R-22 Conversion - What to Avoid

After reading a lot of technical literature, attending several talks and seminars on R-22 conversion I have developed the following cautions on R-22 conversion.

First and foremost – if you convert a system from R-22 to ANY replacement refrigerant, you are conducting a field experiment on the customer’s equipment using their money. Make sure the customer understands that they are paying for an experiment which may or may not end successfully. I think I would get that in writing.

Since all the replacement refrigerants are zeotropes, they should not be used in flooded systems because they will fractionate in the evaporator.

Since all the replacement refrigerants are immiscible with mineral oil, they should not be used in systems with large receivers (without changing the oil to POE) because the mineral oil will separate and float on top of the refrigerant in the receiver.

Some of the replacement refrigerants have trace amounts of hydrocarbons or POE to help prevent oil logging in the coils and lines. This works well in many systems, but it does not help in the receiver where there is not much refrigerant movement.

DuPont says that the churning in accumulators discourages separation in the accumulator. However, they also say that you may need to add 10% POE if you have oil return problems. 

I am nervous about heat pump accumulators – especially in cold weather when a large amount of the charge is just sitting in the accumulator.

You should NOT weigh in the same amount of replacement refrigerant as R-22 because all the replacement refrigerants are less dense than R-22. A general rule is somewhere around 75-80%.

You should NOT just try to match the pressures you are used to seeing with R-22. A better indicator would be to measure the system subcooling and superheat and shoot for “reasonable” numbers.

You should replace all O-rings and Schrader valve cores before putting in the new refrigerant. O-rings can shrink when exposed to the new refrigerant creating a leak where none previously existed.

You should NOT just add the new refrigerant on top of the R-22. If you do that, you are creating your own special blend which is not EPA SNAP approved.

Just because a refrigerant matches the pressures of R-22 does not mean it will match the mass flow rate. If the mass flow rate is too different from R-22 the metering device won’t work correctly.

Make sure any refrigerant you use is EPA SNAP approved for the application. Any reputable refrigerant will have an ASHRAE refrigerant number and safety rating – not just a trade name or number.

One way to be sure what you are using is safe is to only buy refrigerant from recognizable manufacturers at normal supply houses, not online.

Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you use any of the “Organic” replacement refrigerants available on the internet. The “organic” components are propane and butane. They don’t have trace amounts of hydrocarbons, they are ALL hydrocarbon. These refrigerants are NOT EPA approved and they are NOT safe to use in a system which was not designed for flammable refrigerant.

If the customer has already purchased some “organic” refrigerant and tried charging their system, I would not work on the system. It is an accident waiting to happen.

HCFC 22 Availability in 2013

This year, 2013, may be the last year of good availability of R-22. It almost certainly will be the last year of “inexpensive” R-22. In fact, we have probably already passed the “inexpensive” threshold. I would like to review the available quantities of R-22 to show a little perspective. The base year that is used in determining the percentages of allowable R-22 production in 1999 when 300 million pounds of R-22 was manufactured or imported in the US. That was cut to 100 million pounds by 2011. However, the reduction also coincided with the elimination of R-22 in the manufacture of new equipment beginning in 2010. Truthfully, we did not feel much of a squeeze because the primary purchasers of the refrigerant were no longer buying it. We even had a bit of a glut for a while, actually driving prices down. Then came the panic of January 2012 when all R-22 production ceased and prices jumped significantly almost overnight. This happened because the EPA had not finalized the rule allowing producers to manufacture and/or import HCFCs in the years 2012 – 2014. Basically, manufacturers did not want to risk receiving a big fine for exceeding the limits in a rule that had yet to be published, so they stopped making R-22. To get the R-22 flowing again, the EPA sent producers a letter stating that the EPA would not bring action against them so long as they did not make more than 55% as much in 2012 as they were allowed to make in 2011. So the amount of R-22 was cut to 55 million pounds for 2012. In fact, that rule has still not been finalized. Instead, the EPA has sent another letter to producers effectively limiting the 2013 allocation to 39 million pounds. Some wholesalers are now concerned about the availability of R-22. It is conceivable that some vendors may run out without being able to replenish their supply. The law of supply and demand is kicking in, driving the prices higher. In fact, now R-22 is now generally higher than the many R-22 replacement refrigerants. I still recommend using R-22 in systems designed for R22. However, you might want to start learning about the different replacement refrigerants available in your area as it looks like R-22 will soon be difficult to find, expensive, or both. One caveat: STAY AWAY FROM FLAMMABLE DROP-IN REFRIGERANTS SOLD OVER THE INTERNET! Putting a flammable gas in a system not intended for flammable gasses is extremely dangerous!
To read more about the availability of R-22 in 2013 read the ACHR News article.

HCFC 22 Rising Faster Than Gold

You may wonder why HCFC 22 has suddenly spiked in price? Although we have all been expecting it to rise because of the phase-out, the rise in the beginning of this year has been dramatic. The phase-out is not all that is behind the latest price increases. Under the phase-out rules, producers and importers must have allocations from the EPA telling them how much product they are allowed to manufacture or import. The EPA has not published the allocation for 2012, so all production stopped on January 1. Nothing drives up price more than not making any more. On January 4, 2012 the EPA published a proposed rule-making that would significantly decrease the amount of HCFC-22 produced or imported compared to 2011. On January 20, the EPA sent a letter to producers and importers promising to not fine them for making HCFC 22 so long as they produced no more than 45% of the allocation set in 2011. So for the month of January, very little if any R-22 was produced or imported. Manufactures and importers can now produce R-22 in limited quantities due to the EPA letter of “No Action Assurance.” The rule may not be finalized until just before this summer. In short, the temporary halt of production and the uncertainty created by the lack of a final allocation and ruling are driving up the price. I would not recomend hoarding R-22 as a replacement for your gold investment  - prices and the market are just too unstable for anyone to predict. Once the final allocation is announced and the panic buying stops - the price may actually come down a little. For more information check out these articles
HARDI
ACHR News

Now might be a good time to look into purchasing reclaimed refrigerant.