This paper presents analysis of location of refrigerant inventory and theoretical results of charge reduction in a typical bottle cooler. The original unit was first characterized by determining its capacity, the coefficient of performance (COP), pull-down characteristics and total charge using non-destructive instrumentation. After that the unit was instrumented by insertion of valves to separate main components and allow measurements of the charge in each of them, as well as pressure transducers, mass flow meter and thermocouples. Condenser is found to be the component that retains the most charge. The system was modelled using Engineering Equation Solver (EES) for calculation of performance and charge. Models are fully validated using steady state experimental results. Discussion of the results and direction for the charge reduction is provided.
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