Subject: How does a propane frig work?

From: [email-masked] (Paul Sian)
Date: Mon, 09 Sep 1996 11:22:36 -0400

How does it work?

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From: [email-masked]
Date: 12 Sep 1996 05:45:01 -0700

>How does it work?
	Since no one else has taken a stab at this, I'll try. Bear in mind my HVAC
textbook is at work, I'm a mechanical HVAC type, not absorbtion.

	A propane fired refrigerator is an absorbtion system. A solution of ammonia
or lithium bromide is mixed with water. The propane provides heat to separate the
liquids. Once separated, the coolant is exposed to the absorbant. There is a power-
ful attraction that moves the coolant toward the absorbant, the coolant is vaporized
during this stage. The heat to vaporize is drawn from the conditioned space.
	As the absorbant becomes saturated with coolant, the rate of cooling will
slow. The solution needs to be regenerated, that's where the propane comes in.
The solution is heated to the point one component is driven out to a collection 
tank.
	Absorbtion systems take a lot of real-estate and work best with a constant
load. Due to the economy of production scale, mechanical systems are much cheaper.
I welcome corrections and amplifications to this explanation.

Jim Sullivan