ASHRAE Journal Refrigeration

Automatic Purgers in
Refrigeration Systems
By Douglas T. Reindl, Ph.D., P.E., and James L. Denkmann pressure, any nitrogen present would have
Member ASHRAE Member ASHRAE to be cooled to –264°F (–164°C) in order
to liquefy. As a result, any nitrogen that

A purger is an essential component for the proper and efficient opera- may accumulate in a refrigeration system
always will remain in a gaseous state. Let’s
tion of an industrial refrigeration system. A purger gathers, separates take a closer look to see how non-
and expels non-condensable gases from the system. Successfully condensables infiltrate into, or accumulate
within, ammonia refrigeration systems.
purging non-condensables from a refrigeration system leads to increased re- Air is the most abundant non-condens-
frigeration capacity, improved system efficiency, and enhanced system safety. able gas impacting industrial refrigeration
systems. Air can infiltrate into systems
In this article, we review the types of non- ness of a refrigeration system is dependent during continuous operation and as a re-
condensable gases (NCG) that can accu- on the ability for the phase-change pro- sult of system servicing. Most low-tem-
mulate in systems, consequences of NCG, cesses to proceed unimpeded. perature refrigeration systems (i.e., work-
purger operation, application consider- ing temperatures below –28°F [–33°C])
ations and factors that influence purger per- Non-Condensable Gases have a significant proportion of the sys-
formance. Our emphasis is on vapor com- In the context of vapor compression- tem piping, valves, and vessels operating
pression-based industrial refrigeration sys- based ammonia refrigeration systems, we with working pressures below atmospheric
tems that use anhydrous ammonia as the want only pure refrigerant (anhydrous am- pressure. Any pathways for leaks will re-
refrigerant because this choice covers the monia) present in our systems. Unfortu- sult in air infiltrating into the system rather
majority of industrial systems in use today. nately, refrigeration systems can and will than the refrigerant leaking out. Pathways
accumulate “foul substances.” Apart for air leakage during operation include:
Background from water, the foul substances, gaseous valve stem packings, bonnet gaskets,
Most industrial refrigeration systems in nature, are commonly referred to as compressor shaft seals, non-welded con-
currently in use are based on the vapor non-condensable gases (NCG). Foul gas nections, and control transducers.
compression cycle. Vapor compression re- is another term used to describe a gas- Another pathway for air entry into sys-
frigeration systems function through a con- eous refrigerant stream that contains NCG. tems occurs as a result of inadequate
tinuous closed cycle whereby a volatile Non-condensable gases eventually will evacuation after system servicing. For ex-
working fluid (refrigerant) undergoes a se- accumulate in all ammonia vapor-compres- ample, if a portion of the system is opened
ries of phase changes, which leads to the sion refrigeration systems if adequate to clean a strainer or replace a component,
ability for providing a useful refrigeration means are not provided for their removal. air will occupy that part of the system im-
effect. In the condenser, heat is rejected In some cases (i.e., newly built high-suc- mediately after reassembly. Ideally, the ser-
from the system converting hot gaseous tion temperature systems with screw com- vice technician will evacuate the air from
refrigerant at high pressure to pure liquid- pressors), it may be many years before that part of the system prior to bringing it
phase refrigerant also at high pressure. The abnormal operation becomes evident. back into service. Unfortunately, this is sel-
high-pressure liquid is subsequently Non-condensable gas constituents com- dom done. The net result is that the refrig-
throttled to lower pressures to be available monly include air, nitrogen, hydrogen, and eration system ingests a large gulp of air
for absorbing heat into the system through hydrocarbons. The nomenclature “non- when brought back into service and the
the evaporator as part of a refrigeration pro- condensable” means that these gases will
cess. In the evaporator, low-pressure liq- not liquefy at the temperatures and pres- About the Authors
uid refrigerant boils as a result of heat sures present in condensers consistent Douglas T. Reindl, Ph.D., P.E., is
added from a space or a process load. The with industrial refrigeration systems. For associate professor and director of the
low-pressure vapor refrigerant generated example, anhydrous ammonia will change Industrial Refrigeration Consortium at
is then raised in pressure by the compres- phase from gas to liquid if heat is removed the University of Wisconsin, Madison,
sor and directed to the condenser to reject while at a temperature of 95°F (35°C) and a Wis. James L. Denkmann is presi-
heat from the system again. The effective- pressure of 196 psia (1349 kPa). At the same dent of DTS, Chicago.
30 ASHRAE Journal w w w. a s h r a e j o u r n a l . o r g August 2001
 Refrigeration
trapped air must be removed by purging. Gas Mol. Weight Density, lb/ft3 (kg/m3)
Hydrogen 2 0.057 (0.91)
Secondary types of NCG include hydrogen and nitrogen. Ammonia 17 0.52 (8.3)
Hydrogen and nitrogen gases accumulate as a result of the Nitrogen 28 0.79 (12.7)
refrigerant (NH3) dissociating (breaking-down) over time. The Air 29 0.82 (13.1)
two most important factors that influence the breakdown of Oil Decomposition 15–44 0.45–2.03 (7.1–32.6)
ammonia into its constituent parts are temperature and pres- R-22 86 2.75 (43.9)
sure. At higher temperatures, ammonia is more prone to irre- Table 1: Gas properties including common NCG and indus-
versibly breaking down into nitrogen and hydrogen. Older sys- trial refrigerants for reference.
tems (>25 years) and those with reciprocating compressors
appear to experience an accelerated rate of breakdown. How- side environment. The heat rejection capacity of any given
ever, the gross quantity of NCG generated by this mechanism is evaporative condenser is dependent upon:
relatively small. Even small dissociation rates lead to the accu- • Outside air wet-bulb temperature (lower wet-bulb tempera-
mulation of large quantities of hydrogen and nitrogen over time tures translate into greater heat-rejection capacity);
if they are not removed from the system on a regular basis. • Refrigerant saturated condensing temperature (higher satu-
Tertiary sources of NCG arise from the breakdown of lubri- ration temperatures translate into increased heat rejection ca-
cating oils. Most industrial refrigeration systems use mineral- pacity at the condenser);
based lubricating oils. As a result, the oil will breakdown and • Wet operation (water flow over the outside surface of the
liberate a complex series of hydrocarbon gases. Some of the condenser tubes greatly enhances heat-rejection capacity); and
gases will have lower molecular weights when compared with • Airflow rate (increased airflow rate will increase heat-rejec-
ammonia (e.g., CH4) while others will be heavier (e.g., C8H18). tion rates).
Table 1 lists each of the gases potentially present in a non- One of the places where NCG accumulate is in the lower
condensable gas mixture, along with their molecular weights portions of evaporative condenser heat exchange coils. This is
and densities at a design condensing pressure for many ammo- because the refrigerant has been liquefied at that point and the
nia refrigeration systems (196 psia [1349 kPa]). Refrigerant R-22 NCG are prevented from flowing further downstream (due to P-
is also shown for reference. traps located at the drop leg for each condenser outlet) or up-
stream (due to convective forces as a result of the continual
Consequences of Non-Condensable Gases flow of gas into the condenser).
The total heat rejection requirement for a vapor compression Since the NCG remain in their gaseous state, they will occupy a
system is the sum of the gross refrigeration effect plus the relatively large volume of the evaporative condenser’s heat ex-
aggregate work input to the system by the compressors. Indus- changer. Their presence interferes with the condenser’s ability to
trial refrigeration systems commonly use evaporative condens- change the phase of the gaseous refrigerant to a liquid. With the
ers as the means of rejecting heat from the system to the out- heat transfer capacity of the evaporative condenser diminished

purgers also cost more to operate (compressor energy) than

Automatic vs. Manual Purging? automatic purgers, because the only source of makeup liquid to
The need for purging exists in all refrigeration systems. A their flooded evaporators must come from a high-pressure source.
question often asked is: “Do I need an automatic purger?” On the other hand, the chief advantages of a manual purger are
This question has to be answered on a case-by-case basis. that they cost less to install, they can be arranged to quantify
Generally speaking, systems with reciprocating compressors foul gas entering the system and are normally less susceptible
or any systems operating under sub-atmospheric conditions to foreign substances in the piping system (dirt).
will directly benefit from an automatic purger. The following are advantages and disadvantages in an au-
Before the days of reliable automatic purgers, this process tomatic purger system:
was accomplished using manual purgers. Typically, individual Advantages Disadvantages
purge points were each provided with a manual globe valve. Safety: automatic purgers
Separate purge piping was run from each valve into the engine eliminate the need for Capital cost: for the purger
room, then this piping was combined into a single header that refrigeration staff to manually unit, purger piping, solenoid
connected to the purger. This consisted of a modified inverted “open the system” on a valves, and controls
frequent basis
bucket steam trap with an internal heat exchanger. To purge an Effectiveness: a properly
individual condenser, the operator would open individual globe installed and operated
Maintenance costs: for the
purger unit, accompanying
valves from condensers suspected of having non-condens- multipoint purger can
solenoid valves, and
able gases. A bucket of water and a rubber hose served in lieu of continually function to
transducers required for
today’s water bubblers integrated with automatic purgers. scavenge and remove NCG
purger control
from systems
This manual method continues to be viable and cost-effective Labor: eliminates the labor
today, especially on smaller systems. However, manual purgers associated with personnel
require direct operator interface during the purging process; typi- regularly removing NCG by
cally, more ammonia vapor is expelled along with foul gas. Manual manual operation

August 2001 ASHRAE Journal 31

ASHRAE Journal
due to the presence of NCG, the tempera-
ture of the condensing refrigerant (and its
pressure) must increase to reject the nec-
essary heat from the system. The conse-
quences of increased condensing (or head)
pressure are undesirable and include:
• Decreased system refrigeration ca-
pacity;
• Increased system electrical demand
and energy consumption (attributed to
compressors and condenser fans);
• Decreased system efficiency;
• Increased compressor discharge su-
perheat (accelerating oil breakdown and
refrigerant dissociation);
• Increased head pressure leading to
increased compressor wear and tear and
greater likelihood of system shutdowns
due to high head pressure; and
• Increased condenser scaling, which
leads to increased maintenance costs and
decreased condenser life.
How A Purger Works
Functionally, there are two types of
purgers—automatic and manual. The au-
tomatic purger is a mechanical device in-
tegrated into a system that gathers, sepa-
rates, and removes NCG from multiple
points in the refrigeration system with-
out operator assistance. A manual purger
can be as simple as an angle valve that
requires a mechanic or technician to manu-
ally open the valve and dispel any vapor
(which will include mixture of ammonia
and NCG) into a water bucket.
A diagram of how most automatic purg-
ers function is shown in Figure 1. A single
condenser purge solenoid valve has been
shown for simplicity although all systems
will have a multiplicity of purge points. A
mixture of NCG and ammonia vapor should
be drawn into a purge connection during
the time its respective solenoid valve is
open. This gas mixture flows down the foul
gas line to the purger unit piping connec-
tion. It is important that all gas purge lines
are free of any places where vapor can con-
dense and collect, blocking further NCG
removal. Liquid traps cannot be tolerated
in this piping, particularly as it pertains to
some purger models. All purge piping
should be pitched down to the purger as
recommended by purger manufacturers.
The foul gas line is connected to a drain
trap at the purger. The function of the drain
trap is to separate and expel any liquid
32 ASHRAE Journal
Figure 1: A simplified diagram of how an automatic purger functions.
ammonia entrained with the gases drawn
at the purge point. Separated high-pres-
sure liquid flows out of the bottom of the
drain trap through a throttling device (a
metering valve or an orifice), is flashed,
then passes into a flooded evaporator—
a vessel containing a vapor condenser and
an air-separation chamber. Cold boiling liq-
uid completely surrounds the vapor con-
denser and the air-separation chamber.
The temperature of the cold liquid ammo-
nia corresponds to the saturation pres-
sure at which it evaporates. This is equal
to the suction-side pressure connecting
the purger. The resulting vapor is returned
to the system via the suction connection.
Meanwhile, the gaseous mixture leaving
the drain trap is comprised of a condens-
able gas (ammonia), plus NCG (air, nitro-
gen, etc.). After this mixture leaves the
upper portion of the drain trap it enters
the vapor condenser.
Upon entering the vapor condenser, the
ammonia vapor is gradually liquefied out
of the gaseous mixture by the surround-
ing cold-boiling ammonia. At the end of
the cool-down cycle, only NCG along
with some ammonia liquid will remain in
the vapor condenser. These proceed into
a separation chamber where the heavier
liquid falls by gravity to the bottom of
the chamber and the lighter air and other
NCG are discharged out to a water bub-
bler, where any residual ammonia vapor
is absorbed. The resulting weak aqua am-
monia mixture is then discharged down
the sewer drain. Remaining liquid refrig-
w w w. a s h r a e j o u r n a l . o r g
erant inside the air separation chamber is
returned back to the system.
The high-pressure ammonia liquid sup-
ply line is installed to make up any short-
fall of needed liquid inside the evapora-
tor. If little or no liquid enters a purge
point, more makeup liquid from the high-
pressure receiver will be required in order
to maintain an adequate liquid level in the
evaporator. However, if the reverse oc-
curs and excessive liquid is present in
the foul gas line, two events occur: head
pressures rise and the purger temporarily
stops condensing vapor until it is able to
push all the excess liquid out of the va-
por condenser. This takes time because
the orifices in purgers are very small.
Do I Need a Purger?
The need for purging exists in all am-
monia refrigeration systems. However, the
need for automating this procedure is not
so clear. Generally speaking, systems with
reciprocating compressors or any sys-
tems operating under sub-atmospheric
conditions will directly benefit from an
automatic purger. Before the days of reli-
able automatic purgers, this process had
to be done manually.
One indicator suggesting the presence
of NCG is excessive operating compressor
head pressures. High head pressures are
most pronounced on hot, humid days
when most compressors are working at
their maximum capacity and compression
ratio. However, winter head pressures are
affected as well. During wintertime opera-
August 2001
Figure 2: Purge connection with their
respective solenoid valves atop con-
denser drain legs.
tion, operators are doing their best to keep
head pressures up anyway, so few look for
NCG during cold weather. If a refrigeration
system has been designed for a maximum
head pressure of 196 psia (1349 kPa) (i.e.,
95°F [35°C]) saturated condensing tempera-
ture) and the system operating head pres-
sure begins to exceed that maximum, you
should suspect accumulation of NCG. If
your system is controlled to some mini-
mum head pressure during winter months,
detection of NCG becomes problematic.
If any of the following apply to your
system, either invest in an automatic purger
or perform frequent manual purging as part
of normal preventive maintenance.
• System operating temperatures be-
low –28°F (–33°C);
• Presence and use of reciprocating
compressors; and
• Older refrigeration systems or sys-
tems requiring frequent servicing.
Application Considerations
To maximize the benefit of a purger, it
is important to understand where NCG
tend to accumulate in systems and the
other factors that influence the perfor-
mance of a purger.
Where to Purge Non-Condensables
It is commonly believed that any gas
lighter than ammonia will be preferentially
purged from a high point in the high-pres-
sure hot gas piping system. We were not
able to find any published papers, research,
or experimental data that corroborated this
claim. In operating systems, it is unlikely
that non-condensable gas constituents
would accumulate at high points of the sys-
tem since the convective forces of ammo-
nia gas flow would quickly dominate the
buoyancy forces (driven by density differ-
August 2001
Figure 3: Twelve-pass evaporative con-
denser heat exchanger.
ences) of the non-condensable gas in the
ammonia stream. In idle systems, NCG con-
stituents will stratify only when the buoy-
ancy forces exceed the diffusive forces.
Assuming evaporative condensers are
located at the highest physical elevation in
your refrigeration system, NCG will tend to
migrate down through the high-pressure
piping system driven by convective forces
until it is trapped from falling further.
One type of trap is formed by the pres-
ence of liquid ammonia in the piping
(highly undesirable in foul gas lines as
mentioned previously). If liquid completely
seals a section of pipe, then NCG are
blocked from passing any further, so long
as the seal remains under all pressure fluc-
tuations across it. The presence of a “liq- Advertisement for the print edition
uid trap” affords the most opportune place formerly in this space.
for purging NCG in the vapor space above
the trap. Since all evaporative condenser
heat exchangers are provided with a liquid
trap at the base of each drain leg, placing a
purge connection at the uppermost por-
tion of the drain leg affords the surest place
for gathering a NCG-rich gas mixture.
Figure 2 shows recommended purge
connections with their respective sole-
noid valves at the top of each condenser
drain leg. If condenser drain leg traps have
been constructed of sufficient depth such
that they do not “blow through” due to
pressure imbalances (discussed later), the
need for purging piping and vessels
downstream of the trap(s) is eliminated.
NCG will also be found on the low-pres-
sure side of systems operating below at-
mospheric pressure due to leaks as pre-
viously discussed. NCG will also be found
on the low-pressure side of systems us-
ing hot gas for defrosting evaporators.
In this situation, the source of NCG is
from foul gas that accompanies the hot
gas for defrosting the evaporators. A
ASHRAE Journal 33
ASHRAE Journal
small concentration of NCG on the low-pres-
sure side of a system will be relatively “be-
nign” since it does not interfere with the phase
change process in the evaporators and has
no effect upon gas/liquid separation in accu-
mulators and knockout vessels. Compressors
quickly move any NCG from the low-pressure
side to the high-pressure side of the system
where it can be removed by the purger.

Purging From High-Pressure Vessels

Thermosiphon receivers are not customar-
ily provided with purge connections. One rea-
son is that any NCG that enters this vessel is
pushed out the oil cooler gas return line and
back up to the condensers. Since this vessel
is not designed with heat transfer in mind, a
slight accumulation of NCG can be tolerated.
Figure 4: Diagram of multiple evaporative condensers showing the effect of
But this same rule could also apply to a high-
unequal pressures between heat exchangers and pressure differences between
pressure receiver (HPR) as well. If one cubic
condensers and thermosiphon receiver.
foot (28 L) of liquid enters this vessel, it will
displace an equal volume of NCG. This will be pushed up the “hang-up.” In some cases,
gas return line (commonly referred to as an “equalizer line”) and the liquid hang-up in the
into the evaporative condenser gas inlets. If the gas return line evaporative condenser is
is too small (which the authors have found to be quite com- so severe that the purge
mon), the pressure in the HPR increases. Even slight pressure solenoid opens only to
differences between the HPR and condenser drain outlets can “see” liquid refrigerant.
pose difficulties with proper condenser drainage. • Foul gas piping that
Many HPRs are installed outdoors, and with few exceptions creates liquid traps leads
are located on-grade. Most HPR foul gas line installations form to difficulty in establish-
liquid traps whenever the outside air ambient dry-bulb tem- ing an unimpeded flow of
perature is below the refrigerant saturation temperature. At- foul gas to the purger.
tempting to remove NCG from an HPR can be problematic if this • The purger is located
Figure 5: Evaporative condenser
situation is not recognized. above one or more con-
with extra deep condenser drain
denser purge points.
traps.
Factors Influencing Purger Performance • The purger is mal-
Several factors influence the ability of a purger to collect functioning, usually due to dirt.
NCG from the system: While purgers normally are equipped with liquid drain traps,
• More than one purge solenoid valve is open simultaneously. the liquid-handling capacity of these traps is quite small. If a
This should never occur. purge point gathers liquid refrigerant instead of vapor, all of this
• Pressure imbalances exist between adjacent evaporative liquid cannot be completely passed by the liquid drainer; exces-
condenser heat exchangers, creating opportunities for liquid sive quantities then back up into the purger’s vapor condenser.
If the vapor condenser fills with liquid, it becomes subcooled as
it passes through to the air separation chamber. A control senses
the higher liquid level in the air separation chamber and expels it
to the flooded evaporator. If the evaporator is already full of
liquid, then liquid will exit the purger via the suction line. This is
why purgers must be connected to a “protected” (wet) suction
line and not piped directly to the compressor suction.
Advertisement for the print edition A fundamental requirement for purging NGC from a system is
formerly in this space. to get NCG into the purger. Although this sounds trivial, com-
plexities in system operation often prevent the purger from pro-
cessing foul gas. One of the most overlooked conditions pre-
venting a purger from receiving foul gas is “liquid hang-up” in
evaporative condensers.
It is not uncommon for a large evaporative condenser in an
ammonia refrigeration system to hold up >700 lb (318 kg) of liquid
34 ASHRAE Journal w w w. a s h r a e j o u r n a l . o r g August 2001

with only a 0.25 psi (1.7 kPa) pressure difference between adjacent
circuits in the condensers. A pressure difference on the order of
0.25 psi (1.7 kPa) is normally sufficient to flood the liquid drain
header box and bottom two passes of most evaporative condenser
heat exchangers as shown in Figure 1. Under this situation, the
purge point becomes flooded with subcooled liquid. When the
purge solenoid opens to draw foul gas—it draws in liquid refriger-
ant. If this continues over days or weeks, non-condensables will
continue to accumulate in the system and the condenser will slowly
lose heat-transfer effectiveness. In some severe cases, entire
evaporative condensers have been rendered nearly useless by
the end of a season (usually during winter). It now appears that
this may be more commonplace than originally thought.
Figure 3 shows a 12-pass evaporative condenser heat ex-
changer. The single condenser heat exchanger shown in this
figure is comprised of one inlet connection (the header at the
top of the tube bundle) and one outlet connection (the header
at the bottom of tube bundle) with many parallel tubes intercon-
necting the upper and lower header boxes. Individual tube
lengths vary between condenser sizes, ranging from approxi-
mately 70 lineal feet (21 m) (six-pass models) up to >200 lineal
feet (61 m) (12 pass models). Evaporative condenser heat ex-
changers are typically fabricated from nominal 1 in. (25 mm) hot-
dipped galvanized steel tubing. Evaporative condensers hav-
ing dual inlet and outlet connections are equipped with two
heat exchangers. In this configuration, ammonia is prevented
from flowing from one heat exchanger directly into its neigh-
bor. However, any slight pressure difference between evapora-
tive condensers will force refrigerant liquid and/or vapor from
one condenser into another via the outlet drain piping when-
ever P-traps are shallow. This is mainly true of ammonia, and to
a lesser extent, the halocarbon refrigerants.
Condenser Drain Traps: How Deep Should They Be?
Figure 4 presents a typically accepted arrangement for drain-
ing multiple evaporative condensers. This figure assumes that
all drain connections are on a common elevation, but the heat
exchangers are of different sizes and the fans on condenser C-
3 have stopped. The condensers are shown draining to a com-
mon vessel. A thermosiphon receiver (TSR) is shown, although
an HPR also is common when thermosiphon oil coolers are not
used. In some cases, the HPR and TSR are combined into a
single vessel. The pressures at each node are numbered P1, P2,
etc. This figure also assumes that the oil cooler gas return line
imposes an excessive pressure drop.
From this figure it is evident that purging NCG has been
impaired in active condensers C-1 and C-2. Why does this oc-
cur? Three reasons explaining the phenomena are shown in
Figure 4:
• The pressure within the thermosiphon receiver is greater
than the pressure at any of the condenser drain outlet connec-
tions, P1 > P5, P6, P7. This occurs as a result of an excessive ∆ρ
in the oil cooler gas return line.
• “Active” condensers C1 and C2 are built from different
tubing lengths, therefore each imposes a different pressure drop,
(P2–P5) – (P3–P6) ≠ 0.
• The pressure at the bottom of condenser C3 is nearly equal
August 2001
Refrigeration
to the pressure at its inlet, P4–P7 ≈ 0, whenever the condenser
fans stop.
The aforementioned scenario is encountered frequently, rep-
resenting roughly half of all industrial refrigeration systems
that the authors have seen. This phenomenon can be felt by
holding the evaporative condenser drain legs. Cool legs de-
note the presence of sub-cooled liquid; hot legs denote the
presence of vapor. Another sign is a nearly continuous frost
layer on the 0.25 in. (6 mm) stainless steel line (inside the purger)
that runs between the bottom of the purger’s liquid drainer and
the flooded evaporator.
In view of the these findings, drain trap depths should be sized
to withstand the greater of these two pressure differences:
• ∆ρ between individual heat exchangers under all operating
conditions, or
• ∆ρ between each heat exchanger and the receptor vessel
under all variances in mass flow.
Nothing can be done about operating pressure differences be-
tween dissimilar sized evaporative condensers. However, increas-
ing the condenser drain trap depths to overcome any operating
∆ρ can easily mitigate this impact. Doing so increases the ability
of the purger to collect NCG instead of high-pressure liquid, which
it was not built to handle in any substantial quantities.
Figure 5 shows an ammonia evaporative condenser with
deeper drain traps than customarily installed. This particular
condenser does not experience any cool weather liquid hold-
back problems nor any difficulty in purging NCG. The traps
shown in this photo are each 15 in. (381 mm) deep, which was
sufficient for the operating conditions at this particular facility.
This condenser has a total of four heat exchangers and four
drain traps. Note that the condenser gas inlets have not been
yoked as normally recommended. However, if the drain traps
are deep enough (which they were here), this added cost is no
longer necessary. The only additional recommendation (not
shown) would be to move the drain leg pipe reducers down a
point to immediately above the condenser outlet stop valves.
Another possible (but less desirable) solution is to add a
statement to the condenser purge solenoid valve control algo-
rithm that blocks gas purging from a particular point if the re-
spective fan is running and any other fans are stopped. This
solution is less desirable because liquid management difficul-
ties have not been addressed, nor are the condensers able to
operate under reduced compressor head pressures during win-
ter months. The inability of achieving “floating head pressures”
will have significant annual energy implications.
Conclusions
Historically, purging non-condensable gases from systems
was a manual operation. Today, reliable mechanical purgers can
be installed and controlled to operate on a continuous basis.
However, the effectiveness of any purger to collect and remove
NCG is governed by the external influences discussed here.
ASHRAE Journal 35