The answer to your question depends on the refrigerant in your system. R-12 refrigerant can be used with mineral oil or POE oil. So if you have R-12 in your system, you can add POE oil even if the factory load was with mineral oil. However, if you plan to switch to R-134a, it is advisable to rinse the mineral oil from the system to an acceptable level to ensure proper return of oil to the compressor. The Clean Air Act states that it is a violation to intentionally remove ozone-depleting refrigerants. Keep in mind that this is because the ozone layer is essential for protecting humans from harmful UV rays. Yes, but it is illegal to be on a construction site to maintain the refrigerant system without an on-site recovery machine and without a certified technician to handle the refrigerant processing. According to the Clear Air Act, this appears to be illegal: in this module, we will review what ventilation is and discuss the ventilation ban contained in the Clean Air Act. The purpose of the disposal ban is to prevent these harmful chemicals from being released into the atmosphere and to destroy ozone.
“The legal ventilation ban remains in place for these refrigerants, and the known ventilation of HFC and PFC refrigerants during servicing, maintenance, repair and disposal of equipment remains illegal,” he usually says. No. The production or import of CFC-12 into the United States is prohibited because it depletes the ozone layer, according to the EPA. However, the use of CFC-12 is not prohibited. Although production of CFC-12 ceased on 31 December 1995, the use of CFC-12 is still permitted and recycled R-12 and R-12 produced prior to the production ban are still readily available. You can continue to use the CFC-12 that is now in your vehicle, and your service technician can continue to install it in your vehicle while supplies are available. The CFC-12 used today is constantly recovered and recycled, and the CFC-12 produced in 1994 and 1995 is added to the inventory so that the refrigerant is always available. Natural refrigerants can be removed because they do not damage the ozone layer.
If a technician intentionally vents these refrigerants, they are subject to fines and criminal prosecution. Starting in 2017, penalties for ventilation include a fine of up to $44,539 per day per violation. This is contrary to the Clean Air Act`s prohibition on ventilating replacement refrigerants. “Section 608 prohibits individuals from intentionally disposing of ozone-depleting refrigerants (including CFCs [chlorofluorocarbons] and HCFCs [hydrochlorofluorocarbons]) and their substitutes (such as HFCs) during the maintenance, maintenance, repair or disposal of air-conditioning or refrigeration equipment.” To avoid illegal ventilation, you must first restore the device and evacuate it to the required level. This applies to devices that are fully or even partially charged. As long as the refrigerant is still present in the system, you must restore it before the leak test. Proper procedures, he said, include “not intentionally ventilating, having properly certified technicians and recovery equipment, and ensuring their businesses are certified by their EPA regional office.” In addition, contractors must “ensure that they provide their clients with the necessary documents.” No. Since November 15, 1995, section 608 of the Clean Air Act prohibits any person from knowingly disposing of alternatives to CFC and HCFC refrigerants during the maintenance, maintenance, repair and disposal of air conditioning and refrigeration equipment. An EPO factsheet explains this ban in much more detail. Note: Although this prohibition is part of § 608 (stationary refrigeration and air-conditioning systems), it also applies to § 609 (air conditioning of motor vehicles). At the end of the recovery service, technicians must ensure that no liquid refrigerant is trapped in the service pipe.
Any refrigerant trapped in the pipe is ventilated and is not allowed under the ventilation ban. If refrigerant is released because your appliances do not have low-loss fittings, this is illegal ventilation. To prevent ventilation, technicians must follow all appropriate procedures during the final rule: The revision of the ventilation ban for certain refrigerant substitutes exempts two replacement refrigerants from the ventilation ban in certain end uses. These include isobutane (R-600a) and R-441A in domestic refrigerators and freezers and propane (R-290) in retail refrigerators and freezers (stand-alone appliances only). In order not to evacuate affected refrigerants, refrigerants must be recovered prior to maintenance or disposal of equipment containing these refrigerants. This is to avoid the loss of refrigerant stored in the equipment during maintenance or disposal. In this module, we discussed the ventilation ban portion of the Clean Air Act. The ventilation ban applies to all ozone-depleting refrigerants and their substitutes.
EPA regulations (40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F) under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act prohibit individuals from intentionally disposing of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) or their substitutes during the maintenance, maintenance, repair, or disposal of air conditioners or refrigeration equipment. Only three types of releases are allowed: Glenn C. Hourahan, P.E., ACCA`s Vice President of Research and Technology, recently told the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute`s (ARI) Media Roundtable: “Quality entrepreneurs want to preserve the future use of HFCs by following good refrigerant practices today. However, law-abiding individuals are unfairly disadvantaged economically by a growing subset of the HVACR community that chooses to ignore responsible refrigerant practices. ACCA members urge the EPA to restore a market to “levels” by vigorously enforcing existing CFC and HCFC regulations and extending the same regulations to HFCs. As HFC-410A is widely recognized as an alternative refrigerant for HCFC-22, extending existing regulations to HFCs is crucial for the responsible protection of the natural environment in the future. The addition of HFC refrigerant to a system, other than design changes or initial commissioning, is a leak. Refrigerant filling systems are fixed quantities and if additional refrigerant is needed, this is due to leakage losses that need to be repaired to stop leaks. Otherwise, the refrigerant added to the systems will eventually leak. Leaks do not improve or repair themselves.
If technicians continue to add refrigerant to a system, isn`t that really intentional ventilation? Natural refrigerants are exempt from the provisions of the ventilation ban. This means that they can be ventilated. Yes. The EPA has identified two substitutes for CFC-12, OZ-12 and HC-12a, both manufactured by OZ Technology, Inc. of Post Falls, Idaho, that are unacceptable for use in automotive air conditioners due to unresolved flammability issues. EPA regulations also state that not all flammable refrigerant substitutes are acceptable for use in vehicle air conditioning upgrades. Other refrigerants were also found to be unacceptable for environmental reasons. For more information, see the latest EPO datasheet “Selection and use of replacement refrigerants for air conditioning in motor vehicles”. But the same type of refrigerants, specifically including tetrafluoroethane and difluoroethane, are commonly sold in stores everywhere and used to dust off PCs and electronics, flush out large amounts indoors, and eventually enter the atmosphere.
When you`re working with and around cars, it`s generally accepted that it`s illegal to release refrigerant into the atmosphere, and people will say, “Don`t just open the system and empty it, it`s illegal and dangerous.”