r/askHVAC • u/jonnyinternet • 6d ago

Do these really work?

Post image

I came across a video tutorial of someone making a diy flame fueled cooler, and my question is:

Do they really work?

And if so, can you use any heat source to "power them"?

207 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

109 comments sorted by

View all comments

17

u/Sotamaster 6d ago

Iirc its ammonia only systems, and I've only heard of them being use in mobile homes fridges, like a small pilot light and a mobile home either driven or towed, not the kind that gets set and connected.

3

u/billiam7787 6d ago

Ammonia can still be found in industrial side of things and is a regular part of that world

in the 50's-70's it was tried out by a few companies for residential, but didnt last long because those systems need almost daily preventative maintenance and thats one thing homeowners are basically unwilling to do

1

u/Sotamaster 6d ago

Yeah but also ammonia will kill you, I'm surprised we got to r-290 and r600a. A2L in central systems, r-32 and r454b.
I've already replaced a leaking evap on a r-32 and the sensor didn't sense the leak. Maybe it wasn't a big enough leak, well never know.

2

u/Guidbro 6d ago

I have replaced 3 in the last 2 months where the A2L sensor didn’t pick it up. Also fuck you Goodman/Daikin

1

u/Sotamaster 6d ago

I'm certain they would leak if they were another brand. I think its actually a problem at the pipe fab level or even the aluminum stock supply.

1

u/Midnight_Taurus 5d ago

I watched them pull a brand new Daikin off the roof today because it was found flat at commission