Install Instructions
Table Of Contents
26
Multi F Ceiling Cassette Indoor Unit
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Refrigerant Piping
GENERAL INSTALLATION GUIDELINES
No Pipe Size Substitutions
Use only the pipe size recommended by this installation manual. Using a different size is prohibited and may result in system malfunction or failure.
Under normal operating conditions, the vapor pipe temperature of a 
Duct Free System can vary as much as 280°F. With this large vari-
ance in pipe temperature, the designer must consider pipe  
expansion and contraction to avoid pipe and fitting fatigue failures. 
Refrigerant pipe along with the insulation jacket form a cohesive 
unit that expands and contracts together. During system operation, 
thermal heat transfer occurs between the pipe and the surrounding 
insulation.
If the pipe is mounted in free air space, no natural restriction to 
movement is present if mounting clamps are properly spaced and 
installed. When the refrigerant pipe is mounted underground in a 
utility duct stacked among other pipes, natural restriction to linear 
movement is present. In extreme cases, the restrictive force of 
surface friction between insulating jackets could become so great 
that natural expansion ceases and the pipe is “fixed” in place. In this 
situation, opposing force caused by change in refrigerant fluid/vapor 
temperature can lead to pipe/fitting stress failure.
The refrigerant pipe support system must be engineered to allow  
free expansion to occur. When a segment of pipe is mounted 
between two fixed points, provisions must be provided to allow pipe 
expansion to naturally occur. The most common method is the  
inclusion of expansion Loop or U-bends. Each segment of pipe has 
a natural fixed point where no movement occurs. This fixed point is 
located at the center point of the segment assuming the entire pipe 
is insulated in a similar fashion. The natural fixed point of the pipe 
segment is typically where the expansion Loop or U-bend should be.  
Linear pipe expansion can be calculated using the following formula:
1.  In Table 18 find the row corresponding with the actual length of 
the straight pipe segment.
2.  Estimate the minimum and maximum temperature of the pipe. 
In the column showing the minimum pipe temperature, look up the 
anticipated expansion distance. Do the same for the maximum 
pipe temperature.
3.  Calculate the difference in the two expansion distance values. 
The result will be the anticipated change in pipe length.
Example:
A system is installed and the design shows that there is a 100 foot 
straight segment of tubing between an indoor unit and the outdoor 
unit. In heating, this pipe transports hot gas vapor to the indoor units 
at 120°F. In cooling, the same tube is a suction line returning refrig-
erant vapor to the outdoor unit at 40°F. Look up the copper tubing 
expansion at each temperature and calculate the difference.
Vapor Line
Transporting Hot Vapor: 100 ft. pipe at 120 °F = 1.40 in.
Transporting Suction Vapor: 100 ft. pipe at 40 °F = 0.40 in.
Anticipated Change in Length: 1.40 in. – 0.40 in. = 1.00 in.
Liquid Line
The liquid temperature remains relatively the same temperature; only 
the direction of flow will reverse. No significant change in length of 
the liquid line, therefore, is anticipated.
When creating an expansion joint, the joint height should be a  
minimum of two times the joint width. Although different types of  
expansion arrangements are available, the data for correctly sizing 
an Expansion Loop is provided in Table 19. Use soft copper with 
long radius bends on longer runs or long radius elbows for shorter 
pipe segments. Using the anticipated linear expansion (LE) distance 
calculated, look up the Expansion Loop or U-bend minimum design 
dimensions. If other types of expansion joints are chosen, design per 
ASTM B-88 Standards.
LE = C x L x (T
r
 – T
a
) x 12
LE  =  Anticipated linear tubing expansion (in.)
C  =  Constant (For copper = 9.2 x 10
-6
 in./in.°F)
L  =  Length of pipe (ft.)
T
R 
=  Refrigerant pipe temperature (°F)
T
a 
=  Ambient air temperature (°F)
12  =  Inches to feet conversion (12 in./ft.)
Copper Expansion and Contraction
Note:










