the culver hotel book

The Culver Hotel

- A Photo Journal -

Mitsubishi Electric CITY MULTI Project

February 2009

The Culver HotelSince 1924

Built in 1924, The Culver Hotel is a monument to the golden age of cinema with rich history of glorious times as well as tragic events. The Culver Hotel has six stories which includes a grand lobby, a restaurant, a mezzanine bar, 48 guest rooms, 7 offices and a conference room. For more than seventy years the hotel did not have any means of mechanical air conditioning. In 1994, the Culver had a major renovation which included adding fourteen E.M.I. ductless heat pump split systems. Each outdoor unit had four compressors connected to four indoor coils serving a total 56 rooms (48 Guest Rooms, 5 Offices and 3 units in the Conference Room). In 2005, the Culver was purchased by Century Wilshire, Inc. During 2007, the hotel experienced air conditioning repairs and electrical bills costing upwards of $90K. This prompted an evaluation of the systems.

In November 2008, INDESIGN Indoor Air Solutions was contracted to replace these systems with Mitsubishi Electric CITY MULTI ductless simultaneous heating and cooling system. There are five outdoor units (model PURY-P108) and 53 high wall indoor coils (model PKFY-P12) and 3 floor standing indoor coils (models PFFY-P15). A dedicated server is used to run the GB-50 central controller and maintenance tool program for 48 guest rooms while the offices and conference room temperatures are regulated by individual Simple MA remote controllers.

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On a rainy and windy morning, December 15, 2008, Bob Hill crane services provided a 70 ton crane to lift five 600 lb. units, 155 feet in and 85 feet up

(above) We replaced 14, Four compressor heat pumps (right page) with five CITY MULTI R2 Series outdoor units model PURY-108's

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Advanced electronics allows for maximum manipulation of the compressor, refrigeration system capacity and electrical hertz cycle, all of which creates optimum comfort and

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(left to right) Manager's Office - Before and After

Typical Guest Room - (left to right) Before and After

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(this page) The conference room has ornate design aspects (next page) The conference room has 3 PFFY's that are concealed by decorative coverings.

Every flare nut was torque wrenched. 1/4 inch at 21.5 Nm, 1/2 inch at 44 Nm, Brass Reducers 3/8 at 44 Nm and 5/8 at 65 Nm

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Tohnichi "Clicker" torque wrench at work. We had to order six different spanner heads to accommodate the metric & standard sizes plus manufacturer tinge.

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This photo depicts what was left after we removed the old indoor coils. We adapted to the existing utility connections. Each drain was chemically flushed then tested 3 times during

construction through trim out.

We added two steel studs for the mount board. The existing half inch electrical conduit was connected to a single gang box, then extended to the unit. The existing drains were all 3/4

inch copper.

The mount board was fastened to the steel stud, green board and wood frame with a minimum of 15 fine thread screws.

(this page) Frame, Shims, Mount Board, Line Set, Line Set Caps (next page) indoor coil jacked up with the provided foam block.

We attempted to achieve a good mechanical connection at every junction point throughout the entire project.

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Line Set Support - These supports will be hidden by soffits but will live on in these photos. Thank you ZSI.

A 13 Port Branch Controller was used on for guest room floors. Only twelve ports were utilized leaving one extra port for insurance. Isolation ball valves with access ports were a

must.

Second Floor Offices BC Controller

Each floor used 960 FT of copper tubing. The Armaflex insulation sections were connected using NuClagon 4219 foam tape. The numbers represent the last digit of the room the BC

port serves.

Soft copper refrigeration tubing allowed a two man team to install 960 feet in two days.

Every braze was flagged, measured and noted on a floor map which was then included into the “As Built” Book.

Main copper refrigeration lines located in a central closet where the BC Controller was installed. Excellent vertical support clamp system called KLO-SHURE.

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(left) this photo shows the main refrigeration line risers to the roof outdoor units (right) Numbering and labeling conventions were established to insure ease of service

(this page) the main refrigeration lines enter the roof flashing to the BC Controllers in the closets on each floor. (next page) outdoor coil platform.

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The refrigeration systems were pressurized to 602 psig for 24 hours. After the building inspection, we achieved at least a 400 micron vacuum on each outdoor coil.

(right) Good communication, note taking, and safety awareness was the culture of our team. (left) Room by room check list with individual responsibility.

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Our orange bucket - Used to store each rooms small components. From the indoor unit contents to the installation manuals. Don't leave home without it.

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All equipment was checked for pressure. Out of 56 indoor coils, 8 had no pressure. We pressured tested these at 450 PSI for 24 hours. All were okay.

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Black electrical tape - not accepted here. Good utility connections with no sharp edges. And yes, that's caulking inside the wire nuts.

We used the right fittings for the right connections.

MNET shielded cable was tagged for future troubleshooting ease.

I would like to thank the ownership, management and staff of The Culver Hotel for their graciousness and patience - You have been the best clients I have ever had. - jc

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515 South Flower Street, 36th floorLos Angeles, CA 90071

(888) 987-HVAC