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RB855 · 07-02-16, 12:42 PM

Shame on me for not taking pictures, but I was involved in replacing a compressor and cleaning coils on a drycleaning machine recently, and what I found is quite interesting. Theory first, drycleaning uses perc (nasty stuff) that must be reclaimed from the clothing. During the dry cycle, the drum is pumped out, a refrigeration cycle is started that condenses the perc out. The cycle is as follows, Large fan draws air from drum, through a filter, into a large coil that contains an evaporator followed by a condenser coil in series, into a large high KW resistance heater, and back into the drum. The ref cycle also has a watercooled condenser after the first condenser to dump the remaining heat that is introduced by the large resistance heater. The watercooled condenser is controlled by head pressure and thermostat, and also had a capacity valve to control the suction. The system used a 5ton compressor. It was so efficient, it could completely dry a load of cloths in about 8 minutes. BUT keep in mind it is mostly condensing perc out of the clothing, not water. There was some water that was removed via a seperator, but the water load is so little, it takes about a week to fill a 5 gallon bucket (simply residual moisture and ambient humidity.)

So, with what I learned from that, it seems a small electric heater to bring the system up to temperature with a closed loop heatpump to condense the water. Once the drum is up to temperature, a small external air cooled condenser on a fan controller would be used to maintain highside pressures in sane levels. This doesnt seem like unobtainium. The raised drum temp will evaporate the water quicker than ambient temps, and it raises the dew point allowing the same temp evap to remove more moisture per pass. The compressor should add enough heat to the system to not need the warmup heater during operation(which could be optional if you dont mind waiting a while for the 500-1000watts of dissipated heat from the compressor to warm the drum). I would think the fan controlled external condenser would be mandatory to protect the compressor and maintain acceptable pressures. A txv would almost be mandatory, and I would suggest it be a receiver style system.

07-02-16, 12:42 PM	#42
RB855 Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Jacksonville, fl Posts: 48 Thanks: 3 Thanked 14 Times in 10 Posts	Shame on me for not taking pictures, but I was involved in replacing a compressor and cleaning coils on a drycleaning machine recently, and what I found is quite interesting. Theory first, drycleaning uses perc (nasty stuff) that must be reclaimed from the clothing. During the dry cycle, the drum is pumped out, a refrigeration cycle is started that condenses the perc out. The cycle is as follows, Large fan draws air from drum, through a filter, into a large coil that contains an evaporator followed by a condenser coil in series, into a large high KW resistance heater, and back into the drum. The ref cycle also has a watercooled condenser after the first condenser to dump the remaining heat that is introduced by the large resistance heater. The watercooled condenser is controlled by head pressure and thermostat, and also had a capacity valve to control the suction. The system used a 5ton compressor. It was so efficient, it could completely dry a load of cloths in about 8 minutes. BUT keep in mind it is mostly condensing perc out of the clothing, not water. There was some water that was removed via a seperator, but the water load is so little, it takes about a week to fill a 5 gallon bucket (simply residual moisture and ambient humidity.) So, with what I learned from that, it seems a small electric heater to bring the system up to temperature with a closed loop heatpump to condense the water. Once the drum is up to temperature, a small external air cooled condenser on a fan controller would be used to maintain highside pressures in sane levels. This doesnt seem like unobtainium. The raised drum temp will evaporate the water quicker than ambient temps, and it raises the dew point allowing the same temp evap to remove more moisture per pass. The compressor should add enough heat to the system to not need the warmup heater during operation(which could be optional if you dont mind waiting a while for the 500-1000watts of dissipated heat from the compressor to warm the drum). I would think the fan controlled external condenser would be mandatory to protect the compressor and maintain acceptable pressures. A txv would almost be mandatory, and I would suggest it be a receiver style system.