TYPES OF CONDENSER

Air cooled condensers

Air cooled condensers are used in small units
like household refrigerators, deep freezers,
water coolers, window air-conditioners, split
air-conditioners, small packaged air-
conditioners etc. These are used in plants
where the cooling load is small and the total
quantity of the refrigerant in the refrigeration
cycle is small. Air cooled condensers are also
called coil condensers as they are usually
made of copper or aluminum coil. Air cooled
condensers occupy a comparatively larger
space than water cooled condensers.

Water cooled condensers

Water cooled condensers are used for
large refrigerating plants, big packaged
air-conditioners, central air-conditioning
plants, etc. These are used in plants
where cooling loads are excessively high
and a large quantity of refrigerant flows
through the condenser.
There are three types of water cooled
condensers: tube-in-tube or double pipe
type, shell and coil type and shell and tube type. In all these condensers the refrigerant
flows through one side of the piping while the water flows through the other piping,
cooling the refrigerant and condensing it.
Evaporative condensers
Evaporative condensers are usually used in ice
plants. They are a combination of water cooled and
air cooled condensers. In these condensers the hot
refrigerant flows through the coils. Water is sprayed
over these coils. At the same time the fan draws air
from the bottom side of the condenser and
discharges it from the top side of the condenser. The
spray water that comes in contact with the
condenser coil gets evaporated in the air and it
absorbs the heat from the condenser, cools the
refrigerant and condenses it.