If water treatment is not maintained for a refrigerant system, what is the most likely result?

• A. Decrease in condenser pressure
• B. No change in condenser pressure
• C. Increase in the condenser pressure
• D. Fluctuations in evaporator pressure

Answer: (C)

Not maintaining water treatment in a refrigerant system lets minerals and other deposits form on the condenser’s heat transfer surfaces. This scale acts like an insulating layer, making it harder for the condenser to reject heat. As a result, the refrigerant must be condensed at a higher temperature, which raises the condenser (head) pressure. The other options don’t fit because the degraded heat transfer from scaling won’t cause a lower or unchanged condenser pressure, and evaporator pressure fluctuations aren’t the direct consequence of poor condenser water treatment. The most likely outcome is an increase in the condenser pressure.