REFRIGERANTS
There are many refrigerants in existence which we can obtain some of
which require us to become certified in refrigeration prehand I will
make brief mention of these but will mainly focus on those which can
be acquired by anyone.
These are what I consider a class 1 refrigerant. By this I mean they
were manufactured for the porpoise of being used as a refrigerant and
will require a certification to acquire. These
require no additives to compress properly, have a long life span, and
are for the most part non combustible, BUT they do release chemicals
which are dangerous to the ozone layer.
Here is a list in order of common use.
01) R12(dichlorodifluoromethane): was the standard in refrigeration
for a long time with a boiling point of slightly under -40C
was used widely in automobiles, refrigerators,
window air conditioners, just about everything.
02) R22(chlorodifluoromethane): this refrigerant has held
the standard for home air conditioning longer than any other
and is still in use. Its boiling point is just under that
of R12.
These refrigerants have been in use for years and have been
proven time and again reliable and efficient, there only down
side is they deplete the ozone layer and thus require special
certification and as a result are typically only available in 30lb or
larger canisters. These refrigerants come pre bottled with mineral oil
so your compressor will need to be adjusted
accordingly.
Class 2 refrigerants are refrigerants that are common place and easy
to acquire. These do not require special certification nor do they damage
the ozone layer.
01) R134A(,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane): with a boiling point of only
-26C it is becoming the new standard in refrigerators, automobiles,
and all other common uses
02) R290(propane) this is also beginning to make its way in as a main
stream refrigerant with a boil point of -42 it is more of a class 4
refrigerant but because of its new found
common use I have included it in my class 2 list. This is randomly used
in things such as freezers and allot of hobbyists use it for home build
systems.
These refrigerants boast a quite affordable price. Also to be noted
is that they come bottled alone or with ester oil, require no certification,
and do not damage the atmosphere. As a result
of these factors they are readily available to the public.
Class 3 refrigerants are those whom have a lower boiling point than
standard refrigerants. Often they are hybrid mixtures of class 1/2 refrigerants
and class 4 refrigerants.
01) R404B(pentafluoroethane/1,1,1-trifluoroethane/1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane:
44:52:4%) this is one refrigerant often sought after by overclockers
with a boiling point of approximately -44C and available in 12oz cans
this can be a nice choice provided you have your certification.
02) R409A(chlorodifluoromethane/2-chloro-1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane/1-chloro-1,1-difluoroethane:
60:25:10%): this refrigerant ranks in with a boiling temperature of
-47.8C provided you are willing to purchase 30lbs can be a treat to
work with.
03) R508B(trifluoromethane/hexafluoroethane: 46:54%) this is one of
the best readily available high end refrigerants there is with a boiling
point near -50C you are lucky to acquire this.
04) R-14(1,2-dichloro-1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethane) ranking in with a boiling
temperature approaching that of -150C at 1 bar pressure this refrigerant
can deep freeze you faster than you can say licitly split. Provided
you are running either a cascade cooler or are have a compressor that
can withstand approximately 350psi it’s a pleasure to work with.
These refrigerants have a moderate - substantially lower boiling point
than normal refrigerants some can be acquired in small amounts others
have to be purchased is 30lb cylinders. The biggest issues with refrigerants
like R14 is that with its so low boiling point it requires allot of
psi to compress to liquid with this in mind it may make better use to
juice up a system that is running on a lower grade refrigerant by adding
10-25%.
class 4 refrigerants are natural gases. These can be acquired from
just about any chemical supply place. Some can be located in your own
home. These generally have an extremely low boiling point and are difficult
to compress due to there weight but can easily be used as an additive
to an existing system to squeeze it for a few extra degrees. These as
you may have guessed do not come packed with any kind of oil additive
therefor can be used in any system.
01) R50(methane): this a moderately light gas with a boiling point
of -162C is the base compound for most of today’s refrigerants
in its pure form it is a bit to light(molecular weight 16) to work with
outside of a cascade cooler. Though this can be used in a system of
its own you will be needing pressures nearing the 450 mark on a warm
day to liquefy. So overall a great additive or for use in a cascade
cooler.
02) R170(ethane) this gas has a boiling point of -88C and with a molecular
weight of 30 its a much more suitable stand alone refrigerant than R50.
There are a few common place refrigerants that are based off of this
gas.
03) R744A(nitrous oxide): this is a pretty common place gas these days.
And with a molecular weight of 45 and boiling point of -89C this definitely
yields some potential not only as a stand-alone refrigerant but also
as a cascade refrigerant as well.
04) R717(ammonia) this is used in many commercial refrigeration systems.
Although it has a rather low molecular weight at just under 18 its boiling
point of -33C makes it easy to work with. the most widely occurring
problem with this gas is its smell and as it is slightly corrosive extra
precautions must be taken.
05) R740(argon): coming in with a weight of approximately 40 and a
boiling point of -182C it is easily compressed and used in conjunction
with 25% R134 has a weight which is easily used in a standard air condensed
system and maintain a boiling temperature below that of -120C with less
than 300 psi. this has allot of common potential.
06) R764(sulfur dioxide) this gas has the scores all around molecular
weight of 60 and boiling temperature of -76C, although it has toxicity
issues. Given a bit of precaution not to let allot of this loose into
the air it will easily yield quite impressive results.
These gasses have quite low boiling points, which would make them all
great candidates for a cascade cooler. For those of you who don’t
know what a cascade cooler its. It is simply a phaze change system that
uses another phaze cooler to cool its condenser so you can use a very
low temperature refrigerant at a decent psi rating. Each of these gasses
has some sorts of hazard rating but then again all refrigerants do.
You will need to acquire these liquid compressed or change them yourself
if it is going to be the only refrigerant in your system. If not adding
them in at normal gas phaze is a viable option.
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Table Of Contents:
I: MISSION STATEMENT
1: MATERIALS
2: CONDENSER
3: EVAPORATOR/RESERVOIR
4: COMPRESSOR
5: FINAL ASSEMBLY
6: REFRIGERANTS
7: CHARGING
8: MODS
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