Core Section Environmentally Safe Refrigerant Service Tips Techniques

Core Section Environmentally Safe Refrigerant Service Tips & Techniques Week 2 Clean Air Act © 2018 Mainstream Engineering Corporation Qwik System Flush®, Qwik. Check, Qwik. Injector®, Qwik-SF®, Qwik. Shot®, are registered trademarks and Qwik 609™ and Qwik. Products™ are trademarks of Mainstream Engineering Corporation, Rockledge, Florida. 1

Class Agenda Clean Air Act Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Here’s what you’ll learn this week. 2

Clean Air Act Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Recordkeeping Recovery and Recycling Venting Sale of Used Refrigerants Who Can Buy Refrigerants Disposal CFC Refrigerant Tax Enforcement Here’s what you’ll learn about the Clean Air Act. 3

Clean Air Act 1963: Funding to study air pollution 1970: EPA established 1990: Clean Air Act revisions and expansions 2010: End of HCFCs The Clean Air Act prohibits venting & authorizes the EPA to set standards. 4

Clean Air Act EPA Sets minimum limits on certain air pollutants Approves state, tribal, and local agency plans Issues sanctions Enforces Clean Air Act States, tribes, and local governments can set and enforce stronger laws. 5

Clean Air Act Section 608 Prohibit venting Reduce refrigerant emissions Establish equipment and off -site reclaimer certification programs Establish technician certification program Now we have a recycling program for all refrigerants. 6

Clean Air Act AC and Refrigeration Technicians Must certify you have refrigerant recovery and/or recycling equipment Must certify you are complying with regulations EPA needs to know you are following the rules. 7

Clean Air Act MVAC Technicians Must have Section 609 MVAC certification 8

Clean Air Act Who must keep records? Refrigerant owners and operators Service technicians Refrigerant wholesalers Refrigerant disposal facilities Refrigerant reclaimers Keep accurate records of refrigerant use. HVAC Records 9

Clean Air Act Information must be recorded When working with refrigerants When servicing or disposing of equipment When servicing appliances with 50+ pounds of refrigerant Submit reports or pay up to $44, 539 per day per violation. 10

Clean Air Act Refrigerant Leakage Before 2019 Systems less than 50 pounds of refrigerant Systems with 50+ pounds of refrigerant You don’t have to fix a leak, but you should. 11

Clean Air Act Substantial Leak Before 2019 Industrial and commercial systems— 35% All other systems— 15% Calculate the current rate projected over a 12 -month period. 12

Clean Air Act Substantial Leak After 2019 Industrial systems— 30% Commercial systems— 20% All other systems— 10% Remember how to calculate the current rate? 13

Clean Air Act Substantial Leak Before 2019 If the leakage rate is 10 lbs in a month, what is the annual leakage? Do you know the answer? 120 lbs per year 14

Clean Air Act Substantial Leak After 2019 If the leakage rate for an industrial system is 10 lbs in a month, what is the annual leakage? Do you know the answer? XXX lbs per year 15

Clean Air Act Commercial Example 200 lbs of charge 10 lbs lost over past month What is the leakage rate? 120 lbs/year What is the percent leakage? (120/200) x 100% = 60% What do you need to do? Fix the leak! Keep records of the amount of refrigerant added. 16

Clean Air Act Certificate Revocation Failure to demonstrate proper procedures for recovering and/or recycling refrigerant Failure to properly use approved equipment 17

Clean Air Act More reasons to revoke your license Violating the Clean Air Act Falsifying records Failing to keep records Failing to reach required evacuation levels Releasing refrigerants (on purpose) You could lose your certification, be fined, or be required to go to court. 18

Clean Air Act Recovery and Recycling Section 608 requires you to recover refrigerant Equipment must have service aperture or process stub All GWP and ODP refrigerants must be recovered. Access valve Small appliances can have process stub for locating a piercing access valve 19

Clean Air Act Recovery and Recycling Equipment Self-contained (active) equipment Self-dependent (passive) equipment Refrigerant recovery and recycling requirement (AHRI-740) Refrigerant service or disposal establishment certification 20

Clean Air Act Recovery Recover all globalwarming or ozonedepleting refrigerants Break the vacuum with nitrogen Do you know when your refrigerant must come from recycling and recovery? 21

Clean Air Act Recycling Used for equipment that requires phased-out refrigerants Helps defer cost for new or retrofitted equipment Do you know when your refrigerant must come from recycling and recovery? 22

Clean Air Act Venting Intentional venting of any refrigerant is illegal, even if it doesn’t contribute to global warming. 23

Clean Air Act When Venting Is Permitted You can’t release mixtures of nitrogen and refrigerant. Good-faith attempts to recapture, recycle, or dispose of refrigerants Normal operation emissions CFC or HCFC release when not used as refrigerants Normal operations while purging or connecting/disconnecting low-loss hoses 24

Clean Air Act Beware of Name Change Before ARI—American Refrigeration Institute Now AHRI—American Heating and Refrigeration Institute ARI-700 now AHRI-700 Standards are still called ARI on the EPA exam. 25

Ozone Depletion Key Requirements of AHRI-700 Purity Standard Contaminants Requirement Acidity Less than 0. 01% Moisture (by weight) Less than 10 ppm Non-Condensable Gas Nonvolatile Residue Chloride Content Less than 1. 5% Less than 100 ppm None 26

Clean Air Act Refrigerant Sales Restrictions Who can purchase Type of appliances Purchases of HFC refrigerants Purchases for MVAC technicians Where can I get more of this stuff? 27

Clean Air Act Certification Requirements Certification Type None 608 Type III 608 Universal 1 609 MVAC Allowed to Purchase* CFCs HCFCs No No Yes 3 Yes 3 Yes 2 HFCs Yes Yes Yes 28

Clean Air Act Refrigerant Disposal Recover the refrigerant Recycle or discard disposable cylinders Ensure all refrigerant has been recovered Puncture the How do you prepare cylinder or break off a disposable for the valve tank before recycling? for recycling metal. 29

Clean Air Act CAUTION Do not use old disposable refrigeration cylinders. 30

Clean Air Act CAUTION Do not leave almost-empty disposable cylinders lying around where they can be forgotten until they explode. A cylinder with 1 lb of liquid refrigerant is at the same pressure as a full tank! 31

Clean Air Act CFC Refrigerant Tax IRS-imposed tax liability Tax rate and instructions IRS form 6627 32

Ozone Depletion EPA Enforcement Accept anonymous reports of unlawfully released refrigerants Investigate reported leaks Conduct surprise inspections Offer rewards of up to $10, 000 33

Core Section Environmentally Safe Refrigerant Service Tips & Techniques Week 2 Substitute Refrigerants and Oils 34

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Refrigerant Blends Changing to a Different Refrigerant Using Synthetic Oils Here’s what you’ll learn about substitute refrigerants and oils. 35

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Refrigerant Blends ASHRAE numbering system Binary blends and ternary blends Saturation pressure– temperature behavior Go to ashrae. org for the answers. 36

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Temperature Glide with Constant Pressure Pure refrigerants have no temperature glide Non-azeotropic blends start to condense at a higher temperature (Dew Point) than when they start to evaporate (Bubble Point) Temperature glide is the difference Dew Point Temperature Bubble Point Temperatu re Temperat ure Glide 37

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Example R-22 at 200 psig boils (evaporates) at 101°F Condensation of R-22 at 200 psig also occurs at 101°F. Does this No temperature refrigerant have glide temperature glide? 38

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Types of Refrigerant Blends Azeotropic Classification depends on the temperature glide of the blend. Non-azeotropic, or zeotropic Near-azeotropic 39

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Types of Refrigerant Blends Azeotropic — has no glide Non-azeotropic, or zeotropic — has glide Near-azeotropic — has almost no glide Which of these blends has a temperature glide? 40

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Azeotropic Behaves like a singlecomponent refrigerant Has zero temperature glide Has ASHRAE-designated 500 series number Acts like a single-component refrigerant An azeotropic mixture acts like a single-component refrigerant. 41

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Non-azeotropic Blends (zeotropic) The composition and temperatures change as they evaporate. Start evaporation and condensation at different temperatures Have a temperature glide Cannot be treated as a pure refrigerant Have an ASHRAE-designated 400 series number 42

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils R-407 C at 200 psig What’s the temperature Begins evaporating or glide in this finishes condensing example? at 91. 9 °F Finishes evaporating or starts condensing at 101. 2 °F Glide = 101. 2 °F – 91. 9 °F = 9. 3 °F 43

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Near-azeotropic You can top-off a near-azeotropic blend like R-410 A. Is a non-azeotropic blend Has a small temperature glide Can be treated as an azeotropic refrigerant Can be charged as liquid or vapor 44

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils R-410 A at 200 psig Begins evaporating at 69. 5 °F Finishes evaporating at 69. 7 °F What’s the temperature glide in this example? Glide = 69. 7 °F – 69. 5 °F = 0. 2 °F 45

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Non-azeotropic blends have different refrigerants Can charge 500 -ASHRAE with different series azeotropic refrigerants volatilities. as a liquid or vapor. Must charge 400 -series non-azeotropic blended refrigerants as a liquid Charging Refrigerant Blends 46

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Changing to a Different Refrigerant SNAP program Evaluates and regulates the safety of refrigerant substitutes Does not determine suitability of refrigerant for retrofit There are no drop-in service replacements for any refrigerant. 47

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Retrofits Converting a system to use an alternative refrigerant Always some changes required Verify oil compatibility Verify pressure capability Always follow original equipment manufacturer instructions Retrofitting is usually less expensive than installing a new system. 48

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Example R‑ 407 C as a retrofit refrigerant in existing R -22 systems or new systems R-410 A cannot be used as a retrofit refrigerant because of the much higher service pressures Most new residential A/C systems are using R-410 A. 49

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils R-410 A Systems Operate at higher pressures Require high-pressure manifolds and hoses Can’t use parts of existing system in new system, except some tubing R-410 A can only be used in new equipment designed for it. 50

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Oil Types Mineral Oil Synthetic Oil All synthetic oils readily absorb moisture. 51

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Water Saturation Limits in Oil Here are some examples Mineral oil water saturation = 25 ppm POE water saturation = 2, 500 ppm PVE water saturation = 6, 500 ppm PAG water saturation = 10, 000 ppm 52

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Water Saturation Limits in Oil Avoid moisture entry into systems Use triple evacuation methods You need good service practices to keep water out! 53

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Ester Synthetic Oil Common in stationary refrigeration applications using HFC refrigerant Polyolester (POE) most common ester Not compatible with mineral oils Don’t mix different types of oils in a system. 54

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Alkylbenzene (PAG) Commonly used in HCFC refrigerant installations Does not tolerate chlorides Can be used with mineral oils Alkylbenzene is used with ternary blends containing HCFCs. 55

Substitute Refrigerants and Oils Polyolester (POE) Commonly used in HFC refrigerant installations Synthetic lubricant POE is also used with HFC blends 56