Hydrocarbon

[Oldmanfrigy]

Has anyone had any experience with Hydrocarbon refrigerants in Australia, I am in Adelaide and have charged two cars with Hychill, worked very well but can't get any straight answers on training and or code of practice. one mechanic upended the BQ bottle into a Subaru and it is still going fine, not what I would do but it is being done !!!
I first did a course with Elgas in 1995 but they no longer sell the product, I also train young people who tell me they use it, so many grey areas ???

Kind Regards Tony B

[Oregonbythesea]

I have used it and it works. Try Maxifrig for information. After testing I decided that if the gas was to leak out in a confined space near an open flame, I didn't want to be around it. I won't use it. CO2, now that is a different colored horse. What I see with CO2 though is the much higher pressures. I'll use 4041, 22 & 134a until something better come along. Just my opinion.

[mikeref]

The outlook in Australia, in my opinion is not good. At the moment there is NO regulation or work practice in place. I've been in contact with the refrigeration council but no action there as yet. I cannot purchase R290,r600 or R600a through Heatcraft as they do not stock hydrocarbons nor gauges or tools for this area. Lots of domestic fridges are sold now that contain R600a but no-one able to work on them. I think it will boil down to someone having a nasty accident before anything will be done. It's these people experimenting with BBQ LPG in vehicle a/c's that are at high risk. BBQ gas is just for that, to cook with, NOT for refrigeration.. Mike.

[AUScooler:-)]

The ARC does not regulate ammonia, c02 or hydrocarbons in any equipment. And yet they call themselves the australian refrigeration council.

[mikeref]

The ARC does not regulate ammonia, c02 or hydrocarbons in any equipment. And yet they call themselves the australian refrigeration council.
So the question now is... how do i set myself up for hydrocarbon work on domestics legally?? People can't be expected to throw out their fridge if a filter happened to block! At this stage, it won't be long before my first fridge on hydrocarbon will show itself..Mike.:mad:

[AUScooler:-)]

So the question now is... how do i set myself up for hydrocarbon work on domestics legally?? People can't be expected to throw out their fridge if a filter happened to block! At this stage, it won't be long before my first fridge on hydrocarbon will show itself..Mike.:mad:

What do the manufacturers have to say then? What if you get a domestic fridge under warranty are they going to tell you to charge it with a hydrocarbon even though you are not qualified to do so and if you cannot get the HC then how will the fridge be fixed under warranty?

Hydrocarbons are covered under codes like dangerous goods act, OH&S, work cover, AS 1677, AS 1596 and other state codes. It is very confusing i know.

In regards to charging automotive with BQ bolltle into a subaru i doubt that subaru Australia has approved of this so if anything goes wrong then that service tech will be in trouble i think. I have seen massive leaks on heavy vehicle evaporators in trucks so i would not advise to charge these vehicles with a hydrocarbon at all.

[mikeref]

AUScooler, for starters, i won't have anything to do with domestics under warranty for any manufacturer. Been bitten too many times. It's the after warranty expires is when events will hit the fan. No point in importing anything for repairing/ servicing domestic or commercial hydrocarbon equipment at this stage as the "powers to be" would have a field day sending me broke should anything go wrong. Public Liability, vehicle insurance, third party property? Maybe even dangerous goods under Department of Transport would throw away my keys. Should anyone overseas currently working in this field like to share their experience, please do so:).. Mike.

[AUScooler:-)]

I seen a tech come back from working in a mine he brought back to the workshop some reclaimed refrigerant and a faulty compressor. When he got back to workshop he said refrigerant smell funny on the nose. We fired it up, yes It was a hydrocarbon for sure the tech thought he had never worked on hydrocarbon yet he had recovered it and transported it. If the tech had not got a sniff when removing hoses then he would have taken that recovery bottle back down. The tech said the A/C unit in the mine was stamped R134a . If something went wrong KM underground employer would get in trouble for sure.

In the first post where these techs are up ending BBQ bottles into a Subaru how is this being labelled are all R134a stickers removed and then is it being labelled with BBQ gas.

I don’t think many people in this industry can simply refuse to work with hydrocarbons. Most techs would not even know if they did.

[joe-ice]

In ireland 1 day office course & exam for certification, assuming already holding c&g 2079 + 1 day course with manufacturer to work on their specific equipment .

[mikeref]

In ireland 1 day office course & exam for certification, assuming already holding c&g 2079 + 1 day course with manufacturer to work on their specific equipment .
Thanks for the reply. Sounds too simple to apply this in Aus as there won't be enough money changing hands;)..Mike.

[joe-ice]

procedure i would use for working on a domestic with hc would be to drag it outside fit linetap on suction ,blow off charge ,cut out drier, flush with nitrogen 3 times [very important].then it can be worked on as any case.i use nitrogen &ultrasonic tester plus suds for leak finding.carry out repair,cut out line tap & fit new drier & shraedar valve,vac out & weigh charge back in. not allowed to use shraeders own rubber seal so cap off with flare nut &bonnet regards

[mikeref]

Thanks Joe-ice. Thinking that i will have to purchase a fridge on hydrocarbon, a cheap one, and convert it back to R134a, as no hydrocarbon refrigerant available here. Change the oil to synthetic and run tests on compressor as another thread suggested the compressors may not be able to handle the change in pressure.. Mike.