How to Charge a System (1944 style)

More News from 1944 the year Refrigeration Research began

Charging a system in 1944 was much like it is today. Most systems used either methyl chloride or R-12 and some low temperature systems used propane but, not for the reasons we are using it today.They also used service cylinders. The service cylinders were smaller reuseable, portable containers used to transfer the refrigerant from the large containers bought from the manufacturer.

The service cylinders were also used to store the refrigerant pumped out of the system during repairs. Consequently, the service cylinders often became contaminated with moisture, oil, dirt and scale. So, it became important to only charge the system with vapor not only to prevent liquid from entering the compressor but to maintain the purity of the refrigerant. By charging with vapor, the service person (known as the service man in those days) could be assured that he was putting in the pure distilled refrigerant into the system and leave behind any dirt, oil, sludge and moisture which may have accumulated in the service cylinder.

One piece of advice that remains current for today is to never heat a cylinder with a torch. Although it would seem that the torch would be more effective at heating the refrigerant, submersing the cylinder in a warm pan of water actually transfers more heat to the refrigerant faster and at the proper temperature.

Advice from 1944 remains current for today including this from an ad for the Mueller Brass Co. with regard to the way to still supply customers during a time of material and labor shortage, a condition many manufacturers face today.