In a message dated 1/12/00 4:55:42 AM Pacific Standard Time,
joseph@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
<< PS, for you observant folks: the clinic's refridgerator, used ONLY for
medicines, ran on propane >>
This thread has had a number of posts about propane as refrigerant but this
reference may well refer to refridgerators operating off propane where
propane is burned as the energy (heat) source , (as in an Electrolux style
Ammonia refridgerant refrigerator). These have no compressor pump or motor
and can operate either off an electric heater element, propane burner or in
some cases Kerosene wick heater. They are still widely used in many third
world countries and in small under the counter refridgerators as well as in
clinics etc. The efficiency is lower than a motor/compressor design and the
plumbing more complex but they are versatile in power source as well as being
much more reliable and almost completely silent. Interestingly, in
specialised cooling applications proprietary mixtures of hydrocarbons
(similar to propane) combined with Freon are often used to get to much lower
temperatures than can be obtained with regular freon. Temperatures of the
order of liquid Nitrogen (~-200C) etc. There is a Mechanical Engineering
professor from Stanford University who has a small company which makes
equipment based on this technology for infra-red imaging and cryogenic
applications
Regards,
T.H.
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