What is the difference between a car radiator and condenser?
The radiator is part of the engine’s cooling system and the condenser is part of the air conditioning system. They both have the same purpose in their respective systems. Remove heat.They are very similar but they do have their differences. The condenser causes a phase change to occur. This is a change in the refrigerant's state from a gas to a liquid. Much like how steam causes water droplets(condensation) to form as it cools. It’s this phase change that allows the air in your A/C to get so cold.The engine’s cooling system typically uses a mix of water and coolant. The coolant increases the boiling point of the water and decreases the freezing point. The radiator does not cause a phase change. In fact, this would detrimental to your engine. Allowing the coolant to turn to a gas would introduce air pockets inside the system and decrease the amount of heat transferred away from the engine. Most engine coolants will raise the boiling point over 250 degrees F and the cooling systems are typically designed to stay below 212 degrees F, but I’ve seen +/- 10.
What is the difference between an air conditioner and a refrigerator?
Refrigeration and air conditioning works on the same principle, the difference is in the application. Air conditioning refers to the manipulation of air temperature, humidity and air quality in space where human or machines are the main occupants. Besides air temperature, humidity and air quality, acoustic performance, air distribution and airflow velocity are also parameters of concern in air conditioning. There is also a common misconception that air conditioning must be about cooling or heating, which is not true. There are applications where only the moisture content and air quality are parameters of concern without a specific target temperature requirement. Air conditioning also need not be in a confined space, e.g natural ventilation is under the branch of air conditioning. Mechanical cooling is also not always required in air conditioning depending on the requirement, for example free cooling and simple ventilation. Its application is mostly in human comfort, equipment cooling, artifacts preservation, infections control or industrial environment such as clean room.Refrigeration on the other hand, is all about cooling, and it must be in confined spaces. Temperature range is usually much lower than air conditioning, from 5C all the way down to -70C in ultra lower temperature freezers. Humidity is of less concern, because air is normally fully saturated at this temperature, but coil freezing will be of concern at sub zero temperature. Also there is no requirement of air circulation, no human presence and therefore less concern on air quality. Mechanical cooling is almost always required to achieve such low temperature, unless you are in the arctic. It’s application is mostlt in food preservation, industrial processes and scientific research.
Can I get a ballpark subcooling measurement on an air conditioner using only a thermometer?
I read online that you can get a decent ballpark subcooling reading by measuring the temp of the small, copper liquid line (measured at a bend) and subtracting it from the temp of the hot air being blown out of the condenser. I don't trust the idiot HVAC techs that installed my system and want to verify the refrigerant charge is correct.
Why does water drop out from the air conditioner when it's on? From where does the water comes from and how?
That's a very good question, to answer that let me take a small moment to explain how an AC works. Its pretty simple, in the AC unit we have a liquid called a refrigerant (which is basically very cold in liquid state ). The refrigerant is circulated in pipes. So what your AC does is, it takes the hot air from your room, passes it over the pipes in which refrigerant flows, now the heat from air is taken by the refrigerant liquid and the air is cooled.Now, air contains moisture and this moisture condenses as the air cools. Its something we see everyday, take a glass of ice waterWe can see water droplets condense on the surface of the glass.And the same thing happens in an AC, the cold glass is replaced by pipes containing very cold refrigerant, so when air passes over these pipes, water droplets condense over the surface of these pipes. The water condensed on the pipes is then sent out using drain tube and that's the water you see.Just an image to show how water condenses on refrigerant pipes inside the AC.Hope this helps. :)
What are the advantages and disadvantages of AC's and air-cooler's?
Main advantages:Apart from being affordable, the air coolers use water for cooling and do not use any refrigerant such as CFC, HCFC etc. for cooling as is the case in air conditioners. Hence they are very Eco friendly.The initial cost of buying a cooler is much less than that of an air conditioner. That means lower investment!The power consumed by these coolers is much less as compared to the air conditioners, so the annual energy saving is significant. So along with lower investment, the cost of using coolers is less than using ACsCoolers are portable. Hence it is very easy to place them in the room that you want to cool.Air conditioners cool the air inside a room and again direct the air into the same room, whereas air coolers use fresh outside air, cool it and direct it inside the room. Hence more fresh air is circulated in the room.As one of the best cooler, I would recommendThe Honeywell CO30XEIt offers an energy efficient option for cooling your home, workplace or outdoor living space in the most natural way.Honeywell evaporative air coolers do not require power hungry components like compressorsThe low power consumption translates into significant savings on energy bills compared to using air conditionersSource: Best Evaporative CoolersDisadvantages:The major disadvantage of an air cooler is its dependency on the climate. In areas with very high humidity, the coolers may prove to be less efficient. The air coming out of the coolers is humid because of the evaporated water. Therefore, coolers add to the humidity in air. So while buying a cooler look for ‘Humidity Control’ in specifications of the cooler.Coolers also need a continuous supply of water. Also if you are living in a region with hard water, the internal parts of your cooler are at a higher risk of corrosion. Maintenance is required more frequently for these coolers.
How can I stop Water condensation/watter dripping from my ceiling?
Well water is dripping quite steadily from my ceiling about a a foot out from my vent opening. I am thinking it is from condensation(and a lot of it) for it started as soon as i turned up my air conditioning. Now it does not always do this so I am thinking its humidity/condensation. Has any of you had this problem? The plaster is kinda bubbled out from the water and everything. Water is not pouring but its a slow drip...drip...drip...and its slowly stopping and drying since i turned the air off. WILL BUYING A SMALL INEXPENSIVE DEHUMIDIFIER FOR THAT ROOM SOLVE THE PROBLEM?
Can humidity cause an air conditioner coil to freeze over?
You are right it does sound like you have another issue, maybe low on refrigerant or an air flow problem. The high humidity itself will NOT cause the coil to freeze up. That being said if the coil is already starting to freeze up and the humidity is high in the house it will definitely contribute to the problem. I would say it is not a problem with the power of the unit. That is a common misconception. (The bigger the better) As a matter of fact if the unit is over sized it can actually cool the house to fast and not take the humidity out of the living space. The icing problem probably has to do with one of the issues that you spoke of. It can also be from a restriction in the refrigeration system, like a plugged filter drier or bad expansion valve.