User Guide
R-408A, R-409A, R-502 and R-507. R-717 (ammonia) capaci-
ties listed in Catalog R/S 717 are based on 86°F. For other 
liquid temperatures, apply the correction factor given in the 
tables for each refrigerant.
3.  Select  valve  from  the  capacity  tables  —  Select  a  valve 
based on the design evaporating temperature and the available 
pressure drop across the valve. If possible, the valve capacity 
should equal or slightly exceed the design rating of the system. 
Be sure to apply the appropriate liquid temperature and pres-
sure drop correction factors to the valve ratings shown in the 
tables. Once the desired valve capacity has been located, deter-
mine the nominal capacity of the valve from the second column 
of the tables. On multiple evaporator systems, select each valve 
on the basis of individual evaporator capacity.
4.  Determine  if  an  external  equalizer  is  required  —  The 
amount of pressure drop between the valve outlet and bulb 
location will determine if an external equalizer is required. 
Refer to the section, Equalization Method, on Page 5 for fur-
ther information on this subject.
5. Select  body  type —  Select the  body  type from  Table 10 
according  to  the  style  connections  desired.  For  complete 
specifications on each TEV type including nominal ratings, 
refer to Bulletin 10-10 for valve’s specifications.
6. Select the Sporlan Selective Thermostatic Charge — Select 
the charge according to the design evaporating temperature from 
the Table on Page 18. Refer to Pages 7 thru 9 for a complete dis-
cussion of the Sporlan Selective Thermostatic Charges available.
Selection Example
Refrigerant 22
Application: air conditioning
Design evaporator temperature ....................40°F
Design condenser temperature ..................105°F
Refrigerant liquid temperature .....................90°F
Design system capacity ..............................2 tons
Available pressure drop across TEV:
Condensing pressure (psig) .................. 211
Evaporating pressure (psig) .................... 69
                               ____
                               142
Liquid line and accessories loss (psi) ...... 7
 Distributor and tubes loss (psi) 1 ......... 35
                              ____
                               100
Refrigerant liquid correction factor ..............  1.06
Pressure losses in the liquid line result from friction and static 
pressure losses. Minimizing these pressure losses as much as 
possible is necessary for proper system design. Friction losses 
may be minimized by properly sizing the liquid line and liq-
uid line accessories such as a solenoid valve and filter-drier. 
Static  pressure  losses,  however,  are  solely  the  result  of  the 
weight of the vertical height of refrigerant liquid. As a result, 
static pressure losses can only be minimized by reducing the 
upward vertical height refrigerant liquid must travel. Table 8 
may be used to determine the static pressure loss of a liquid 
line. When the sum of the static pressure and friction losses 
are  known,  the  amount  of  subcooling  necessary  to  prevent 
vapor from forming in the liquid line can be determined. For 
example, if the sum of the static and friction losses is 14 psi 
for an R-22 system, and the condensing temperature is 100°F, 
the subcooling necessary is as follows:
saturation  pressure  of  R-22  at  100°F  condensing  =  196 
psig pressure at TEV inlet = 196 -14 = 182 psig
saturation temperature of R-22 liquid at 182 psig = 95°F 
subcooling required = 100 - 95 = 5°F
Refrigerant Liquid Temperature and Pressure Drop 
Across TEV
The refrigerant liquid temperature entering  the TEV and the 
pressure drop available across the TEV influence valve capac-
ity.  The  valve  capacity  ratings  displayed  in  Bulletin  10-10, 
are  based  on  100°F  vapor  free  liquid  entering  the  valve  for 
R-12, R-22, R-134a, R-401A, R-402A, R-404A, R-407A, R-407C, 
R-408A,  R-409A,  R-502,  and  R-507.  R-717  (ammonia)  valve 
capacity ratings  listed  in  Catalog  R/S  717  are based  on  86°F 
vapor free liquid entering the valve. Liquid correction factors for 
other liquid temperatures are included in Bulletin 10-10 along 
with the ratings tables for each of the refrigerants listed above. 
The  tables  also  provide  valve  capacities  for  typical  pressure 
drops across the TEV.
Thermostatic Charge
The pressure-temperature curves of the various Sporlan Selective 
Charges  have  different  characteristics.  The  same  amount  of 
superheat will not produce equal valve openings for each type of 
charge. The valve capacity ratings shown in this bulletin specify 
the thermostatic charges which they are based on.
SELECTION PROCEDURE
The  following  procedure  should  be  used  when  selecting  a 
Sporlan TEV:
1.  Determine  pressure  drop  across  valve  —  Subtract  the 
evaporating  pressure  from  the  condensing  pressure.  The 
condensing pressure used in this calculation should be the 
minimum  operating  condensing  pressure  of  the  system. 
From this value, subtract all other pressure losses to obtain 
the net pressure drop across the valve. Be sure to consider 
all  of  the  following  possible  sources  of  pressure  drop:  (1) 
friction  losses  through  refrigeration  lines  including  the 
evaporator  and  condenser;  (2)  pressure  drop  across  liquid 
line accessories such as a solenoid valve and filter drier; (3) 
static pressure  loss  (gain)  due  to the vertical  lift  (drop)  of 
the  liquid  line;  and  (4)  pressure  drop  across  a  refrigerant 
distributor if used. Table 9 specifies typical pressure drops 
across Sporlan type refrigerant  distributors at design load 
conditions.  Refer  to Bulletin 20-10 for further information 
on refrigerant distributors.
2.  Determine  the  liquid  temperature  of  the  refrigerant 
entering  the  valve  —  The  TEV  capacity  tables  in  Bulletin 
10-10, are based on a liquid temperature of 100°F for R-12, 
R-22,  R-134a,  R-401A,  R-402A,  R-404A,  R-407A,  R-407C, 
Page 16 / BULLETIN 10-9 
RECOMMENDED
VCP100, VGA
VZ, VZ
 EVAPORATOR
 20°   0°  -10°
0.22  0.19  0.17
0.27  0.25  0.22
0.38  0.33  0.27
0.49  0.43  0.35
CAPACITY (tons)
EVAPORATING TEMP
Condensing 
Temp. (F)
 80  0.41  0.56  0.69
 90  0.37  0.53  0.66
100  0.33  0.49  0.62
 0 5   10
The valve capacity
should equal or slightly exceed
the tonnage rating of the system
Design
evaporating
temperature










