A discussion of the cycle of the refrigerant inside the system could easily take weeks or even months for you to have a comprehensive understanding of it.
BUT! Don't panic. We are going to take a very brief look at it and hope it is enough for you to control the refrigerant charging (placing of refrigerant into the system) and possibly even diagnosis of problems. I will attempt to make it easy for you. Remember that we are not wanting to be technically correct or make you an expert at this point.
Everything contains HEAT:
You must understand that we are dealing with heat, the heat that is contained in everything--air, water, Freon®*(refrigerant), concrete, etc. It is stated in technical circles as fact that ice is not cold but rather it contains less heat than our body does, so we call it cold. Technical thought states that it is holding less heat than our body is holding. So if you can see heat in things in this way you can better understand a measurable difference they have. There may be 68°F. difference between the heat of our body temperature (98.6°F) and the amount of ice (32°F). If you place some small piece of frozen "thingy" that is 200°F below zero in a vat of ice, then the ice is HOT to the "thingy" and it will quickly absorb some of the heat from the ice and it will "thaw". I hope you understand the importance of all this as we later explore the amount of heat in a refrigerant even though it is at a temperature of 45°F. It couldn't absorb much heat from 65°F air passing over it, but it could absorb a lot more if the air blown over it is 90°F. Refrigerant TEMPERATURE and PRESSURE vary directly:
This means that if you keep a can of refrigerant-22 sealed and the temperature of the air around it is 95°F., then the pressure inside is going to be 184 pounds. At 40°F it is only 69 pounds. As you warm it, the pressure increases and as you cool it the pressure decreases (if it remains sealed in a container). Also, if you pump it up in pressure then the temperature of the refrigerant will also increase. Look at the charts showing this pressure/temperature relationship.
by Ron Walker
Everything contains HEAT:
You must understand that we are dealing with heat, the heat that is contained in everything--air, water, Freon®*(refrigerant), concrete, etc. It is stated in technical circles as fact that ice is not cold but rather it contains less heat than our body does, so we call it cold. Technical thought states that it is holding less heat than our body is holding. So if you can see heat in things in this way you can better understand a measurable difference they have. There may be 68°F. difference between the heat of our body temperature (98.6°F) and the amount of ice (32°F). If you place some small piece of frozen "thingy" that is 200°F below zero in a vat of ice, then the ice is HOT to the "thingy" and it will quickly absorb some of the heat from the ice and it will "thaw". I hope you understand the importance of all this as we later explore the amount of heat in a refrigerant even though it is at a temperature of 45°F. It couldn't absorb much heat from 65°F air passing over it, but it could absorb a lot more if the air blown over it is 90°F. Refrigerant TEMPERATURE and PRESSURE vary directly:
This means that if you keep a can of refrigerant-22 sealed and the temperature of the air around it is 95°F., then the pressure inside is going to be 184 pounds. At 40°F it is only 69 pounds. As you warm it, the pressure increases and as you cool it the pressure decreases (if it remains sealed in a container). Also, if you pump it up in pressure then the temperature of the refrigerant will also increase. Look at the charts showing this pressure/temperature relationship.
by Ron Walker