Rheem ARL-JEZ 16 Seer Series, Installation Instructions Manual, Page: 10 / 40

10
TUBING INSTALLATION
Observe the following when installing correctly sized type “L” refrigerant tubing
between the condensing unit and evaporator coil:
• If a portion of the liquid line passes through a hot area where liquid refrigerant
can be heated to form vapor, insulating the liquid line is required.
• Use clean, dehydrated, sealed refrigeration grade tubing.
• Always keep tubing sealed until tubing is in place and connections are to be
made.
• Blow out the liquid and vapor lines with dry nitrogen before connecting to the
outdoor unit and indoor coil. Any debris in the line set will end up plugging the
expansion device.
• Do not allow the vapor line and liquid line to be in contact with each other. This
causes an undesirable heat transfer resulting in capacity loss and increased
power consumption. The vapor line must be insulated.
• If tubing has been cut, make sure ends are deburred while holding in a position
to prevent chips from falling into tubing. Burrs such as those caused by tubing
cutters can affect performance dramatically, particularly on small liquid line
sizes.
• For best operation, keep tubing run as short as possible with a minimum num-
ber of elbows or bends.
• Locations where the tubing will be exposed to mechanical damage should be
avoided. If it is necessary to use such locations, the copper tubing should be
housed to prevent damage.
• If tubing is to be run underground, it must be run in a sealed watertight chase.
• Use care in routing tubing and do not kink or twist. Use a tubing bender on the
vapor line to prevent kinking.
• Route the tubing using temporary hangers, then straighten the tubing and
install permanent hangers. Line must be adequately supported.
• The vapor line must be insulated to prevent dripping (sweating) and prevent
performance losses. Armaflex and Rubatex are satisfactory insulations for this
purpose. Use 1/2” minimum insulation thickness, additional insulation may be
required for long runs.
• Check Table 2 for the correct vapor line size. Check Table 4 for the correct liq-
uid line size.
TUBING CONNECTIONS
Indoor evaporator coils have only a holding charge of dry nitrogen. Keep all tube
ends sealed until connections are to be made.
• Use type “L” copper refrigeration tubing. Braze the connections with the follow-
ing alloys:
– copper to copper - 5%
– Silver alloy (no flux)
– copper to steel or brass - 35%
– silver alloy (with flux)
• Be certain both refrigerant shutoff valves at the outdoor unit are closed.
• Clean the inside of the fittings and outside of the tubing with steel wool or sand
cloth before brazing. Always keep chips, steel wool, dirt, etc., out of the inside
when cleaning.
• Assemble tubing part way into fitting. Apply flux all around the outside of the
tubing and push tubing into stop. This procedure will keep the flux from getting
inside the system.
• Remove the cap and schrader core from service port to protect seals from heat
damage.