Find solution
Where I can take my RV in winter?

Is it possible for the average techy joe to replace a failed RV Valve on a heat pump?

  • I know that there is some soldering required...apparently quite a bit. I looked up a picture and it looks like about 4 copper pipes that would need to be soldered, and 2 or 3 electrical wires that would need to be connected. I'm fairly techy...I've done various things around the house, repaired appliances like washers/dryers, altered wiring boxes and rewired for light fixtures, etc. I know that there is a capacitor that would need to be disconnected from the wires because it is charged even with the power source shut off from the equipment. It seems like a simple part. I know generally how to take the heat pump itself apart and put it back together. But I wanted to get an opinion first. We know this valve is bad...a technician from a trusted place checked it and quoted $800+ for the labor, and me mentioned the soldering and such. Where is the part itself located? Inside of the compressor or beside it? Is it as hard to put on as they claim or is it just a play that HVAC companies use to get more money? There have been a lot of things that people have quoted us (such as a car repair, appliance repair or something else) where I was able to fix it successfully myself. I do not know the specific model number of my heat pump right off the bat, but I have it somewhere and can find it. I know that it is a Goodman that is about 13 or 14 years old. Yeah, their repair fee for the valve would almost by another one, or at least be about half of a new heat pump. The heat pump turns on...it's stuck in Air mode (we used the emergency heat which worked during the winter due to the furnace in the basement). But recently when we tried to turn on the air, the air is barely cool and not as cold as it used to be. Even when the RV valve was stuck before, the air was very cold from what I remember. It's not the coolant...it was full the last time he checked it. The filter in it was just changed by me and is new. The heat pump comes on and functions properly, otherwise.

  • Answer:

    It's more involved than you think. First its called brazing, the alloy is different than solder and it is at higher temps with settling and oxygen. You likely would need to obtain a braze torch set with regulators for both gasses. The second part to consider is that you need to recover the freeon in the system per EPA regulations. This requires a recovery machine, gauges, and recovery tank (I forget the specific but it either has to be EPA approved or more than likely DOT approved). Upon making the repair or replacement of the valve you need to pressure test the system with an inert gas (nitrogen is common) and finally pull a vacuum to 800 microns at a minimum (per the EPA requirements). Also consider the legality to recover and handle the refrigerant per the EPA requires a 608 type II or Universal cert. I'm not saying you can't figure it out and do it yourself but the equipment that you would need to make the repair yourself would top over $500 easily. That doesn't even include topping off the system with freeon in case it is low. Heat pumps need to be charged while running in the heating mode due to the fact that they are sized for the heating mode, meaning the outdoor coil is larger. The coil ends up being oversized for the cooling mode. They have to do this because it takes more surface area on the coil to pull heat out of ambient air, and the colder the air is the harder it is to pull the amount of heat needed to run efficiently in colder weather. With that being said a system might run fine in an undercharged state in the cooling mode and you would never know it until it went into heating mode. $800 is actually a fair price. If I were you I would ask that they replace the liquid line filter drier as well. They will already have the system open to atmosphere replacing the RV and the drier is a cheap enough item even with mark up pricing. I don't mean to discourage, but it is quite a bit more involved than one would think. EDIT : This is more for Candyman in the off chance he reads this again, I would have emailed him however that is blocked. In the heating mode in winter the HP will use all of the refrigerant in the system to get heat into the house. What Candyman is thinking of is a reciever, not a suction accumulator. Suction accumulators are intended to ensure 100% vapor to a compressor on a cold start to prevent slugging and liquid refrigerant floodback to the compressor. The reciever on the other hand you will see in larger air conditioners and in store refrigerantion. The idea is that you don't need as much refrigerant for AC at lower ambient conditions so it stacks up in the reciever. You'll see this almost always on air cooled condensers for store refrigeration. Then typically on larger AC units for commercial buildings and for large Data Centers. Otherwise you stack up the refrigerant in the condensor. It can also be used as a system shock absorber for drastic heat load changes in the space served.

RMJ at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

Was this solution helpful to you?

Other answers

It's more involved than you think. First its called brazing, the alloy is different than solder and it is at higher temps with settling and oxygen. You likely would need to obtain a braze torch set with regulators for both gasses. The second part to consider is that you need to recover the freeon in the system per EPA regulations. This requires a recovery machine, gauges, and recovery tank (I forget the specific but it either has to be EPA approved or more than likely DOT approved). Upon making the repair or replacement of the valve you need to pressure test the system with an inert gas (nitrogen is common) and finally pull a vacuum to 800 microns at a minimum (per the EPA requirements). Also consider the legality to recover and handle the refrigerant per the EPA requires a 608 type II or Universal cert. I'm not saying you can't figure it out and do it yourself but the equipment that you would need to make the repair yourself would top over $500 easily. That doesn't even include topping off the system with freeon in case it is low. Heat pumps need to be charged while running in the heating mode due to the fact that they are sized for the heating mode, meaning the outdoor coil is larger. The coil ends up being oversized for the cooling mode. They have to do this because it takes more surface area on the coil to pull heat out of ambient air, and the colder the air is the harder it is to pull the amount of heat needed to run efficiently in colder weather. With that being said a system might run fine in an undercharged state in the cooling mode and you would never know it until it went into heating mode. $800 is actually a fair price. If I were you I would ask that they replace the liquid line filter drier as well. They will already have the system open to atmosphere replacing the RV and the drier is a cheap enough item even with mark up pricing. I don't mean to discourage, but it is quite a bit more involved than one would think. EDIT : This is more for Candyman in the off chance he reads this again, I would have emailed him however that is blocked. In the heating mode in winter the HP will use all of the refrigerant in the system to get heat into the house. What Candyman is thinking of is a reciever, not a suction accumulator. Suction accumulators are intended to ensure 100% vapor to a compressor on a cold start to prevent slugging and liquid refrigerant floodback to the compressor. The reciever on the other hand you will see in larger air conditioners and in store refrigerantion. The idea is that you don't need as much refrigerant for AC at lower ambient conditions so it stacks up in the reciever. You'll see this almost always on air cooled condensers for store refrigeration. Then typically on larger AC units for commercial buildings and for large Data Centers. Otherwise you stack up the refrigerant in the condensor. It can also be used as a system shock absorber for drastic heat load changes in the space served.

The Correct Answer is

You would need to find a repair manual with all of the details & sequence procedures.Practice sweat soldering if you decide to proceed. You might want to consider, after familiarizing yourself with the extent of the repair process,if it is worth the amount of work needed as compared to purchasing a new unit. You'll just have to decide which way to proceed.

SKIPPY

You would need to find a repair manual with all of the details & sequence procedures.Practice sweat soldering if you decide to proceed. You might want to consider, after familiarizing yourself with the extent of the repair process,if it is worth the amount of work needed as compared to purchasing a new unit. You'll just have to decide which way to proceed.

SKIPPY

It is possible but "not advised". Well Sean is also partially right. The equipment needed will cost over $1000 though. The other incorrect statement is that your system needs less refrigerant to cool then heat. In heating mode the excess refrigerant is stored in a charge robber or suction accumulator on most systems. They also tell you to never top off a unit in the winter only in the summer. In heating mode the correct way to charge a unit is to recover and weigh it in. You would be much better off letting the pro's do this repair. To much heat, you will kill the new valve. You also need temp probes to check superheat and subcool when finished to make sure your txv,orifices or captubes are working properly. There is more involved then just in your terms" soldering" the copper lines. If you really want to attempt it though good luck but it is illegal for you to do so without proper certifications. Also due to the age of the unit replacement might be a better option.

candyman

It is possible but "not advised". Well Sean is also partially right. The equipment needed will cost over $1000 though. The other incorrect statement is that your system needs less refrigerant to cool then heat. In heating mode the excess refrigerant is stored in a charge robber or suction accumulator on most systems. They also tell you to never top off a unit in the winter only in the summer. In heating mode the correct way to charge a unit is to recover and weigh it in. You would be much better off letting the pro's do this repair. To much heat, you will kill the new valve. You also need temp probes to check superheat and subcool when finished to make sure your txv,orifices or captubes are working properly. There is more involved then just in your terms" soldering" the copper lines. If you really want to attempt it though good luck but it is illegal for you to do so without proper certifications. Also due to the age of the unit replacement might be a better option.

candyman

Related Q & A:

Just Added Q & A:

Find solution

For every problem there is a solution! Proved by Solucija.

  • Got an issue and looking for advice?

  • Ask Solucija to search every corner of the Web for help.

  • Get workable solutions and helpful tips in a moment.

Just ask Solucija about an issue you face and immediately get a list of ready solutions, answers and tips from other Internet users. We always provide the most suitable and complete answer to your question at the top, along with a few good alternatives below.