been pretty lucky over the years, to avoid dangerous situations, or just worked smart.. Bit of both?
You need to see when a refrigeration unit compressor at a supermarket explodes. THATS impressive! Took out 6x8x8 FEET of two layer thick cinder block wall at the Safeway I worked at! The 600 Volt 3 phase AC going to it helped of course. Big ol' York 3 cylinder two-stage compressor and I THINK a Baldor 10 HP motor. I heard and FELT it over a mile away at MY house! Our "backroom" freezer storage unit for a 50x100-ish zero degree walk-in. Had an old-fashioned cooling tower on the roof-may have been anhydrous ammonia cooling-had foot-thick ice on the walls and ceiling and coils, and the floor was 4-6 inches of ice we walked and fork-lifted down. It was mounted on the ground by the wall. This was back in the mid 1960's- maybe as late as '67.
Maybe 480vdc not 600v
Tyson wearhouse had it bad with the 1,000,000 btu unit blowing head gaskets. Green forest Arkansas. Clear a building in no time, alarms going off, supervisors yelling get out now.
@@nightmareinaction629 600v still alive and kicking in 2022, dunno about in hvac but we still use ungrounded delta 575 mains. Only have a problem once 2 legs short to ground, when it's only 1 just have real bastard legs.
@@nightmareinaction629 well.... a cetrifugal chiller where i work operates at 700v 7 phase AC it got some 7 phase vfd and inverter to convert the 3 phase 480vAC input.
Customer: But it worked fine before you touched it
That happened to me one time on a on a Goodman 410 a is a residential split system They left nitrogen and opened the service valves and ran the system But did not explode on the installers stallers it exploded on bloated on me the very next day when I came out to troubleshoot The installers forgot to let out the nitrogen Pressure test
Give it a sniff of gas and she’ll take right off again lol 😂
All the years of my HVAC service I have never seen that happen. Wow, that could have ended very bad.
I’ve seen the aftermath. I got a service call one night at a papermill and one of the on-site. Electricians took it upon himself to turn the power back on without checking anything the whole inside of the condenser was coded and burnt oil.
unit number 2 took a number 2
You better watch out! This one time at band camp I was working on a heat pump issue and asked Google ".......what happens if the heat pump and air conditioning functions were running at the same time?" and it said that it could overheat the coils, explode, and kill everyone within a 30 mile radius!!!!......
After staring at this answer for about 10 seconds,.....I literally fell down laughing because I know that's not possible.... but that's what it said on Google!!!!! Not joking. 🤷♂️
Just happened to me right now😂😂😂 7 compressor refrigeration rack and #6 blew a head gasket. I’m amazed how quickly I killed power and valved it off before loosing 500-lbs. I held my breath as the motor room filled up with vapors immediately
8-12 weeks you can have you a brand new compressor. 😳
Is that how long it takes to get a new compressor today?
@@someguy9778 had a carrier 6 ton short to ground late June. I was told end of September
Hahaha 8 to 12 weeks 🤣
That just happened to me about a month ago. Luckily though, I still had the panel on over the compressor. Crazy morning that was.
Why did the Compressor Explode BECAUSE THE SERVICE TECH DID NOT PULL A PROPER VACUUM OF THE REFRIGERANT LINES BEFORE IT WAS CHARGED WITH REFRIGERANT THEN THE MOLECULES OF MOISTURE AIR MIXED WITH THE OIL IN THE COMPRESSOR AND AFTER TIME THE VISCOSITY OF THE OIL BROKE DOWN AND IT TURNED TO ACID WHICH ATE THE VARNISH OFF THE COPPER WINDINGS OF THE INSIDE OF THE COMPRESSOR -- OR THE COMPRESSOR WAS WIRED FOR THE WRONG VOLTAGE AND SOMEBODY PUT THE WRONG DATA LABEL ON THE COMPRESSOR
Around the shop, we refer to that substance as "gravy." ...sometimes "pudding"
Always visually inspect the compressor terminals before turning on the electric
Typical Copeland scroll, Tecumseh recips tend to fail in a less explosive manner and when not run into the ground they last forever, I've got one from 1981 that's still used regularly throughout the summer
Overcurrent relay plays a best role in this condition.
I have a question for experts here. I'm not familiar with technical english regarding air conditioners but I'll do my best to explain situation. There was one air conditioner which was 1 year out of order. Service crew came, put pressure gauge to measure pressure - it was 15 bar (allegedly normal pressure in idle position). Then they turned on air conditioner, everything looked fine, no strange noises, nothing unusual. Few minutes later pressure fell to 8 bar and after that, without any warning, huge explosion in compressor area. Part of compressor was found 70 meters away. There was also fire from compressor oil and complete pipeline went missing - it blew it away. Service crew were injured but all survived. One of the crew noticed loose valves which indicated him that someone else was trying to repair the air conditioner before. Loose valves were impossible if device was left untouched for 4-5 months in city area near the sea. He is guessing that someone was trying to repair air conditioner, first by pumping nytrogen into the system and left it there for months. If that's the case, why explosion few minutes after turning the device on? I would suspect shortcut if compressor blew immediately after turning on, but he exploded minutes later, after working without any suspicious behaviour. What do you think happened? There were evidence of tampering with device but no one can't explain why explosion minutes after turning on. My best guess is that if extra nytrogen was in, it was burdening the system and when compressor started to put more pressure, system reached pressure maximum and exploded. But why was valve reading pressure falling and not increasing if that's the case?
Help.
If non condensables (nitrogen or air) were left in the system it could cause a high pressure problem but normally a high pressure switch would cut the system off or if there was no HP switch, an internal pressure relief valve would cut in. Most compressor shorts or burnouts are caused by contaminated systems. If a good vacuum was not pulled on startup and if a filter drier was not installed, water (even from humidity in the air) can form hydrofluoric and hydrochloric acid which will eat away at the insulation in the windings and eventually cause an electrical short. There are other issues that can cause this too but a compressor with a clean refrigerant system ( meaning oil and refrigerant) with a clean evaporator, condenser and air filter, with proper superheat and sub cooling will basically run forever.
Years ago I was driving with my dad and the ac compressor blew up. Just heard a boom and just a big puff of white smoke came out. I think he had to replace everything. The compressor the hoses and the evaporator all just blew up. It was a 91 Taurus wagon
Yeah I've seen that failure mode, Ford "black death". This glue like sludge circulates in the system plugging things up until something gives
Also had a compressor blow on me on a Nissan NV3500 a few months ago, it abruptly seized and then blew up. The cloud of smoke and oil was majestic.
WOW, I’ve never even HEARD of this happening! Did heating & air for a few years….this is new to me😐 I’m pray everyone who’s experienced this is okay🙏
Anyone who has experienced this and didn’t get hurt….your guardian and God was with you all! I’m not kidding ❤️🙏😮
Just think how much time you saved on the diagnosis...
Except the time it takes to clean the oil mess up makes up for the quick diagnosis. It looks like it even got his backpack tool bag.
well next time get a multimeter and start measuring points :)
“It was working when you got here”
Glad you weren’t squatted down checking it out. Be safe.
extreme ambient heat lately across country causing meltdowns.
People should do regular maintenance!! Such a waste of the hazardous gas..
Ahhh yes this is what we call The Black Death. It's not just the compressor that's toast, so is the TXV, evap, and condenser as that refrigerant oil mix along with metal shavings is pushed throughout the entire system. Looks like another rooftop HVAC goes down in a black bomb of glory (play on Bon Jovi's Blaze of Glory).
OMG, You are so lucky get escape that explosion in the nick of time. 😱
Propane possibly would have been a lot worse of a situation for this guy😢
Gotta love a pin blowout! I had one happen to me once on a 1/3hp reach in cooler at a packed chain store grill and bar during the lunch hour. _That_ was a fun one 😂
Two weeks ago during a routine pm on a carrier rtu, the disconnect started sparking and caught on fire. Good thing it was on the ground and my afire extinguisher was close by. That happened in a split second
Why did it start sparking? Did the breaker trip or fuse interrupt the circuit after?
@@user-ln7of9gs4s to be honest with you. It happened so quick I never got to check the terminal on the disconnect but I will tell you it was aluminum wire and not copper. 4/0 wire. Don’t ever cut corners and use that, always uses copper uses let’s amps which in turn causes less heat.
@@user-ln7of9gs4s thanks for the question
The climatuff reciprocating compressor on my parents' Trane air conditioner exploded in a similar way back in 2013 got a dry shipped condenser installed unit instead of an entire system at the time but, it was a 20-year-old system at the time. It wasn't as messy since it's a 240-volt single-phase system. It blew out the terminal plug. In your case, you most certainly have replaced the whole system.
EPA - *heavy breathing*
Well damn. Talk about close calls
I’ve experienced this 2x now.... after the explosion. Cleanup a mess.
Imagine if this unit used ammonia as the refrigerate seeing a cloud like that
Refrigerants in general are usually dangerous, there's propane and isobutane that are explosive, others that are mildly flammable and/or heavier than air, and there's even a few semi hermetic dichloromethane systems around, probably the least dangerous is carbon dioxide though it's still deadly in the right concentration
@@vacexpert2020 CO2 is actually super dangerous. CO2 runs at ridiculous pressures which leads to big booms sometimes.
@@themonkeyspaw7359 I know how dangerous it can be, but compared to isobutane and propane it's less dangerous, dichloromethane is pretty tame if stored and used correctly but when you get stupid with it you'll learn one hell of a lesson
Black death sludge had nowhere to go.
Wow that’s impressive, I’ve never seen that before
Never had one of those happen in my face. Had one that was 1 day old happen in the middle of the night.
Is it single phase or three phase power. Install a three phase monitor which will Record Voltage fluctuations Send the Bill to electric company
I've had that twice I always do a start up with the covers on give it minute then work on it
Going to have some ptsd after that repair.
Like try to plug in a hair dryer that uses 120volts to a 220 outlet hahaha
Finally. Something cool 😎
Years ago I watched a window air blow up sounded like fireworks for 5 minutes and then fire came out of the back of it .but cant figure out why it didn't trip the breaker before that
There goes the ozone layer
So much for "De Minimis!"
I think it's a little low on Freon
Customer will say, it was gooood before you broke it!!!!.
If breaker is tripped looked for signs of grounding. Then if nothing seems burnt or damaged trip the breaker and stand back just in case lol.
"Ain't no gas innit"
That's why I hate chillers with compressor right next to fuse box inside condensing unit and without any kind of wall in between them.
I have a very rusted out compressor in my dining room ac . The compressor base is basically falling off and the mounting brackets are gone..but it sounds so quiet and cools like brand new.. the compressor was freezing for for 6-7yrs before i finnally cleaned the evaporator and now everything is normal but due to that ice forming every day on the compressor for 7yrs of it's life it has rusted pretty bad.. i will replace it once it explodes or if i have 2 3 days off from work in coming weeks i will recover the charge and replace the compressor. I know tiny bit of hvac work and previously replaced condenser and compressor on a Whirlpool window unit on my own.
Juicy juice smarf pofhleong ok off.
Blew out the electrical terminal block. It happens a lot but not usually when you are standing there.
Hvac tech-“I warned you. This ac is old and dying. This beouch just exploded”
Business owner -“just get the hose and cool it down”
Hvac supervisor-“ wtf”
Business owner-“ your tech was the last one who touched it. “
Hvac supervisor-“f you. We warned you about the shorts in that old unit. May the shorts be with you “
With a2L refrigerants that will basically be a bomb ☺️
Change the filter dryer and fire it up she will run. 🤣
There goes the Penguins
your tools got inked thats tragic man
Ok imagine this but a 22 hp compressor the heads came flying out like a bullet
scroll compressor was scary i think reciprocating type is still better.
jb weld and a charge, she'll hold
That’s coming out ya check!
Technician’s nightmare
It happen due to power frictutation. The compressor release oil & gas with a small explosion
Thermal Overload. Water it down for 2 mins should fire back up.
It suck kinda sitting there turn it on Boom bet your tools aren't going to rust. Big clean up here.
Just turn it off and wait for the pressures to equalize, and then turn it back on. Should be good to go. 👍
I think the panel that says "scroll inside" is wrong now, it would be scroll everywhere
Thank god there was noone around it
Another roof top unit please ? Stay safe !
RTU number 2
This is exactly why i check all motor windings leg to leg and leg to ground! ALWAYS!
First thing i do with the disco off is check all legs to ground from load side(if breaker is tripped line side too) then proceed
That's what I like to see---it's boring when things go right
scroll inside more like hell inside
motor short circut ? brun out termanial block leaking freon gas ?
mee too! and i was just to the right of the compressor terminals just missed my leg it was a mess and put my heart in my throat!
That's why you always carry an extra pair of underwear in the truck.
Nice phosgene cloud
Grounded compressors do that sometimes.
Clickbait title, nothing explodes
This happened to me with an older trade hp. Scared the shit out of me. Left a huge hole where the compressor leads once were
Oops. Been there before. Makes for a shitty Friday
Sir, i found a leak and you may need a recharge.
Ahhhh! The smell of a blown compressor.
Lose of phase? Dead leg?.. had a 3 phase lose a leg...... boom
It’ll be fine
Nothing to see here, just some deminimus
Glad you are safe. Thanks for posting.
Exactly same thing happened to me yesterday. I just turned the AC switch in the breaker panel it exploded. Do you know what might have caused this in YOUR scenario?