Non-Condensables In Refrigeration System

[Saturatedpsi]

Got a debate going on with some HVAC supertechs...One contends a sufficient quantity of non-condensables in a refrigeration system (vapor compression & med/hi temp application) will circulate "around" the system. He's saying with the "sufficient quantity", the liquid seal will be lost at the condenser outlet. He's also qualified the operating conditions of the system as having high subcooling, which I'll translate as more than 10°.

So, if you start out with a system that would normally run 10° subcooling, then add some non-condensables (sufficient or otherwise), that eventually find their way to the condenser, how can they exit the condenser or affect the "liquid seal" created by the excess refrigerant, that provides the liquid seal in the first place? And assume the refrigerant hasn't reached "critical point" which I believe is a safe assumption for a beer cooler or residential A/C.

Thanks in advance for your time and thoughts.

 

[heatupgrade]

I have found large amounts of non-condensables in two different systems in my career. It is the worst of all variables because it is out of the norm and difficult to catch in the act. It works sometimes is the electrical equivalent of a short circuit. The air or nitrogen will stop all progress at the metering device and then start working properly again at an undetermined time. An old timer taught me to blow the charge at the high point until liquid comes out similar to burping a radiator. That worked very well with a minimal loss of refrigerant. In the other case, I recovered the refrigerant and burped the air from the reclaim cylinder. Both systems worked for many years afterwards. This is why we pull vacuums and install filter driers. Both practices are part of standard procedure for good reason.