Automotive Air Conditioning Information Forum (Archives)

Provided by www.ACkits.com

We've updated our forums!
Click here to visit the new forum

Archive Home

Search Auto AC Forum Archives

Two condensers now on! (which way in/out?)

COSWORTHKEITH on Wed May 02, 2007 2:07 PM User is offline

Year: 2000
Make: FORD
Model: ESCORT COSWORTH
Engine Size: 2000
Refrigerant Type: 134A

I got advice from this forum last year regarding the removal of one large condenser & installing two custom made 14 X 9 condensers instead to make space for a larger intercooler for engine modification purposes.
The condensers are working fine there is slightly less gas in & greater pressure than the stock condenser but all works ok.
They are connected in parallel using "T" connectors.
I noticed recently the two condensers are connected with input going into the top of one while going into the bottom of the other and the same with the output top of one, bottom of other.
I asked my ac specialist who connected them this way & he said it dose not matter!?
Should the input gas go in the top & the output (Liquid?) come out the bottom of each condenser?

HECAT on Wed May 02, 2007 3:04 PM User is offline

Condensing will occur as long as heat is being removed. I have seen applications where they lay flat.

However, if they both sit in a stock type position, I would agree with your analysis that they should both have the hot gas entering at the top. The most efficient flow path is top to bottom where the heavier condensing liquid is falling.

Could the back pressure created by the gas having to push the heavier liquid up and out of the condenser, be causing slightly higher pressures?

-------------------------



HECAT: www.hecatinc.com You support the Forum when you consider www.ackits.com for your a/c parts.

FLUSHING TECHNICAL PAPER vs2.pdf 

mk378 on Wed May 02, 2007 5:03 PM User is offline

It doesn't matter...much. It's like a hurricane in there. Gravity is a relatively minor concern compared to the other forces involved.

You do want to encourage liquid to exit the condenser as soon as it's condensed because it is just in the way after that. So ideally it would be in on top, out on bottom for both of them. But as long as it is cool inside the car, don't worry about it.

GM Tech on Thu May 03, 2007 7:53 AM User is offline

I once saw a '92 Camaro that came out of a body shop- had the condenser mounted upsidedown and backwards!! That car would not cool until you overcharged it by about a pound and a half- and then it was not good!! The condenser had to be full of liquid before liquid was forced out the top--- The body shop guy told me-- it don't matter-- "all it is , is an a/c radiator---" once installed properly all cooling came back fine with the right amount of charge. I asked him if he wondered why there was paint on one side of the condenser and not the other-- he said- heck- this is a body shop- we painted it---they forgot to paint both sides at the factory!!!

-------------------------
The number one A/C diagnostic tool there is- is to know how much refrigerant is in the system- this can only be done by recovering and weighing the refrigerant!!
Just a thought.... 65% of A/C failures in my 3200 car diagnostic database (GM vehicles) are due to loss of refrigerant due to a leak......

COSWORTHKEITH on Thu May 03, 2007 8:12 AM User is offline

My ac specialist said there is so much turbulance in there it dosent matter.
It appears to be my fault as I had one condenser made & tried it on its own (14 x 9 x 2 cores) but the pressures were too high (290psi) on a hot day (28c) I ordered another custom made condenser as a mirror image of the first which means the connectors are wrong way round! - well you live & learn...
I did have the oportunity to buy Porsche parrallel flow condensers which would of fitted but the input & output connectors would have to be on the bottom (I would need to mount it on its side) but didn't take this option because of the gas in the top liquid out the bottom issue, now I am told it dosent matter.. well you live & learn!

JJM on Thu May 03, 2007 10:47 AM User is offline

Two condensers hooked up in paralell using "T" connectors?

In my opinion, the best way to hook up two condensers is in series, top to to bottom:

- Compressor discharge to top of condenser #1 closest to the engine;
- Bottom of condenser #1 to top of condenser #2 closest to front grille;
- Bottom of condenser #2 to receiver or liquid line.

A "T" connector on the discharge side might make for erratic distribution of the hot gas due to the differing temperatures of the two condensers. That hot gas should be "forced" to flow through the intended path, and the above method assures consistent maximum heat removal.

Joe

COSWORTHKEITH on Thu May 03, 2007 12:41 PM User is offline

Thanks for the reply, I was unsure which way to connect them (series or parallel) when I looked at the original large condenser (tube & fin) the input pipe immediately split into two then serpentine through the fins (in parallel) then joined back together just before the output. It was for that reason I opted for the parallel arrangement. My ac specialist who connected them up said when i just had one small condenser on its own that the compressor was too big?

Back to Automotive Air Conditioning Forum

We've updated our forums!
Click here to visit the new forum

Archive Home

Copyright © 2016 Arizona Mobile Air Inc.