Pulling Evaporator and Condenser Tubes

Issue:

Can evaporator and condenser tubes be pulled out from either direction?

Resolution:

• Units built prior to 1990 had uni-directional clips that can be pulled from only one direction.
• Units built after approximately late 1990 were built with bi-directional tube clips that would allow tubes to be pulled from either end. 
• CAUTION:  Despite the bi-directional tube clip design, there is an inherent risk associated with pulling the tubes from either direction.  If a clip becomes dislodged from the internal baffles, it will fall into the tube bundle.  Recovering the lost clip from within the evaporator will be problematic and extremely difficult.  It must be removed to prevent operational issues within the evaporator.  In most cases, the risk outweighs the reward.
• The Trane factory recommendation is to pull tubes from the direction defined within the appropriate Installation Operation Maintenance manual.

Notes:

For RTHA units built prior to 1991, the factory should be contacted to verify which type of clips were used. The bi-directional clip design was carried over to the RTHB and RTHC designs also.

Other Question/Problem/Cause Statements:

• Can evaporator and condenser tubes be pulled out from either direction?
• Are the evaporator tube clips bi-directional when removing tubes.
• Are the condenser tube clips bi-directional when removing tubes?
• Are the tube clips bi-directional?

Facts:

• Air-Cooled Chiller (Pueblo)
• Compressor Chiller (Pueblo)
• Water-Cooled Chiller (Pueblo)