Categories: Machinery

How the refrigerator works: principle and schemes of action in simple words

In order not to get confused in case of breakdown of kitchen appliances, modern housewife has to understand that, how the refrigerator works, microwave, stove and other human helpers. The purpose of the refrigerator - to preserve the freshness of products, therefore, its work must be uninterrupted, after all, sometimes you can't call a repairman right away. Understanding the principle of operation of a household refrigerator can save time and money, and some breakdowns can be fixed yourself.

What are the parts of the refrigeration unit?

Everyone knows, that the refrigerator keeps the cold, cools and freezes products, preventing their rapid deterioration. At the same time, few can clearly imagine, from where the cold inside the chamber appears, as it is produced by the refrigerator unit, why the refrigerator sometimes turns off. In fact, the cooled air does not appear out of nowhere - its temperature decreases directly in the chamber during the operation of the refrigeration unit (fig. 1). More details - in the article how to regulate the temperature in the refrigerator.

Rice. 1. 1 - evaporator, 2 - capacitor, 3 - filter-dehumidifier, 4 - capillary, 5 - compressor

The working unit of the refrigerator consists of 4 parts:

compressor;
capacitor;
evaporator;
refrigerant.

The real heart of the whole system is the compressor. It circulates the refrigerant through many thin tubes, some of which can be seen on the rear outer wall of the refrigerator. The other part is hidden under the panel inside the camera in modern models, but in older refrigerators they form the walls of the freezer or simply mounted on the ceiling of the chamber. The compressor becomes very hot during operation, like any engine, and must rest from time to time. That it did not fail from an overheat, inside is a relay, which when a certain engine temperature is reached opens the electrical circuit. At this point, the compressor turns off.

The tubes on the outer wall of the refrigerator are a condenser. Its purpose is, to give off heat to the surrounding space. Compressor, pumping refrigerant, drives it into the condenser under pressure. The result is a gaseous substance (freon, isobutane) turns into a liquid state and heats up quite strongly. These excess heat must be dissipated into the environment, to allow the refrigerant to cool to room temperature.

In the instructions to the refrigerators usually write about it, that they should be installed away from heating appliances.

Knowing that, how the refrigerator should work, caring owners will try to provide their assistant with the best conditions for easy cooling of the compressor and condenser. This will help it last longer.

For, to get cold in the cell, there is another part of the tube system, where the liquefied gas then enters. It is called an evaporator. It is separated from the condenser by a filter-dehumidifier and the capillary is separated by a very thin tube., which does not pass all liquefied refrigerant at once, and forces the compressor to force it into the evaporator. Getting there, small amounts of freon instantly boil and expand, again transitioning to a gaseous state. During this process, a large amount of heat is absorbed. The tubes inside the chamber cool themselves and cool the air in the refrigerator. The refrigerant is then returned to the compressor, and the whole cycle begins again.

That products in the chamber did not turn to ice, a thermostat is installed inside it. The scale with divisions allows you to set the desired level of cooling, and as soon as the required indicators are achieved, the refrigerator turns off.

One-chamber and two-chamber refrigerator

The cooling unit in all models of modern refrigerators is arranged on the same principle. But there is a difference in the work of different modifications. It consists in the features of the flow of refrigerant in refrigerators with one or two chambers.

According to the scheme described above, a single-chamber refrigerator. Regardless, whether the evaporator is directly in the chamber, as in the old models, hidden behind the wall with a drip system, or in modification No frost, the principle of operation is the same. But when the freezer is located above or below the cooling compartment, the refrigerator needs another compressor. The scheme of work for the freezer remains the same.

Cooling department, where the temperature does not fall below 0 °C, starts working only then, when the freezer has cooled enough and turned off. At this point, the refrigerant from the freezer system begins to enter the compressor of the chamber with a positive temperature, and the cycle of condensation and evaporation is already at this level. So to the question of that, how long the refrigerator should work, while the cooling chamber turns on, the exact answer cannot be given. It all depends on the volume of the freezer and the settings of the thermostat.

What is rapid freezing?

These words denote one of the functions of the freezer in two-chamber models. Depending on the modification, the refrigerator in this mode can work for a long time, without turning off the compressor. This achieves accelerated freezing of large volumes of products.

When the quick freeze mode is activated, the indicator lights on the panel of some cameras light up, denoting, that the compressor is on, and the refrigerator is running. In this case, keep in mind, that automatic shutdown will not happen, and forced operation of the unit for a long time leads to a reduction in resource.

The fast freezing mode should not be included for a period not exceeding 72 hours.

After, how it will be disabled manually, the indicators on the panel go out, and the compressor motor switches off.

Modern models of refrigerators are very diverse. Today's housewives are familiar with this type of housework, as defrosting the refrigerator. Drip systems and non-freezing chambers have greatly simplified human life, but the basic principles of operation of these appliances remained the same.

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