Field noteHeating & Cooling
Compressor rack: a service call and preventative maintenance
A parallel compressor rack serving low-temperature refrigeration, visited for a service call combined with the preventative-maintenance visit. The photos show the rack in its mechanical room and the work in progress. The technician's findings will be added to this note when supplied.
What the photos show
A parallel compressor rack: several compressors on one steel frame, piped to common suction and discharge headers. The insulated suction risers come down from the cases and coolers it serves. The rack in the photo serves low-temperature loads. The controller at the left of the frame stages the compressors as the load changes.
The visit
The call combined a reported problem with the scheduled preventative-maintenance visit. The second photo shows the maintenance under way at the base of the rack.
Questions
What is a compressor rack?
Several compressors mounted on one frame and piped to shared suction and discharge headers, so that they serve a building's refrigeration load together. The compressors stage on and off as the load changes, under a controller on the rack. Supermarkets, food plants and cold-storage buildings use racks for their low-temperature and medium-temperature cases, coolers and freezers.