An investigational absorption cycle was designed and constructed for research purposes. Nontraditional absorbent/refrigerant pairs were investigated and the selected working fluids were aqueous ethylene glycole/water. The working fluids selected are safe, unlike the commercial absorbent/refrigerant pairs. This article discusses the challenges met in designing and constructing a research experimental absorption cycle, the unique designs of the various components, including instrumentation, data acquisition, and results of the experiments. With the current design of the absorber and desorber, the cycle has coefficients of performance of 0.67 and 1.2 for refrigeration and heat pump, respectively.