PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS MADE AT AMBASSADOR ROW

Observations are based on the inputs provided by Consultants Dr. Nirali, Azim and Surendran. The
trio Witnessed the site and made following observations:

1. 2 Nos Daikin Out Door Unit (1.5 Ton & 2 Ton Capacity). One was displaced from its original position
and other remained in the same place.
2. Water droplets dripping from the drain pipe due to which a layer of algae formed over time which
shows that there was prolonged dripping of water from the drain water outlet pipe.
3. Wooden Ceiling was completely Burnt and Charred – due to fire.
4. Power Cable Insulation Burnt and charred but no localized melting of copper wire found.
5. A Thin cardboard found up above the wooden ceiling.
6. The Blower Louver rails were completely charred due to fire.
7. One outdoor unit top was partly got melted due to exposure of high heat debris fallen from the
wooden ceiling.
8. The Terminals of the capacitor in One of the Aircon(2Ton) outdoor unit got Charred.

POSSIBLE REASONS FOR AIRCON FAILURE:

1. OVERHEATING OF REFRIGERATION PIPE– The refrigeration Pipes are being encapsulated by Foam
Rubber which was Burnt and charred. In which the former carries freon gas between Outdoor and
Indoor Unit, observations show that the Foam rubber insulation has been subjected to a constant
and persistent high temperature. This might be due to: -
a. Post-fire incident (But we also noted that same type of Foam rubber Insulation sheath
Burn and charred condition in the adjacent room as well, which is presently in good
working condition).
b. Capacitor Failure: The main Function of the Capacitor is to Start the Fan when the Aircon
is Switched On. When the Capacitor fails to operate. The coils of the Condenser unit would
suffer from excess heat due to the Heat Exchange Process Done already from the
Evaporator section of the indoor unit Room, as the cooling FAN startup was already
compromised, the compressor would still be circulating the hot GAS which in turn heats
up the pipe lines are further above the Nominal level. (Pls Refer the Working of Aircon
below through the provided link).
c. The blockage of air filter unit might have caused much heat development enabled to run
the compressor beyond its nominal duty creating more heat in the pipe line and in return
never achieved the sensor cutoff state to achieve desired cooling level.
2. Another Notable observation made was, the thinner cardboard found up above the wooden
ceiling which is prone to caught fire quickly over prolonged and persistent heat, which was
covered all over the upper ceiling.
3. Also, there is a better chance for any leakage of gas which would have triggered the combustion.
But Not all type of Freon gas catches Fire when subjected to the ambient temperature.
 4. The Feedback cable from the PCB SENSOR BOARD to the outdoor Unit could have been removed
unintentionally or damaged leaving the outdoor unit run unconditionally causing high heat via the
refrigerant pipes.
5. The Water droplets could have entered the PCB Sensor board causing the Short Circuit, resulting
in the total system failure of Aircon.

Need to know (For Cause Elimination Confrontation):

1. Outdoor Unit’s FAN and Compressor working condition.
2. Working of the Capacitor.
3. Working of the PCB Sensor and Thermostat cutoff function.
4. Extract the cooper coolant pipe tube for any kind of leakage detection.
5. The Behavior of foam rubber insulation when the subjected to Constant High Temperature - either
becomes burnt and charred state or it gets melted. Samples have been collected to conduct the
destructive testing.
6. MCB’s working Condition, then we could eliminate the Electrical Failure as a cause. As the MCB’s
would have tripped under Faulty condition.

Documents Requested from hotel Management.

1. Schematic Diagram of the Distribution Board.
2. Technical Specs and Last 3 Maintenance Record of the Aircon including change of GAS.
3. HVAC Layout of the Aircon
4. Layout of the Rooms
5. BOMBA & Police Report

General working procedure of the Aircon,

(https://home.howstuffworks.com/ac.htm ).

Way Forward
1. Need In-depth Review after Obtaining Relevant Documents from Hotel Management.
2. After Dismantling the Indoor Unit,
a. Need to extract the outdoor unit, power up the FAN for its working status.
b. The capacitor should be retrieved and check for its capacitance value.
c. The Compressor Should be checked for its working condition and amperage intake.
d. the PCB Sensor Board Should be retrieved and check for any possible short circuit or
abnormal component breakdown.
3. Need to verify the incident report and check the actual report call to the reception about the
Nature of complaint provided by the guest to attend with the aircon functioning.