Comments on: Propane in Your Air Conditioner? Bad Idea!

By: Ray Austin

Ray Austin — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 10:35:26 +0000

The EPA is who is in charge
The EPA is who is in charge of these
kinds of gases and due to flammability
propane is against the law to put in
any residential or commercial air
conditioning system in the USA.

Several things at play here. If you
are going to get a leak most of the
time it's in the evaporator coil.

In many instances the furnace sits
below the evaporator. Because
propane is heavier than air it can
pool. If the furnace is turned on
you have what? Open flame... kaboom!

So it's not just about being able
to service these safely.

The other thing is that the central
air conditioning systems can hold
15-20 pounds or more.

There is no HVAC license holder that
would charge propane based refrigerant
(in their right mind) just due to
liability alone.

By: Lyle Hughes

Lyle Hughes — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 00:24:24 +0000

It turns out the whole "
It turns out the whole "saving the ozone layer" raft of regulation was a crock.

Scientists have shown VOLCANOES produce far more "ozone depleting" chemicals that man-made sources.

I openly defy any EPA mandate I can; and encourage others to do so as well. They have no moral or legal authority due to the 9th and 10th Amendments.

If only we had this spirit when they first stood up the EPA and OSHA - how many millions of manufacturing jobs would still be here in the US???

By: Glenn

Glenn — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 09:09:28 +0000

It’s not the hydrocarbon
It’s not the hydrocarbon refrigerant that’s dangerous, it’s when it’s not marked. A simple sticker or gas analyser could solve this problem. Tech would just need to pop the valve and ‘sniff’ to see if HC based. What was the gas doing going loose anyway? Shunning a great refrigerant simply due to handling issues is silly. HC based refrigerants not only are more efficient (look it up!) but do not require special oils, don’t acidify over time, and don’t pollute nearly as much as the others. Get informed before you comment. You likely sit on 80 litres of fuel in your car every day. How can that be considered “safe”?

By: Allison Bailes

Allison Bailes — Fri, 05 Jul 2013 20:56:35 +0000

Bob: I
Bob: I didn't touch on the efficiency issue in the article, but it's an important one. Propane and propane-based refrigerants like R-22A have different physical properties (heat capacity, latent heat of vaporization...) than R-22. The efficiencies will not be the same, and as you suggest, are likely to be lower.

M. Johson: Indeed it is possible to work safely with propane. Also, propane is used as a refrigerant in some air conditioning and refrigeration units for industrial and commercial buildings. None of that makes putting it in residential AC systems designed for another refrigerant any more palatable. They weren't designed for propane. They may be incompatible with the materials in systems designed for R-22. And if a contractor is using a substitute, they may also be doing everything on the cheap and leaving no indication that the R-22 AC has propane in it.

By: M. Johnson

M. Johnson — Fri, 05 Jul 2013 20:25:59 +0000

I think it should be possible
I think it should be possible to handle even a propane based refrigerant with safety. First thing is the tech needs to know what he is working with. Second thing, define what tools and procedures are necessary. Then use them.

Chemical plants use far more dangerous chemicals every day, so in and of itself propane is only a little frightening. But it very much needs to be respected for what harm it can do.

By: Bob

Bob — Fri, 05 Jul 2013 17:49:16 +0000

It's all a game to keep
It's all a game to keep installing R22 dry "repair parts" w/o changing the evaporator coil. R22 too expensive to charge the entire system with so alternate refrigerants are being used. Changing the A-coil is just as labor intensive as changing a condenser, doubling the job time. Customers aren't willing to pay double labor to have the new coil installed, so the quick condenser swaps live on.

The only way to stop it is quit manufacturing R22 dry units. Customers will pay to have a new condenser (aka "new AC"), but not a new compressor in a 15 year old AC.

Of course with these dry units and mismatched/dirty A-coils the rated SEER goes straight out the window. Dry units shouldn't even have a rated SEER since they are considered a "repair part" and are almost always used with a mismatched A-coil. The customer thinks they are getting 13 SEER, when their new system is actually getting 10 or less.