Propane Refrigerator

A propane refrigerator is a type of cooling appliance that can be operated using an alternative fuel than regular electricity. Propane refrigerators – and propane freezers – are powered using a type of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) known as propane.

While many people are aware of the uses of this fuel in devices such as the propane heater and for propane cooking, few are familiar with using it for refrigeration also. In fact at first blush, the concept of using a burning flame to keep your food chilled or frozen seems rather counterintuitive!

The reason this is possible is thru the use of absorption refrigerator technology.  This technology takes the heat generated by burning propane – or sometimes kerosene – and uses is to power the cooling cycle of a propane refrigerator.

So how does this work exactly?  Without going into too much depth, the technology in propane absorption refrigerators or freezers relies on a closed loop of water, hydrogen and ammonia; it functions as outlined below.

A pressurized burner unit contains a mixture of water and liquid ammonia.  The heat from the flame in a propane refrigerator is used to boil this mixture, which then bubbles up into a second unit known as the separator. 

Within the separator the gaseous ammonia is split from the water, and then proceeds on to a condenser unit.  In the propane fridge freezers condenser, a series of heat-sinks are used to cool the ammonia gas – which then reverts to liquid form.  This liquid ammonia proceeds on to the evaporator unit.

In the propane refrigerators evaporator the liquid ammonia mixes with hydrogen gas. This causes the pressure of the liquid ammonia to drop, and it makes the transformation to a gas again. The evaporation of the ammonia liquid is a net cooling process and this cooling is what refrigerates or freezes the interior of the propane refrigerator or propane freezer.

After the evaporator the ammonia moves to the absorber unit where it is recombined with liquid water. It then returns back to the starting point – the boiler – to be heated again, and the cooling cycle repeats.

One attribute of a propane refrigerator is that their functioning is vitally dependent on the force of gravity. There are no moving parts in one of these appliances – which is great for reliability – but it does mean that a propane fridge must be kept perfectly level.

With no motors a propane refrigerator or propane freezer operates without the vibrations of a normal fridge freezer.  Not only this, but they also run very quietly.

A final item to remember about a propane refrigerator is that they generate a lot of leftover heat. When you think about how they function this is not at all surprising. Due to this heat propane refrigerators must have ample room left for circulation of air around the units in any installation. This is a requirement to allow for adequate heat dissipation.

Please visit my website for more information on selection of a propane refrigerator.