
Emerson Climate Technologies
46
Oil Controls
Emerson Climate Technologies
OMB
Common Suction
To
ndenser
Filter-Drier
Compressor
Discharge
Oil Separator
Reservoir
Oil Controls
Any time that compressors are operated in a paral-
lel operation (Suction and Discharge lines manifolded
together), an oil control system in needed to ensure that
each compressor has enough oil to operate properly.
Oil control systems are sometimes as basic as a
common line connected between compressors to allow
oil and gas equalization. This is usually referred to as a
“passive” oil system. Although this may sufce on two-
compressor systems, compressor racks of three or more
compressors almost always have an “active” system
since even small differences in crankcase pressures can
cause oil starving. This system uses an oil separator to
capture most of the oil from the compressor discharge
gas since some oil is carried out of the compressor
with the refrigerant. Several types of oil separators are
commonly used in these applications. The older style is
called an impingement type while newer, more efcient
types are the centrifugal and coalescing types.
After the oil is separated from the refrigerant, it col-
lects in the bottom of the oil separator where it is fed
directly to the crankcase in a high-pressure oil system
using oil controls on the compressor crankcases.
OMB
Low-Pressure Oil System
High-Pressure Oil System
A low-pressure oil system incorporates a separate oil
reservoir which is downstream of the separator. Oil separators
in low-pressure oil systems have a oat valve in the bottom to
allow excess oil to pass to the reservoir whenever the level is
high enough in the separator to open the valve. The pressure
in the oil reservoir is usually held 20-30 psi above the crank-
case pressure through a differential check valve. This lower
pressure allows mechanical oil oats, which use a oat valve
which opens when the crankcase oil level falls below 1/sight
glass, to be used to feed oil into the compressor crankcases.
The mechanical oats cannot be used on high-pressure oil
systems because the oil pressure entering them would be too
high and cause them to not be able to control the oil level.
On all oil systems, it is important to install an oil lter
downstream of the oil separator to ensure a supply of
clean oil to the compressors.
Emerson Oil Controls
A high-pressure oil system can use an Emerson OMB
oil control mounted on the compressor crankcase. The
OMB is a device which uses a reverse Hall-effect mag-
netic oat to activate a solenoid to allow oil to ow into
the crankcase whenever the level falls below 1/2sight
glass level. It is designed to operate at oil pressures up
to 350 psid.
Common Suction
To
ondenser
Oil
Separator
Filter-Drier
Reservoir
Differential
Pressure Valve
Compressor
Discharge
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