What Is a Condenser Coil?
Condenser coils work closely with evaporating coils to complete the heat exchange process and cool all kinds of spaces. They’re generally found within condensers in air conditioning units located outside most buildings. Condensers consist of an outer metal shell surrounding various tubes containing finned aluminum condensing coils. These coils play a critical role in managing cooling requirements to release more heat into the environment to create a comfortable and cool internal environment.
After absorbing heat, the evaporator coils transport the refrigerant into the condensing unit, where it is converted into a hot, high-pressure gas. This gas then moves throughout condensing coils cooled by overhead fans to expel most of the heat collected. As the condenser coils decrease the temperature, the gas converts into a hot liquid before moving through copper tubes back into the indoor unit to repeat the cycle.
Types of Condenser Coils
Condenser coils are crucial components of any HVAC system. These tools come in various shapes and sizes, offering differing surface areas and efficiency capabilities to disperse heat at a rate that supports the demands of specific applications and environments.
Coils are also created in unique designs to optimize their performance. These configurations include:
- Traditional plate fin coil: This coil type uses tubes inserted through rows of metallic fins, typically made of copper, aluminum, carbon or stainless steel. It uses more fins positioned close together to increase overall productivity.
- Spine fin coil: Spine fin coils use thousands of leading edges from the central tube. This placement results in greater heat-exchanging capabilities and reliable performance.
- Microchannel coil: You can identify a microchannel coil by its flat tubes with coils resembling waves. This type provides more surface contact between metal and refrigerant to optimize efficiency.
Construction of a Condenser
Hydrophilic coated aluminum being pulled from roll.
At the inception of this process, we first need to pull the hydrophilic-coated aluminum sheet off the roll and run it through our press, where the fin stock can be formed, punched and cut to length. (See video 1).
Punched Fin stock gets stacked onto racks.
Since different size coils require different fin stock lengths and also accept different size copper tubing, we make sure to stack all the same finished fin stock together, avoiding any confusion later in this process. The majority of the fin stock we use is 0.006″ thick, which is 20-40% thicker than our commercial competitors. We also use non-lanced fins as opposed to lanced fins, which can be a magnet for dust and debris. What this means for our customers is a longer operational life and a more durable product.
Tubing travels down machine prior to being bent.
Next, the copper tubing (where the refrigerant travels) needs to be bent and cut to the length needed for each coil. (See video 2). Much like the fin stock, the tubing travels through a machine that bends it as needed and then cuts it to a specified length. Bending the copper where possible, instead of brazing the pieces together, helps to reduce the number of possible leak points.
Completed condenser coils
At this point, the coil pieces are assembled into the coil casing. At Smartech and Smart Family, we use a full casing as well as intermediate tubesheets. This increases the rigidity of the coil and reduces flexing. The tubing that was previously bent and cut is slid into the holes of the fin stock and the open ends are brazed together with elbow bends (joining the tubes together to form a full refrigerant circuit). Once fully assembled, you have a complete refrigerant coil, whether for evaporator, condenser, or cooling duty.
Partner With Smart Family for High-Quality Cooling Products
If you’re in the market for high-quality air conditioning unit condensers or chillers, you can count on Smart Family of Cooling Products to deliver what you require. Our team manufactures superior refrigeration and cooling products to ensure you have the tools to meet your home’s or facility’s demands. We also work with 96 dealers nationwide to provide emergency repairs and routine maintenance to minimize downtime and keep your operations on track.
Find out more about our chillers by contacting our service team or request a chiller quote to get started today.
Condenser Fin Manufacture (Video 1)
Coil Assembly (Video 2)
