Out of curiosity, I cut open an A/C condenser and drier from my car to see what’s inside and how it works. I made a short video explaining what’s inside:


Here’s a few photos of the breakdown:
The A/C condenser and drier are located at the front of the vehicle. The condenser dissipates heat from the refrigerant as it changes from a gas to a liquid state. The drier removes moisture, traps contaminants, and acts as a holding canister for excess refrigerant.


Here’s what the condenser looks like, chopped in half. It has small tubes that pass refrigerant through and fins just like a radiator.


Here’s what the bottom half of the drier looks like:



The middle portion of the drier has desiccant, which are small beads that absorb moisture.



The desiccant has two filters and grates on either side that surround it and contain it within the middle of the canister.

And that’s pretty much all the components inside an A/C condenser and drier. These are very simple components that a part of a very complex system.