One of the most common debates in the refrigeration industry is “do my condensers need relief protection”? Everyone from OSHA to IIAR has chimed in with their positions. But recently the SAFTENG team was doing some work in the great state of New Jersey and came across New Jersey’s State Code for refrigeration plants, which stated the following regarding the placement of relief devices on the process…
12:90-6.3 Relief devices
(a) A relief device of proper size shall be installed on the compressor discharge line, located between the compressor outlet port and the discharge shut-off valve. This relief device may discharge into the suction side.
(b) A relief device shall also be installed to relieve from the vapor space of the liquid receiver, condenser, and other pressure vessels in the system.
(c) Relief devices shall discharge to the atmosphere at a safe point and through a diffuser, except as provided in (a) above and (d) below.
(d) Where discharge to the atmosphere is impracticable or hazardous to the immediate neighborhood, the relief device may discharge into a receptacle through which the refrigerant can be disposed of in a safe manner.
Source: http://lwd.state.nj.us/labor/lsse/laws/boiler_law.html#90-6.3
I am sure there will be some who will challenge the state of NJ on their practicality of this state requirement, but for us, it seems pretty clear that if you have a refrigeration process that falls within the scope of SUBCHAPTER 6. REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS, 12:90-6.1 Scope of subchapter then the condenser is REQUIRED to have relief protection – REGARDLESS of IIAR claims that a trained technician is all that is needed.