The following is an overview of some of the basic components that comprise this system:

Compressor: The compressor is a belt-driven device that derives its name from compressing refrigerant gas and transferring it into the condenser. While basically acting as a simple pump, the compressor is the core of your vehicle’s air conditioning system. Condenser: The condenser’s primary function is to cool the refrigerant. It is a heat dissipating apparatus that radiates heat released by compressed gases and condenses them into high-pressure liquids. The location of your condenser depends on how new your car is, but typically it’s found at the front of the vehicle, directly in front of the engine-cooling radiator. Receiver (dryer): The receiver is a metal container that serves as a storage receptacle for the refrigerant. It’s also referred to as a dryer because it absorbs moisture from the refrigerant and filters out particles of debris and harmful acids that would otherwise harm your car’s air conditioning system. Commonly located on the liquid line of the AC system, you should change your drier every 3-4 years to insure quality filtration and prevent any damage caused by these detrimental chemicals. Orifice tube/expansion valve: The orifice tube (also known as the expansion valve) is a controlling mechanism that regulates the flow of refrigerant throughout the system. In addition to this, it also converts high-pressure liquid refrigerant (from the condenser) into a low-pressure liquid, so that it can enter the evaporator. Generally located at the evaporator inlet, the orifice tube could also be found between the condenser and the evaporator, or in the outlet of the condenser. Evaporator: The evaporator is designed to remove heat from the inside of your vehicle; therefore it’s a heat exchanger. This is vital to your car’s air conditioning system (not to mention your comfort). The evaporator allows the refrigerant to absorb heat, causing it to boil and change into a vapour. When this occurs, the vapour is removed from the evaporator by the compressor, cooling your car and reducing humidity. The evaporator houses the most refrigerant in this heat transfer process, and therefore it is the most susceptible to corrosion by harmful acids. Usually this damages the evaporator beyond repair, which is why it’s imperative you see us to prevent this from happening. A car’s clean interior not only looks great, it is also better for your health. Whether you are preparing your car for sale or simply want to keep it clean, below are a few tips on how to clean the interior of your car.

WANT TO KNOW EVEN MORE ABOUT YOUR CAR’S AIR CONDITIONING AND HOW IT WORKS?

Did you know that the strain on a motor vehicle’s engine while dealing with the different weather patterns we experience in Australia is something which can take a toll on your vehicle, month in and month out. Between the summer and the following year’s spring months, you can notice how your vehicle changes, and how the engine, transmission, tyres and brakes begin to shift in their performance throughout the seasons. With such a strain on your vehicle, you can be sure that providing a comfortable climate inside the car makes heating and air conditioning an important part of what we offer our valued customers. When the summer months get warmer, the heat that can build up inside the car pushes just about everyone to use their cooling and air conditioning system to take down the temperature inside their car. In order to ensure that you are able to handle a long distance drive, having air conditioning is the reason why we offer this service as a key part of what we do at The Red Devil Radiators and Air Conditioning Workshops. Your car’s air conditioning system is the basic home refrigerator in a much more compact design and a different layout. It is designed to move heat from one place to another, and bring in the colder air. Although this is a simpler layout of what you would use at home, it does not mean you will be capable of troubleshooting your own problems. With condensers, compressors, electrical wiring and other technical components in the system, it is dangerous to forget about the professional team at The Red Devil Radiators and Air Conditioning Workshops and what we can do. We can get your air conditioning system repaired, regassed and running quickly, and without worrying about any dangers. In addition to repairing your air conditioning systems in your car, our professional mechanics at The Red Devil Radiators and Air Conditioning Workshops can also test out systems to ensure they are running efficiently. When you complain about something you feel may not be working as well as it should, then we will take a look at it and make sure it is maintained and fixed before it completely breaks down. The last thing we want is for you to be stranded or stuck somewhere without cool AC, happening in the hottest of weather or without air conditioning when the sun is bearing down on you in the middle of the summer months. Most people don’t know that air conditioning does more than cool the air. It also dries and cleans the air as well. When the A/C is turned on, this system works in the same manner as the cooling system for your engine. That is, it removes heat from the passenger compartment and expels it to the atmosphere. The major difference being the medium that is used. Instead of coolant transferring the heat away, the A/C system uses refrigerant. Simply speaking, refrigerant is a liquid that has an extremely low boiling point. This matters because the lower the boiling point of any liquid, the easier it is for that liquid to remove heat. Think of water boiling on a stove. Its boiling point is 100C. This means that up to the 100 degree point, as the stove element is heating up, the water is taking that heat away. In essence, there is a balance of the temperature of the element to the water – until the element gets so hot that the water can’t take the heat away any longer. At that point, the water starts to bubble and boil like crazy, trying to keep up with the heat removal. Your car’s AC refrigerant works the same way, but the difference is that it doesn’t have to remove heat at the 100 degree level. Inside the A/C system in your car, the liquid is being pumped through a series of high-pressure hoses and, what appear to be forms of radiators. The first “radiator” that the refrigerant comes in contact with is in most instances located under your dashboard and it’s called the evaporator. As the name implies, it allows the liquid refrigerant to evaporate. This heat removal or evaporation or cooling or whatever you want to call it, is what cools the air entering the passenger compartment. The heat that is absorbed is given off to the atmosphere by the second “radiator”– the Condenser. This is located in front of your engine’s radiator, behind the grill. With this rapid cooling going on, the fins of the evaporator get extremely cold. Any air that passes by these fins on its way into the passenger compartment will also be cooled – so much so that any moisture (humidity) in that air will condense on the evaporator fins and stick to those fins. This removes the humidity or moisture from the incoming air. The air leaving the evaporator is now very dry. You may also experience drying eyes after long periods of A/C operation. This is because the air is now so dry in the cabin that it affects anything with moisture in or on it. As the moisture collects on the evaporator, dust and other contaminates stick to the water droplets that have formed on the fins. This has the added benefit of cleaning those particles out of the air. This system is so effective that most car manufacturers employ the A/C system any time the “Defrost” mode is selected on the dash. In defrost; the A/C system will dry the windscreen much faster than by using heat alone.