Homemade Mini Phase Change Heat Pump (134-a)

This is my homemade DIY 134-a heat pump that I made as a weekend project. I will later on make it into a homemade refrigerated air dryer or a overclocked CPU cooler. The compressor came from a mini-fridge and I built the coils, soldered it up and charged the system. It was a pretty fun project, if you guys have any questions leave them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them.

[rronmar]

Cool! The condenser is hot because it is too small, or needs forced air. The evaporator is frozen for the same reason. Frost is an insulator so the liquid takes longer to flash to gas and as you mentioned you may be getting liquid into the compressor. fluids don't compress very well. As you lower the charge the ice should start to melt at the compressor and work it's way back along the coiled evaporator. Adding forced air over it should get it mostly over the freezing point and allow the water to drip off and the gas to fully evaporate to make that air dryer. Needs fins to be more efficient. The cool thing about refrigeration(heat concentration), is that if you are trying to heat something, the heat pump can easily put 3 or more times the energy consumed by the compressor into the water or air. IE it is more efficient to collect and concentrate heat than it is to generate it with heating elements. A 500W fridge comp should be able to concentrate 1500W of heat...

[Justme-lgyq]

Hi could you use a old car radiator also ?

[felipezarantonelli]

where can I find the guidelines to build this system at home?

[QuarkLab]

How did you solve the problem of capillary tube clogging with ice from moisture?

[MegaGamerGuy]

I have a few questions:
-How did you get a vacuum before recharging?
-How would I know how long the capillary tube needs to be
-Do you think I could replace the evap and condenser with water blocks? as in solder them to water blocks, so I can heat/cool water or antifreeze?

Thx

[_windows_software_wizard_]

you know you have just enough refrigerant when there is a sweat ring on the suction line port on the compressor, check your amp draw you should have 1.5 but 2.0 is fine, if you have gauges your low side pressure should be about 5 pounds and high should be 175 pounds if you have any questions message me I am a A/C tech and plan to have my own company one day, ask me about superheat and subcooling

[RogueElectron]

Pretty sure you're not allowed to vent 134-A to atmosphere ;-). Good project though. where did you get the valves/ports from? I'm looking at making something similar using an R134-A pump and can't find the charging valves for sale seperately

[daquilema]

Very nice project. Can U tell me please where did U get those valves? Thanks

[xeonprofessional]

hi! i want to do this experiment aswell, but i was wondering if i could use an air compressor, modify it to be a sealed unit, u think it will work aswell? even there are no leaks?

[iviewthetube]

I wonder if something like that could be used as a seawater distiller.

[jonathanoxlade]

I know too much Freon could damage a compressor but will overfilling it increase how cold the the cold side gets

[laharlk]

hello, im doing some research to make myself a phase change cooler for a co2 laser, and i was thinking of using an old fridge. Is there any science to the size of the capilary tube? or did you just reuse the one that came with the mini fridge?

[profsmith]

Can you show a diagram of how it work? I want to put a heat pump in my van.

[fizzedupslade]

Hello ET. I would like you to explain what each component does, why each is needed.
What does the part from the refrigerator do in a refrigerator and what's its purpose in your project.
You say you charged the system - how?

Why does the coiled copper part cold/had frost on it?

Can you suggest an application for your project ie where would it be of use?

It's important to remember that not all viewers understand the dynamics of what you are doing. Film of each component connection close up would be useful. Maybe highlight where else components are used.

[kmoko]

Thanks for the kind advice, hope to see step by step tutorial video.

[mikejakobczyk]

i'm impressed with your knowledge on this topic, how did you learn about it and how old were you when you started getting interested in it?

[mickbmx]

what happenes if the compressor gets refrigerant in it ?

[petec]

That is a cool little setup. How much power does it draw and do you have any way of knowing how many BTUs it will make?

[RobsDIY]

hey man to prevent condensation etc around the cpu and motherboard can you use silicone or plastidip to isolate it>?

[jvanasselberg]

I am designing a system to combine 5 items using pumps and siphons: an oven, water heater, A/C, refrigerator, and freezer. A typical V-8 engine's waste heat could heat a 2000 sq. ft. home, so cooling a medium sized freezer, refrigerator, and an A/C for 1200 sq. ft. space should be enough energy for all the hot water and an oven by moving and consolidating heat.