What a refrigeration system really accomplishes is the transfer of heat. A refrigeration system removes the excess heat from a refrigerated area and then transfers it to a condenser where it is dissipated. As heat is removed, the refrigerated area cools.

In vending machines, large quantities of the heat must be transferred rapidly, economically and efficiently. This process must be able to withstand continuous repetition, without loss of refrigerant, over an extended period. The most common system used in the vending industry is the vapor compression (or simple compression) cycle system. It consists of four basic elements: An evaporator, a compressor, a condenser, and a pressure-reducing device (all part of a sealed system).

The compression system operates at two pressure levels: The low evaporating pressure and the high condensing pressure. The refrigerant acts as the transport medium, in which heat is moved from the evaporator to the condenser; at the condenser, the heat is dissipated into the surrounding air.

The liquid refrigerant changes from a liquid to a vapor and back to a liquid again. This change of state allows the refrigerant to absorb, and rapidly discharge, large quantities of heat efficiently.

BASIC VAPOR COMPRESSION SYSTEM CYCLE:

In the evaporator, the liquid refrigerant vaporizes. This change occurs at a temperature low enough to absorb heat from the refrigerated space. The temperature of vaporization is controlled by the pressure maintained in the evaporator (the higher the pressure, the higher the vaporization point).

The compressor pumps the vapor from the evaporator, through the suction line, and to the condenser. The compressor takes the low pressure vapor and compresses it, increasing both the pressure and the temperature. The compressor pumps the vapor at a rate rapid enough to maintain the ideal pressure. The hot, high pressure vapor is forced out of the compressor, into the discharge line and then into the condenser.

Air is blown through the condenser, allowing heat to transfer from the condenser and into the passing air. As the heat is removed, the stored refrigerant is condensed into a liquid. The liquid refrigerant is stored in the lower tube of the condenser. This is where it flows through the capillary tube back into the evaporator, where the refrigeration cycle is repeated.