Dave's
Dictionary of
Appliance Terms
The 'H' page
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Heat
exchanger
– We have in mind here the suction/capillary line assembly that carries
refrigerant to/from a refrigeration system’s evaporator coil. Running
these two tubes in close contact with each other (usually soldered
together) increases efficiency.
Heated
dry
– As opposed to ‘air fluff’, we’re talking clothes dryers here.
Heating
element
– the electric resistance units used to provide the heating in range
surface units, bake and broil elements, dryer elements, coffeemakers,
waffle irons, hair dryers, etc.
High
limit thermostat
– A safety device that ‘backs up’ the control thermostat in dryers.
Often used in built in ovens as well, to ensure that temperatures inside a
kitchen cabinet stay within safe limits.
High
side
– The condenser, drier-filter, and capillary line in refrigerant
systems. ‘High’ refers to the pressure inside this portion of the
system, and the compressor is commonly included in this definition. The
‘low side’ (which see) refers to the low pressure ‘half’ of a
system.
Horizontal
axis
– This describes a ‘frontload’ clothes washer with a drum, or
basket, that spins around a, well, horizontal axis. There's also a fairly
new kid on the block: a top load/horizontal axis washer, made by
Staber
Corp.
Hose
washer
– The rubber washer in the end of a washer fill hose, that is compressed
against the faucet rim, and prevents water leakage from that area.
Identical to those used in garden hoses.
Hot
tube
– Another word for the ‘Yoder Loop’ used in refrigerators, this is
just a pass of the condenser tubing (runs very warm) that is routed
through a cabinet, usually around the front edge, to prevent condensation
from forming in this area. Uses no electricity to accomplish this, unlike
previous designs that used electric heaters for the same job.
Humidistat
– Similar to a thermostat, except this switch cycles based on humidity
rather than temperature. Used in humidifiers and dehumidifiers, of course,
to turn them on/off.
HV
(high voltage) Capacitor
– A microwave oven component used in the voltage doubling circuit of the
high voltage section that fires the magnetron. A common rating is 1uf @
2500 volts.
HV
diode (rectifier)
– Another device used in a microwave oven’s voltage doubler to
efficiently provide sufficient voltage ‘step-up’ to the magetron.
HV
transformer
– Providing most of the weight of a microwave oven, this big
transformer raises 120 volts AC to 1000 volts or more before
sending it on to the doubler, which, well, doubles it! Don’t play with
one of these if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Hydrator
cover
– Also called the ‘crisper cover’, this is just that bottom shelf
– was made of heavy glass for years, but is usually plastic these days
– that covers the veggie drawers. Most also have the drawer tracks
molded into them.
Hydrator
(Crisper)
– A drawer or compartment, usually located in the bottom of a
refrigerator (coldest spot), that is maintained to higher humidity than
the rest of the interior. Its job is to help keep fruit and veggies fresh
for as long as possible.
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