RTU/DVRU
CLIENT INTRODUCTION
Futraheat are pioneers in the heat pump technology sector, breaking ground with their innovative products such as TurboClaw in a bid to decarbonise industrial heat in a cost-effective manner.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Futraheat approached Lightfoot in January 2024 requesting assistance with the charging and recovery of R-1233zd(E) from their Greensteam High Temperature Heat Pump system.
Lightfoot are experts at working with low pressure refrigerants and have developed methods over many years of accurately moving these refrigerants between cylinder and machine.
After a period of information gathering, including trials of commercially available equipment to enable a detailed set of data to be recorded. This demonstrated that there was no off the shelf solution for this application. It was agreed that Lightfoot would design and develop a ‘fit for purpose’ recovery unit capable of achieving -1 BAR vacuum.
THE SOLUTION
After developing the conceptual designs and undertaking testing at our facilities in Fareham, Hampshire, it was established that a two-stage recovery was required to achieve complete refrigerant removal from the system. Through our tried and tested design process a “Refrigerant Transfer Unit” (RTU) and “Deep Vacuum Recovery Unit” (DVRU) were built and tested.
The RTU is capable of transferring 2Kg of R-1233zd(E) in just 3 minutes, it has two digital displays giving operator’s accurate suction and discharge pressures during transfer and it utilises a high-speed oil less compressor suitable for a range of refrigerants.
The DVRU is a unit capable of drawing refrigeration systems down to -1.0 BAR, it utilises a deep vacuum to boil off and recover the last
Internally, both systems are manufactured from aerospace grade stainless steel and Swagelok compression fittings. Both units have been manufactured and encased in light weight aerospace grade anodised 6082 aluminium profile with CNC cut and screen printed chemical resistant PVC fascia’s. Side panels are constructed from lightweight aluminium skinned composite.
THE OUTCOME
With two working prototypes manufactured in less than a month, Lightfoot headed up to Futraheat to trial the units.
The DVRU took just under 3 minutes to charge the heat pump with 2Kg of R-12233zd(E). It then recovered 1Kg bringing the system down to a pressure of -0.7 Bar and tripping on low pressure. The DVRU was then put in series with the RTU, recovering 0.95Kg of refrigerant and achieving a system pressure of -1.0 Bar.
The Lightfoot team worked incredibly hard on this project to achieve the desired outcome and all within a very tight project timeline of 5 months. During this timeframe Lightfoot successfully designed developed and delivered two CE marked products to Futraheat for use on their heat pump. The units were also delivered with a fully illustrated operators manual and a full days training showing the team at Surbiton how to use their new kit.