NoL's Mini Guide to Phase: Part 1
---Tools of the Trade:---
------------------------------
# = Required tool
---Common Sense ###: This is easily the most important item when building phase change units. Common sense can save your life. It's not easy to buy though, so this helps keep our hobby limited.
---The Manifold Gauge Set #: This is the most fundamental item of building phase change units. Normally a brass or other metal setup with two gauges and 3 hose ports. Normally one gauge is for your high side, and measures 0 to 250-500. One gauge is your low side, and measures normally around -30 to 150-250. The center port is for your charging hose.
---Tube cutter #: If your building ur own system your going to need the tube cutter. Open it up, slide it over your tube, and crank down till the cutter touches the tube. Spin the cutter around the tube, then crank again. Slowly press into the tube and make circle's cutting through the tube.
---Vacuum pump: Now the vacuum pump pulls your vacuum before you purge and charge with refrigerant or other gas/liquid. It's technically not required as a spare compressor with access valves brazed to suction and discharge can work perfectly for positive pressure and vacuum.
---Brazing rods and Torch #: This is something people consider scary, but brazing is quite fun. Propane torches are not really that hot, so most people on a budget buy a $40.00 MAPP torch at there local home improvement store. For brazing rods, try to find ones with 15% silver, Silfos 15 and Harris 15 rod's are quite good.
---Charging hoses #: These attach to your Manifold set and everything else. Your classic Red/Blue/Yellow are there colors! Yellow is for charging, Red is for High side, Blue is for low side. Common sense.
---Butane lighter: Also not a required item, but if your purging or leak testing with propane, waving the butane lighter or zippo around by the joints can help find a leak. Keep flames away from your vacuum pumps discharge though, it can make quite a flame thrower if your using an old compressor.
---BASIC PARTS LIST---
-----------------------------
* = Required part of Phase Change System
---Compressor *: Two types for single stages, RECIROCATING and ROTARY. Reciprocating compressors are normally shorter, they are more often seen in single stages because of that short-ness. They are also normally not as powerful. Rotary compressor's are tall and pull a deeper vacuum then most reciprocating, this makes them ideal for cases when multiple evaporators or just a lower boiling point is wanted.
---Desuperheater coil: In its most basic form its a length of tubing wound into a coil to help remove heat from the compressed gas before it hits the condenser. It also helps dampen vibration.
---Condenser *: This item looks like a radiator and almost acts like one. The condenser normally has a fan that blows across it. This lowers the temperature of the compressed gas and allows it to condense into a liquid. Make sure your condenser is flowing downward to make sure compressed liquid does not well up.
---Filter/Drier *: In a single stage this is required. All it does is filter the gas and remove moisture, but don't just crack these open and install them later. Since they absorb moisture leaving them open will ruin them.
---Capillary line */*: The capillary line limits the flow of liquid refrigerant to the evaporator. A shorter length will allow more refrigerant into the evaporator and a longer length will allow less. This can be replaced with other forms of metering like the CPEV.
---Evaporator *: Some call it the head, others call it the "Place you dont want to lick". This is where the compressed liquid refrigerant evaporates and removes heat from the surrounding. If you want to know why this works, take a Chemistry class and ask about potential energy during a phase change from liquid to gas. Don't ask me, I don't have the time to explain it.
---Flex line */*: This is the bendy hose that people see that allows us to swivel our evaporator heads around, its also the suction line.
---Accumulator: Liquid refrigerant that makes it back to the compressor can damage it overtime, the accumulator catches all the refrigerant off the suction line and forces all liquid to evaporate before it can enter the compressor. These are normally found on rotary compressors.
---Heat Exchanger, HX, SLHX: A heat exchanger in a cascade is where the magic occurs. Your first stages refrigerant boils off here and condenses the 2nd stages. The SLHX is a suction line heat exchanger and is basically just an extra way to help condension.
---Tools of the Trade:---
------------------------------
# = Required tool
---Common Sense ###: This is easily the most important item when building phase change units. Common sense can save your life. It's not easy to buy though, so this helps keep our hobby limited.
---The Manifold Gauge Set #: This is the most fundamental item of building phase change units. Normally a brass or other metal setup with two gauges and 3 hose ports. Normally one gauge is for your high side, and measures 0 to 250-500. One gauge is your low side, and measures normally around -30 to 150-250. The center port is for your charging hose.
---Tube cutter #: If your building ur own system your going to need the tube cutter. Open it up, slide it over your tube, and crank down till the cutter touches the tube. Spin the cutter around the tube, then crank again. Slowly press into the tube and make circle's cutting through the tube.
---Vacuum pump: Now the vacuum pump pulls your vacuum before you purge and charge with refrigerant or other gas/liquid. It's technically not required as a spare compressor with access valves brazed to suction and discharge can work perfectly for positive pressure and vacuum.
---Brazing rods and Torch #: This is something people consider scary, but brazing is quite fun. Propane torches are not really that hot, so most people on a budget buy a $40.00 MAPP torch at there local home improvement store. For brazing rods, try to find ones with 15% silver, Silfos 15 and Harris 15 rod's are quite good.
---Charging hoses #: These attach to your Manifold set and everything else. Your classic Red/Blue/Yellow are there colors! Yellow is for charging, Red is for High side, Blue is for low side. Common sense.
---Butane lighter: Also not a required item, but if your purging or leak testing with propane, waving the butane lighter or zippo around by the joints can help find a leak. Keep flames away from your vacuum pumps discharge though, it can make quite a flame thrower if your using an old compressor.
---BASIC PARTS LIST---
-----------------------------
* = Required part of Phase Change System
---Compressor *: Two types for single stages, RECIROCATING and ROTARY. Reciprocating compressors are normally shorter, they are more often seen in single stages because of that short-ness. They are also normally not as powerful. Rotary compressor's are tall and pull a deeper vacuum then most reciprocating, this makes them ideal for cases when multiple evaporators or just a lower boiling point is wanted.
---Desuperheater coil: In its most basic form its a length of tubing wound into a coil to help remove heat from the compressed gas before it hits the condenser. It also helps dampen vibration.
---Condenser *: This item looks like a radiator and almost acts like one. The condenser normally has a fan that blows across it. This lowers the temperature of the compressed gas and allows it to condense into a liquid. Make sure your condenser is flowing downward to make sure compressed liquid does not well up.
---Filter/Drier *: In a single stage this is required. All it does is filter the gas and remove moisture, but don't just crack these open and install them later. Since they absorb moisture leaving them open will ruin them.
---Capillary line */*: The capillary line limits the flow of liquid refrigerant to the evaporator. A shorter length will allow more refrigerant into the evaporator and a longer length will allow less. This can be replaced with other forms of metering like the CPEV.
---Evaporator *: Some call it the head, others call it the "Place you dont want to lick". This is where the compressed liquid refrigerant evaporates and removes heat from the surrounding. If you want to know why this works, take a Chemistry class and ask about potential energy during a phase change from liquid to gas. Don't ask me, I don't have the time to explain it.
---Flex line */*: This is the bendy hose that people see that allows us to swivel our evaporator heads around, its also the suction line.
---Accumulator: Liquid refrigerant that makes it back to the compressor can damage it overtime, the accumulator catches all the refrigerant off the suction line and forces all liquid to evaporate before it can enter the compressor. These are normally found on rotary compressors.
---Heat Exchanger, HX, SLHX: A heat exchanger in a cascade is where the magic occurs. Your first stages refrigerant boils off here and condenses the 2nd stages. The SLHX is a suction line heat exchanger and is basically just an extra way to help condension.
A friend told me of a guy who accidentally put it on the wrong way and then went to sleep leaving his comp on all night. You can guess what he found when he woke up 
