What does small bubbles in a refrigerant system mean?
Answer:
Interesting question because it is very unusual for you to be able to see inside the refrigerant system as it all metal and sealed. The refrigerant circuit uses a substance or more recently a mixture of substances which pass from liquid phase to gas phase and visa versa moving heat from one side of the circuit to the other. The mixtures do "boil" across a range of temperatures so not every substance in the mixture liquifies or vapourises at the same time so during both transitional zones you can bubbles of gas within liquid. This is normal and explained by the different components in the mixture. However, if you get droplets of oil from the compressor into the refrigerant circuit this is not so normal and is the reason why any fridge or freezer should stand upright for 24 hours after being moved or tilted so that all oil drains into the compressor sump.
Question still remains a mystery though as you cant see inside the system.
there is air in the system
I don't know how you can detect bubbles but, at the point of expansion of the liquid refrigerant, i.e. pressure decrease, the volume increases and the temperature decreases to the boiling point of the liquid refrigerant. (As you know, when a liquid boils, bubbles of vapour form in the liquid).
This causes the cooling process in the 'Cold Box' (or Evaporator).
The boiling therefore, will, of course, cause bubbles in the liquid.
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