JOHNSON CONTROLS
166
SECTION 9 - MAINTENANCE
Form  201.28-NM1.1 
Issue date: 08/06/2021
Refrigerant removal, evacuation and charging 
a YVAA chiller 
Refrigerant removal
The YVAA utilizes a flooded evaporator. Extreme care 
must be taken when removing refrigerant to prevent 
damage to the evaporator and the chiller. Carefully  
review the following caution before proceeding with 
the recommended process.
Incorrect removal of refrigerant will 
result in catastrophic freeze damage to 
the evaporator and possible additional 
damage to other chiller components. 
Whenever there is water in the evaporator, 
the chilled liquid pumps must be ON and 
circulating liquid through the evaporator 
above minimum recommended ow rates. 
When liquid refrigerant is being removed, 
monitor the pressure and do not allow the 
pressure to drop below the freeze point 
of the chilled liquid owing through the 
evaporator until all liquid refrigerant has 
been removed from the evaporator and 
only gas remains. Once all liquid has 
been removed, the remaining refrigerant 
vapor can be removed while allowing the 
pressure to drop below the freeze point 
with the pump circulating liquid through 
the evaporator.
To remove refrigerant from the evaporator, complete 
the following steps:
1.  Turn the chilled liquid pump ON and ensure the 
2.  Ensure all manual valves in the system are open. 
Open Condenser Drain and Economizer Feed 
valves to 100% in the service mode.
3.  Connect the recovery unit and a manifold gauge 
to the liquid line feeding the eductor. There may 
4.  Connect the recovery unit to a recovery cylinder 
sitting on an accurate scale. Turn the recovery 
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liquid should be obvious.
5.  Monitor the pressure gauge to ensure that the 
pressure does not drop below the freeze point of 
the manifold gauge valves to prevent pressures 
from dropping below the freeze point.
6.  Continue to remove the liquid refrigerant while 
       
charge in the system based on the nameplate data 
to determine when the charge removal is nearly 
complete. Monitor the weight of the recovery 
cylinder to determine when the cylinder is full. 
Change the cylinder as needed. 
7.  Continue removing refrigerant until liquid is no 
8.  Once the liquid is removed and no longer visible 
in the hose, the remaining gas can be pumped out 
with the recovery unit while the pressure is al-
lowed to drop to 0 barg (0 psig).
9.  Servicing can now be performed on the system as 
needed.
Evacuating a system
To evacuate a system, complete the following steps:
1.  Turn the chilled liquid pump ON and ensure the 
2.  Ensure all manual values are open. Open the Con-
denser Drain (Flash Tank Feed) and Economizer 
Valves in the Service Mode to 100%.
3.  Connect vacuum hoses to as many points as pos-
sible. Be sure that at least one connection is made 
on both the high and low side of the piping. A con-
-
sor is also recommended. Evacuate the system to 
a minimum of 500 microns. Close the valves at 
the evacuation points and ensure the pressure in 
the chiller does not rise more than 50 microns in 
10 minutes. Check for leaks if the pressure rises.