By Bryan Orr
Let’s go with dictionary definitions of each one first:
pump
(noun)
1. A mechanical device using suction or pressure to raise or move liquids, compress gases, or force air into inflatable objects such as tyres.
Compressor
(noun)
1. an instrument or device for compressing something.
Both compressors and pumps move fluids and a fluid
1. Yields or moves from higher pressure to lower-pressure areas
2. Has no distinct shape and takes up the shape of its container
Both liquids and vapours are fluids but vapours (gaseous state) are compressible and liquids are effectively incompressible. This means that a compressor is technically a pump, but a pump is not a compressor.
In both a pump and a compressor, a pressure differential is created between the inlet and the outlet but in the case of a compressor there is a change of volume from inlet to outlet forcing the vapour molecules into a smaller area.
While you can ‘compress’ a vapour by forcing it into a smaller container you cannot do this with a liquid without extreme pressures. This is why we must work so hard to ensure that liquid refrigerant stays out of a compressor because it will destroy it when the compressor attempts to compress it, that is unless the compressor is equipped with some method of providing clearance when liquid is introduced into the head.
In practice, most of the ‘vapour pumps’ in our industry are compressors and liquid pumps are just pumps or circulators but do not compress.
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