Will Ammonia in RV Refrigerators Freeze?
Electric refrigerators are very common in homes, but in RV's, gas refrigerators are necessary and are called propane refrigerators. That's because RV gas refrigerators use compressed hydrogen gas and an ammonia-water solution. This is also why gas refrigerators in RV's are made entirely of steel. The ammonia utilized by the units attacks copper, brass, and bronze, which are the types of tubing generally found in electric units. This system utilized by RV refrigerators is known as ammonia absorption refrigeration.
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The Facts
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The ammonia in an RV refrigerator will not freeze for two main reasons. First, the temperature at which ammonia freezes is about -80 degrees. No common refrigerator, regular, RV, gas, or electric will reach temperatures that low. Secondly, the ammonia in the RV refrigerator does not remain ammonia for long. Not only is it blended with water in the unit, but it transforms into another chemical entirely when it meets the hydrogen gas in the unit's evaporator.
History
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The absorption cooling system was first discovered in 1824 by Micheal Faraday, who attempted to liquefy ammonia gas. His experiment consisted of capturing ammonia vapor in a glass tube already containing silver chloride. The ammonia absorbed the silver chloride powder. Faraday then heated the chloride -ammonia mixture and noticed that the ammonia liquid evaporated out of the silver chloride and become very cold. This experiment resulted in the birth of ammonia absorption cooling systems.
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Significance
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At the time of Faraday's invention, there were limited refrigeration options on the market. His design became the first popular refrigerator, which at that time was sold in major cities by the thousands for use in apartments, hotels, and other establishments. Since then, refrigeration has greatly advanced with electric refrigerators and solar refrigerators. That being said, many people still resort to propane absorption refrigeration systems for non-electric applications. The absorption ammonia refrigerators found in many RV's today still utilize the basic principles Faraday discovered in 1824, which is through the use of a mixture of anhydrous ammonia, distilled water, and hydrogen vapor.
Effects
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RV refrigerators will not always meet your needs when it comes to cooling and freezing because these types of refrigerators are not capable of the same kind of power your refrigerator at home has. Sometimes, you may not even be able to get your drinks cold because of the low voltage featured in these cooling systems.
Considerations
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RV refrigerators utilize an absorption principle of operation, which means if you plan to cool any food or drinks in high (outside) temperatures; pre-cool the food and park the RV somewhere where the refrigerator vent door will be in the shade. Once the inside of the refrigerator is cool, the refrigeration system should maintain that temperature.
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