Propane Refrigerant - A Tech Perspective w/ Chris Stephens
HVAC School - For Techs, By Techs
Bryan Orr
4.9 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 21 February 2019
⏱️ 37 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Chris Stephens from HVACR Videos joins us to talk about his experiences with and perspective on R290 (propane) refrigerant in restaurant refrigeration.
Chris sees R290 propane on a daily basis, and his perspective as a tech differs from that of an R290 equipment manufacturer. While the temperature sensitivity contributes to flammability, R290 is also under pressure in a system. Therefore, propane refrigerant systems require a lot of caution.
R290 equipment must undergo thorough redesigning to be entirely spark-proof. Hydrocarbon refrigerants also require OEM components; aftermarket components change the design and can cause problems down the line, and technicians WILL be liable for any damages related to aftermarket components. When techs evacuate/recover R290, all evacuation and recovery tools must also be spark-proof; you also need to check to make sure that those tools are certified to work with propane refrigerant, even digital gauges. When using approved service gauges, also be sure to use short hoses. More so than ever, following the manufacturer's guidelines is an invaluable practice.
Unlike R-22 and R-410A, you CAN vent R290. However, the location should be well-ventilated. Chris recommends that you take extreme caution when venting refrigerant, such as by using a leak detector to let you know when to stop. Most of all, we need to be aware of our surroundings when we work with highly flammable R290. When we use our senses and are aware of our surroundings, the refrigerant becomes much more predictable.
Chris and Bryan also discuss:
- Buying and sourcing R290
- Recommended R290 training resources
- Piercing valves
- Basic R290 behavior
- Flowing nitrogen
- Evaluating hydrocarbon systems and using a "common-sense" approach
- Leak detectors to avoid using for R290 systems
Learn more about Refrigeration Technologies HERE.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | and This episode of the HVAC School Podcast is made possible by our great sponsors, |
| 0:21.0 | Carrier and Carrier.com. Speed clean at speed clean.com they make all kinds of |
| 0:26.3 | really nice cleaning equipment and solutions really it's a full solutions and one |
| 0:30.9 | product that I really like that they make is called |
| 0:32.6 | coil jet it's for cases where it may be tricky for you to get water or water at |
| 0:37.6 | the pressure you're looking for to the location where you need it really good |
| 0:42.1 | on remote condenser so if you have split air condition the location |
| 0:45.0 | and the system. |
| 0:48.0 | systems, the coil jet is made in two different models. |
| 0:51.0 | There's a battery-powered model and then there's a plug-in model that has also a hose |
| 0:54.1 | connection for filling or for use directly on a hose. So there's some interesting products that they make in that |
| 0:58.1 | line and then they also make the Douglas Bibb cleaning kit that we use at Kailos, Very nice kind of bucket kit. Everything all comes in one kit and you've got what you need to clean a duckless system in place. And then I always have to mention refrigeration technologies. They are just a great company. John and Mike Pasterello run that |
| 1:14.5 | company out of California. They've been on the podcast many times and they make the |
| 1:18.4 | big blue soap bubbles, leak reactant, whatever you choose there there and then they also make the |
| 1:23.7 | nylon product which we use on all of our flares and all of our threaded |
| 1:27.0 | fittings in the refrigerant circuit it's not going to cause problems later on if you've got |
| 1:30.9 | to pull the fittings apart it doesn't get hard and it does a really nice job of sealing up without contaminating the system because it's actually made from refrigeration oil. |
| 1:38.0 | You can find out more about them about refrigeration technologies by going to refrigerantec. com. |
| 1:43.9 | And then finally, I want to thank our partners |
| 1:46.0 | Field Piece. |
| 1:47.3 | Field Piece makes the job link probes |
| 1:49.4 | that we've been doing a lot of videos on. |
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