Identify R12?

[craigo]

Please assist me in identifying a refrigerant inside a disposacan. There is no identifiacation on the outside of the can. R134a / R12 / R406a / R409a? Cylinder colour white.

[LRAC]

Please assist me in identifying a refrigerant inside a disposacan. There is no identifiacation on the outside of the can. R134a / R12 / R406a / R409a? Cylinder colour white.

Put guages on can and measure pressure, take bottle temperature or ambient temp if its been stored long enough in that ambient.

On a comparitor or guages read off the pressure against the temp and the refrigerant should match at that precise temp/pressure. If it doesn't you've probabaly got a mixed gas cylinder.

Regards
Lrac

[abdulazman]

There are always method and means of identifying.
Refrigerant analyzing tools.
By means of boiling point.
Gas identification code mark.
These are only some method.

[Tony]

Pressure/temperature relationship is not accurate enough to identify refrigerants any more. There are too many gases with the same sort of figures.

Only safe way now is to have it analysed.

[Karl Hofmann]

Find a freindly auto air con geezer who has something like a Yokogawa Refrigerant analyser, they should be able to tell with reasonable accuracy what you have in there.

Youd be amazed at just what I found in a Merc Sprinter fridge van with a siezed compressor

[penair]

Try an old halogas leak detector, a nice green/blue flame will tell you it is R12, if that is what you suspect it to be from the refrigerants in your list. Mind the phosgene!

[lana]

Try an old halogas leak detector, a nice green/blue flame will tell you it is R12, if that is what you suspect it to be from the refrigerants in your list. Mind the phosgene!

Hi there,

If the refrigerant doesn't have any chlorine in it like R134a then this will not work. If the refrigerant is something like propane (which is unlikely ) then you know what happens with the flame .

Cheers

[Makanic]

I dont Know about south africa
But in Australia the only stuff that can be in a Disposable cans is refrigerants that are -30 or lower Boiling Piont
Gauges/Temp pressure chart still works for me
& if it is a Hydrocarbon You can smell it

[hvac01453]

Its R12 if its a refrigerant cylinder. You could also use a gauge to verify to a good degree. You'll also need a TP chart and an accurate thermometer. I've always been told that they have a oneway check valve that prevents reverse flow or re-use as an air tank. Did someone drill out the check valve and charge it with air ?Who knows?

[cameron.e]

hello chomie I would go eather by sending it to a-gas yere in sa for testing'.I do know of a problem ive come across is that there is a recycled r12 which is shipped in from india which can give you headacess so tack it in for testing cheers.

[The MG Pony]

I just did this last night!

A refer friend brought me an old cyl of propane he had laying around from when he bought out another chap. I hook it to My BBQ and try and get it going and nothing! So at first I think it is compressed air but no, as there is liquid in there! At this point I am suspicious that it is not propane or air in there but refrigerant!!

So I take the thermometer and my gauges out, hook on an adaptor I made and take the temp, it was 10C then take the pressure it was dead between 46 & 47, ie it was: 46.5+-.2 and that lands dead on R-12 P&T chart. To confirm I used a torch and got a pretty green flame.

Using the two methods combined I think you can be fairly certain, it is after the test I noticed the cylinder was much heavier then it should have been with propane further strengthening my hypothesis that it is R-12.