The evolution of the household refrigerator is not a well known story. There seems to be few people interested in the subject. Perhaps it is not as romantic as the development of the automobile. Nonetheless, a concerted effort was put…
Blog Archives
1930s Household Refrigerators
Tagged with: antique, capillary tube, expansion valve, float valve, refrigerant, refrigeration, refrigerator, thermostatic
Posted in Old Refrigeration Texts, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Posted in Old Refrigeration Texts, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Trying Not to Blow Myself Up
I advocate hydrocarbon refrigerants for vapor compression systems whether it’s refrigerators, dehumidifiers, split systems, whatever. There are a lot of advantages to them over proprietary cocktails like R-134a, R-22, 410a and so on. First of all, they are naturally found…
Tagged with: propane, R-134a, R-290, refrigerant, refrigeration, vapor compression
Posted in Refrigeration
Posted in Refrigeration
Discourse On Dehumidifiers
I’d like to talk about dehumidifiers; what they are, how they work, design failures and improvements I’d make. The dehumidifiers I write of are a specific kind, but probably the most common. They are the small white plastic towers people…
Tagged with: capillary tube, compressor, dehumidifier, dessicant, dew point, flash gas, humidity, pressure drop, propane, psychrometrics, R-12, R-134a, R-22, refrigerant, refrigerator, subcool, vapor pressure
Posted in Dehumidifiers, Refrigeration
Posted in Dehumidifiers, Refrigeration
On the Subject of Compressors
The refrigeration compressor is where all the ‘magic’ happens. To understand the process of compression is to understand the fundamental principles of mechanical refrigeration. A compressor is the mechanism that allows us to reuse that same refrigerant over and over.…
Tagged with: clearance volume, compressor, discharge valve, ice machine, refrigerant, refrigeration, refrigerator, suction pressure, suction valve, volumetric efficiency
Posted in Refrigeration
Posted in Refrigeration
Some Thoughts On Refrigerants
Refrigerants are the blood of a vapor compression system. They are pumped round and round in an infinite loop of compression and expansion. The types of materials selected for use in refrigeration are based on a number of factors, the…
Tagged with: ammonia, appropriate, heat pump, hydrocarbon, refrigerant, refrigeration, refrigerator
Posted in Refrigeration
Posted in Refrigeration
musings on entropy 