Air conditioning refit with no disruption to office operations

Utilising Conex Banninger’s >B< MaxiPro to fit refrigerant piping above ceiling tiles for a corporate property in Maidenhead.

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Range
>B< MaxiPro
Client
McBains Cooper – Sorbon Estates
Application
ACR
Location
Maidenhead, UK
Installer
Absolute Zero
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Background

The new air conditioning system required 150 metres of copper tubing and fittings to fit a new Mitsubishi VRF, and needed to be installed to a tight deadline whilst the office remained fully functional.

Products

Conex Banninger’s press-fit innovation >B< MaxiPro has been utilised on a complicated air conditioning system refit, enabling work to be carried out quickly and safely during office hours, allowing employees to remain at their desks.

ACR contractor Absolute Zero carried out the project, which involved refrigerant piping being fitted above ceiling tiles, for Sorbon Estates at one of its corporate properties in Maidenhead.

Home to property consultants McBains Cooper, the new air conditioning system, required 150 metres of copper tubing and fittings to be installed in the office.

Steve Hurst, Director, Absolute Zero, explained: “This job was complex, but we needed a simple solution. We were installing a brand new Mitsubishi Electric Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) system for the office, with the refrigerant piping needing to be fitted above the ceiling tiles whilst employees were still at their desks.

“This created challenges, as clearly brazing with a naked flame would be a considerable health and safety risk for the staff at McBains Cooper, but also for myself and my colleague Ash due to the confined space between the ceiling tiles and the above flooring, plus the electric cabling which was within close proximity of the pipework.

“Fortunately for us, when speaking to ROTHENBERGER about investing in a press-fit tool, we were tipped off about the new Conex Bänninger >B< MaxiPro press-fit fittings for ACR applications that can withstand pressures up to 48 bar. We thought these would be ideal for this particular job and an interesting trial for us using this technology for an air conditioning install.

“We have no regrets with this decision, as we had literally no issues with the install nor the press-fit joints we fitted. Obviously the pipework preparation is largely the same as with braze, but the actual fittings took us less than half the time it would have taken if we were using a hot flame solution. We did all 60 fittings in less than one day.

“A big element to this was how easy it was to access the joints and the fact you can use the ROTHENBERGER ROMAX Compact tool with one hand. Whereas with the flame, we would have had big issues with deploying heat mats and potentially damaging the surrounding area.

“Another advantage of a press-fit solution is that there is no oxidisation. This means the interior of the pipe is oxide-free with no need for nitrogen purging, streamlining the installation process and reducing tooling requirements.

“After this experience we will 100% use a press-fit system again, even if health and safety with using a flame isn’t an issue as it was with this project. The speed of install is that beneficial, plus the reliability of the joints has been faultless on this job.”

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