Quick answer. Settle charge, recovery and qualification before choosing any trainer. Every RAC unit holds a refrigerant charge, and refrigerants are now heavily regulated. Ask which refrigerant each unit uses and confirm you can still buy it locally, because a trainer you cannot recharge is finished at its first leak. Budget for a recovery machine, recovery cylinders, a vacuum pump and gauges rated for that refrigerant, since venting is unlawful in most places. Decide who in your institution may handle refrigerant. And if the charge is flammable, tell us the room size, because the permitted charge depends on it.
About fifty units, coded RAC-0001 onwards - the largest refrigeration teaching range in this catalogue. It covers refrigeration and air conditioning trainers in several sizes, a window air conditioner model, an ice plant trainer, water and desert coolers, a water cooling tower, heat pumps in mechanical, air-to-water, thermo-electric and vapour-jet forms, reverse cycle units, commercial and hermetic system trainers, an absorption cycle refrigerator, a vortex tube refrigerator, water chillers, a laboratory cooling plant with ice store, refrigeration cycle demonstration units, single and two-stage air compressor test units, computer-based refrigeration training, and accessories such as a refrigerant flowmeter, a variable speed fan, a removable capillary tube and a precision thermometer.
Two notes on our catalogue data before you order. Several records in this listing carry the same product name distinguished only by a trailing digit, and five records describe a refrigeration cycle demonstration unit. They are not identical products; the names were damaged when the catalogue was imported, and three records also misspell the word refrigeration. One record is listed as "Ten Electrical Faults", which is a fault-insertion option rather than a product in its own right. Ask for the specification of each record you are considering and have the unit, its refrigerant and its capacity confirmed on the proforma invoice.
Every unit in this listing contains a refrigerant charge, and refrigerants are now among the most heavily regulated substances a teaching laboratory will own. Three questions decide whether a trainer can lawfully and practically be used where you are - and they should be answered before an order is placed, not after a shipment arrives.
| Question | Why it decides the purchase |
|---|---|
| Charge: which refrigerant is it charged with, and is that refrigerant still purchasable where you are? | Ozone-depleting refrigerants are being withdrawn under the Montreal Protocol and high global-warming refrigerants are being phased down under its Kigali Amendment, on timetables that differ by country. A trainer charged with a refrigerant you cannot buy locally cannot be recharged for the whole of its working life, whatever it costs today |
| Recover: how will the charge be removed when the system is opened? | Recovery rather than venting is a legal requirement in most jurisdictions. That means a recovery machine, recovery cylinders, a vacuum pump and a gauge set rated for the refrigerant in question. A trainer without them cannot be serviced lawfully, and servicing is half of what it is for |
| Qualify: who in your institution may handle refrigerant? | Many countries require a certificated person for refrigerant handling. Settle who that is, and settle what students may and may not do under supervision |
There is a further question that has arrived with the newer refrigerants and that catches teaching laboratories in particular. The replacements for high global-warming refrigerants include mildly flammable and flammable fluids - and hydrocarbon refrigerants are genuinely flammable. Where a flammable refrigerant is used, the permitted charge depends on the size of the room it is in, because the limit exists to keep a full-charge leak below the lower flammable limit in that volume. A small trainer charged with a hydrocarbon may be entirely safe in a workshop and outside the permitted charge for a small classroom. So tell us the room and we will tell you what the charge implies, and ask whether the unit, its gauges and its leak detector are rated for flammable refrigerants - equipment for one refrigerant class is not safe on another.
Never pressure-test with oxygen or compressed air. Use dry nitrogen. A refrigeration system contains oil, and oil in contact with high-pressure oxygen can ignite violently; compressed air carries moisture that contaminates the system and, if the air is oil-contaminated, the same risk. Nitrogen through a regulator with a relief valve is the only acceptable way to pressure-test, and that regulator and cylinder should be quoted with the trainers.
A sealed system is a pressure vessel. Heating a closed section, overcharging, or blocking a discharge raises pressure fast. Ask what relief or pressure-limiting device each unit has and at what setting; ask whether the high-pressure cut-out is accessible for teaching and whether it latches. And never apply a flame to a sealed cylinder or a charged component.
Brazing is hot work. If the exercises involve brazing joints, that needs its own area, ventilation, a fire watch and a nitrogen purge through the joint rather than air - brazing a system with air inside forms oxide scale that later blocks the metering device. Ask whether brazing is part of the intended exercises and what equipment is supplied for it.
Cycle demonstration and visual units exist to make the invisible visible: pressures and temperatures at the four corners of the cycle, superheat and subcooling, and the effect of a restricted metering device. Ask what is instrumented and whether the readings can be logged, because a cycle unit with two gauges teaches far less than one with pressures and temperatures at every state point. A unit that can be plotted on a pressure-enthalpy chart is the one that teaches thermodynamics rather than plumbing.
Heat pumps - mechanical, air-to-water, reverse cycle - teach the same cycle used the other way round, and they are the most employable subject in this range as heating systems change. Ask whether the unit measures the coefficient of performance and what it needs to do so.
The alternatives to vapour compression are the most interesting teaching objects here and the least understood. The absorption cycle refrigerator has no compressor and runs on heat - ask which working pair it uses, because an ammonia-water unit brings ammonia, which is toxic and has its own handling rules, while a lithium bromide unit does not. The thermo-electric heat pump has no moving parts and no refrigerant at all, which makes it the safest unit in the range and a good classroom demonstration. The vortex tube refrigerator runs on compressed air alone - ask what air flow and pressure it needs, because it is thirsty and a small compressor will not sustain it. The vapour jet refrigerator shows ejector refrigeration, which is appearing again in industrial waste-heat applications.
The applied units - ice plant, water cooler, desert cooler, water chiller, commercial and hermetic systems, cooling tower - are the ones that match a service trade syllabus, because they are the equipment a technician will actually be called to. For the ice plant ask the cycle time and the ice capacity; for the cooling tower ask what water supply and drain it needs and whether it may be used indoors, since a cooling tower puts a great deal of moisture into a room; for the hermetic unit ask how the compressor is accessed, because learning to service a hermetic system is a different skill from servicing an open one.
The compressor test units are thermodynamics rather than refrigeration: volumetric efficiency, isothermal efficiency and the benefit of two-stage compression with intercooling. Ask what instrumentation is fitted and whether the receiver is a certified pressure vessel with a relief valve, since an air receiver is a statutory item in many countries. Related apparatus is listed in machines and the heat transfer lab range.
Settle before delivery: electrical supply and whether any unit is three phase; water supply and drain for the chillers, cooling tower and water-cooled condensers; ventilation, which matters more here than in most laboratories because a refrigerant leak displaces air at floor level and a flammable refrigerant needs the charge-to-volume calculation above; floor space and access, since several of these are floor-standing units on castors; and noise, because compressors are not quiet.
Then the arithmetic that decides the quotation. One trainer serves one group; a fault-finding exercise occupies a group for most of a session; and refrigeration exercises are slow because the system has to settle after every change. Count the groups in one practical session, allow for settling time, and buy that many of the core units rather than one of everything.
Refrigerant type and charge quantity for every unit, and whether it is flammable; whether gauges, recovery equipment, vacuum pump and leak detector are included and rated for that refrigerant; cooling capacity and operating pressures; what is instrumented, with accuracies, and whether readings can be logged; fault-insertion arrangement and instructor fault key; relief and cut-out devices with settings; for air compressors, receiver certification and relief valve; services required - power, phases, water, drain, ventilation; mass, footprint, castors and access; consumables and spares with prices, which here means refrigerant, oil, filter driers, capillary tubes, gaskets and belts; the exercise list each unit is designed to deliver, to compare against your syllabus; and the warranty, commissioning and local service position. For any certification stated here, contact us for the latest copies of the relevant certificates before you tender on it.
Related ranges: the consumer electronics workshop range for a domestic split air conditioner trainer, automobile testing machines and the automobile workshop range for vehicle air conditioning, machines for compressors and thermodynamics, heat transfer lab apparatus, and process control and instrumentation for the control side. The full set is listed under engineering apparatus. For a quotation, tell us the destination country, the room the equipment will stand in, the refrigerants your market still allows, the syllabus you teach and the class size in one session.
One you can still buy where you are, for the whole working life of the unit. Ozone-depleting refrigerants are being withdrawn and high global-warming refrigerants are being phased down, on timetables that differ by country, and a trainer charged with a refrigerant you cannot buy locally cannot be recharged however good it is. When you ask for a quotation, tell us which refrigerants your market still allows, and ask for the refrigerant type and charge quantity of every unit, whether it is flammable, and which consumables such as oil, filter driers and capillary tubes go with it.
Possibly, depending on the room. The replacements for high global-warming refrigerants include mildly flammable and flammable fluids, and hydrocarbons are genuinely flammable. The permitted charge depends on the size of the room, because the limit exists to keep a full-charge leak below the lower flammable limit in that volume. A small hydrocarbon trainer may be entirely safe in a workshop and outside the permitted charge for a small classroom. Tell us the room, and ask whether the unit, its gauges and its leak detector are rated for flammable refrigerants, since equipment for one class is not safe on another.
Recovery rather than venting is a legal requirement in most jurisdictions, so the charge must be removed with a recovery machine, recovery cylinders, a vacuum pump and a gauge set rated for that refrigerant. Without them a trainer cannot be serviced lawfully, and servicing is half of what it is for. Many countries also require refrigerant handlers to hold a recognised qualification, so settle who that is in your institution and what students may do under supervision. Pressure testing needs dry nitrogen through a regulator with a relief valve, and that regulator and cylinder should be quoted with the trainers.
Three. Never pressure-test with oxygen or compressed air: a system contains oil, which can ignite violently with high-pressure oxygen, and compressed air brings in moisture. Treat a sealed system as a pressure vessel: heating a closed section, overcharging or blocking a discharge raises pressure fast, so ask what relief or cut-out each unit has, at what setting, and whether the high-pressure cut-out latches; never put a flame to a charged component. And treat brazing as hot work, with its own area, ventilation, a fire watch and a nitrogen purge, because air inside forms scale that later blocks the metering device.
Cycle units make the invisible visible: pressures and temperatures at the four corners of the cycle, superheat and subcooling, and the effect of a restricted metering device. A unit with two gauges teaches far less than one with pressures and temperatures at every state point, and a unit whose readings can be plotted on a pressure-enthalpy chart teaches thermodynamics rather than plumbing, so ask what is instrumented and whether readings can be logged. Heat pumps, whether mechanical, air-to-water or reverse cycle, run the same cycle the other way round and are the most employable subject here. Ask whether the coefficient of performance is measured.
They are the most interesting teaching objects here and the least understood. The absorption refrigerator has no compressor and runs on heat; ask which working pair it uses, because an ammonia-water unit brings toxic ammonia with its own handling rules, while a lithium bromide unit does not. The thermo-electric heat pump has no moving parts and no refrigerant, which makes it the safest unit in the range. The vortex tube runs on compressed air alone and is thirsty, so ask the air flow and pressure it needs. The vapour jet unit shows ejector refrigeration, now reappearing in industrial waste-heat use.
Ray Export is a manufacturer and exporter of laboratory, scientific and educational equipment based at Plot No. 449, HSIIDC Industrial Area, Saha, Ambala, Haryana 133104, India. Enquiries: [email protected], +91-9817319615.
Written by Palak Mall, Senior Content Writer. Technically reviewed by Arvind Kumar, Lab Equipment Specialist, 12+ years in laboratory and testing instrumentation. Last updated: 17 October 2026.
Specifications for the RAC units, including refrigerant type and charge, cooling capacity, operating pressures, relief and cut-out settings and instrumentation, are confirmed in writing on the quotation and on the proforma invoice. For air receiver, pressure equipment or other documents, contact us for the latest copies of the relevant certificates. No price is quoted on this page. Listing note: several records share one product name distinguished only by a trailing digit, five records describe a refrigeration cycle demonstration unit, three records misspell refrigeration, and one record named Ten Electrical Faults is a fault-insertion option rather than a product.
Refrigiration Trainer, technical teaching equipment for engineering
Refrigiration Trainer , technical teaching equipment for engineering
Air Conditioning Trainer, technical teaching equipment for engineering
Air Conditioning Trainer, technical teaching equipment for engineering
Air Conditioning Trainer, technical teaching equipment for engineering
Air Conditioning Trainer, technical teaching equipment for engineering
Window Air Conditioning Model, technical teaching equipment for engineering
Ice Plant Trainer - (4 hours cycle), technical teaching equipment for engineering
Water Cooler Trainer, technical teaching equipment for engineering
Desert Cooler Trainer, technical teaching equipment for engineering
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