Quote:
Originally Posted by DonT
what is in a compressor that make it so I can't change the Freon. Example R22 to R410. My R22 compressor is new, never ran. Is there a seal or something in the compressor that the different Freon will destroy??
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DonT: This is a tentative reply. I'm hoping that Marx290 will join this conversation, because he has amazing expertise. Just regard my comment as a general overview.
Here are some factors:
There are High and Low working pressures for various refrigerants and the compressors are engineered to withstand those pressures. R22 has high working pressure some where around 250psi. R410a has a higher pressure, somewhere around twice that of R22. R290 (AKA
ropane) has a high pressure that is approximately half that of R22. So, if you had a compressor designed for r22, and you wanted to go to R410a, you could run into problems with over-stressing the compressor. There would also be the volume per rev issue (see below).
Compressors are also designed to compress a specific amount per rev for the refrigerant they are designed for.
Compressors are hermetically sealed, so no moving shafts or parts rotate outside of the hermetic envelope, therefore there aren't seals as you might find in a car engine. So no seals, no issues.
Compressors need lubricant that is compatible with the refrigerant that a compressor is designed for. So if you change refrigerant you will most likely need to change lubricant.
* * *
When I started the Manifesto thread, I realized that the working characteristics of R22 and R290 are very similar, even the lubricant was compatible. I also discovered that the metering devices (cap tube & TXV) for R22 were a nearly perfect match to R290. The unanticipated bonus was that compressors changed to R290 were more efficient. AND since R22 was being phased out, a raging river of R22 equipment was going to be flowing to the scrap yards for quite some time. Regarding working pressure, R290 was much less than R22.
So, some refrigerant changes are very easy and advantageous, while others may be more problematic and less advantage.
-AC