Quote:
Originally Posted by remint
Has anyone considered using carbon dioxide as a refrigerant in their systems?
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This thread is aimed at DIY folks and experimenters, and we like to encourage experimentation.
We have discovered that it is possible to use readily-available tools to modify existing, readily-available de-humidifiers, air conditioners and heat pumps into efficient, useful heat pumps at a tiny fraction of the price of commercial units.
As the previous posters have commented, CO2 is more efficient, but operates at considerably higher pressures than R298 (propane), R22, R134a and R410a. These refrigerants are listed as they are commonly used and are listed in ascending levels of pressure.
Commercial manufacture and sales of CO2 units has taken quite a while because of problems that were required to be solved due to the high pressures involved. Several Japanese companies have invested the time and money in the development of these units and CO2 units are now entering the market.
Also, the tools (manifold gauges, etc.) that are able to withstand the pressures of CO2 are not commonly available, and simply do not exist on the used market at this time.
So, it looks like the problems you will face if you want to push ahead with hacking CO2 units are:
- Locating donor units
- Locating tools that can withstand the higher pressures that CO2 requires
But we are always looking for more efficient solutions.
If your work with CO2 proves promising, please let us know.
Don't let yourself be discouraged by anything anybody says. Inform yourself and act.
A month ago, if someone told me that you could weld metal with vodka instead of inert gas, I would wonder if they were hallucinating... but I saw it with my own eyes.
Trust yourself, don't get discouraged.
Best of luck!
-AC_Hacker