likely to kill you outright.  This isn't household ammonia solution,
it's anhydrous vapor.  Very nasty...

My father-in-law has largely monocular vision due to an NH3 incident
some years ago.  It's corrosive and poisonous, and has no place in a
mobile environment.  It eats copper, and is used with a 100% steel
plumbing system, I doubt any modern aluminum evaporator or condensor
could be used.   I don't know if there are any flexible hoses that
can take it.  I'm not sure which (if any) lubricants are compatible
with it, so you'd need a York-style compressor not one of the modern
radial/axial types.  I suppose with a frame-mounted ancient compressor
and a sufficiently flexible belt-drive system, and custom all-steel
lines, fittings, and finned devices you could do it.  But then I'd be
worried about metal fatigue.

The amount of NH3 in the RV absorbtion refrigerator is actually pretty
small.  They are also stunningly ineffective (though I can't speak for
the efficiency) in that the heat-transfer capacity is very small.  They
can take hours to cool down to operating temperature.  That cycle is
useless for comfort uses, you'd need the heat pump type of cycle, and
that takes a lot more working fluid.

Old (pre-war) refrigeration books make interesting reading.  The advent
of Freon (et al.) totally killed the market for ammonia, hydrogen
sulfide, and carbon tet consumer goods!

-- Jim


Reply via email to