period two
Condensers
notes
Refrigeration
System Components
period two
Condensers
Figure 8
The first major component to be discussed is the condenser. The condenser is a heat exchanger that rejects heat from the refrigerant to air, water, or some other fluid.
The three common types of condensers are air-cooled, water-cooled, and evaporative.
Air-Cooled Condenser
condenser coil
Air-Cooled Condensers
propeller fan
outdoor air
subcooler
Figure 9
A typical air-cooled condenser uses propeller-type fans to draw outdoor air over a finned-tube heat transfer surface. The temperature difference between the hot refrigerant vapor that is flowing through the tubes and the cooler outdoor air induces heat transfer. The resulting reduction in the heat content of the refrigerant vapor causes it to condense into liquid. Within the final few lengths of condenser tubing (the subcooler), the liquid refrigerant is further cooled below the temperature at which it was condensed.
