Hot-Gas Defrost Service Solenoid Valve

Several piping arrangements are used for hotgas defrost systems, one of which is shown in Fig. 6-25. A portion of the compressor discharge gas is passed through the solenoid valve into the evaporator. The solenoid valve may be controlled either manually or automatically for this duty. Hot-gas defrost valve selection requires a slightly different approach from the simple pressure drop versus tonnage. Be sure to consider the evaporator temperature correction factors to make certain that the valve selected has adequate capacity.

Normally open solenoid valves have many uses. Perhaps the most popular is their adaptation to heat-reclaiming systems. The use of one normally closed valve and one normally open valve to shunt the discharge gas to either the outdoor condenser or the indoor heat-reclaiming coil provides positive opening and closing action.

This eliminates the problem found in some three-way valves, which have a tendency to leak hot gas into the heat-reclaiming coil when not required. When this leakage occurs during the cooling season, it imposes an extra load on the cooling system that wastes energy, rather than conserving it.

If leakage occurs during the heating season when all the discharge gas should be going to the reheat coil, a good portion of the liquid charge could become logged in the inactive condenser. For a simple schematic of a heat-reclaiming cycle, see Fig. 6-26. Many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have developed their own reheat cycle, which may be completely different from the one illustrated. In addition, some may incorporate head pressure control as well, so it is always advisable to consult the manufacturer’s bulletin regarding its particular design.

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