How to detect refrigerant quality, and what is the effect?
Refrigerant quality will affect the performance and stability of the system and poor-quality refrigerant will cause damage to system components and compressors.
It is necessary to detect refrigerant Quality
There are several ways to identify whether it is a poor-quality refrigerant:
1) Connect the pressure gauge test. If the measured pressure value is lower than the corresponding saturated pressure value at the ambient temperature by more than 2kg/f, which judges that the refrigerant is a substandard product, and its use is strictly prohibited! For example, the ambient temperature is 20 degrees, and the measured pressure value is 7.1kg/f, far lower than the saturation pressure value of 13.5kg/f that the refrigerant should reach. The refrigerant can be judged to be unqualified.
2) Foam detection method. The foam detection method is effective for refrigerants containing corrosive gases such as methane chloride, and the corrosion degree of foam is related to the content of methane chloride. The higher the content, the more obvious the effect. The less obvious the effect is, the specific operation is as follows:
3) Turn the refrigerant tank upside down and release a small amount of refrigerant onto a piece of white paper. If there are obvious impurities or liquid water on the white paper, the refrigerant is of poor quality and is not recommended. In addition, whether the refrigerant is purchased through formal channels, such as the refrigerant whose price is significantly lower than the market price, should be highly vigilant.
4) If you have testing conditions, it is recommended to test the purity and acidity of the refrigerant before using it. It is not recommended to use a refrigerant whose test result is significantly lower than the industry standard. Note: The purity of qualified R22 refrigerant should be greater than 99% (the purity of high-quality refrigerant should be greater than 99.8%), and the acidity should be less than 0.0001.
5) During the commissioning and operation stage of the system, there were no other abnormal conditions found after inspection, and the refrigeration capacity was insufficient; the dryer or expansion valve was blocked, and the blockage was a yellow-brown wax-like or black sludge-like foreign matter, etc., it is recommended to extract refrigeration from the system Purity testing of refrigerants to check for the risk of poor quality refrigerants.
The influence of refrigerant Quality on the system
The refrigerant is the blood of the compressor. The purity of the refrigerant is particularly important for refrigeration equipment for cold storage. The most obvious phenomenon is: that cold storage filled with high-purity refrigerant has an obvious cooling effect, rapid temperature drop and ageing effect, and large cooling capacity. Low-purity refrigerants fail to reach the desired drop temperature and damage the compressor.
So what are the negative effects of low refrigerant quality?
1) High water content and high acidity will seriously erode the internal piping system of the compressor, causing the compressor to be blocked and shortening its service life.
2) It is easy to leak; there is no fluorine in the refrigeration system, the compressor has been idling, the operating temperature is high, and the mechanical parts are worn out, which will also shorten the service life of the compressor.
3) Increase the operating load of the compressor, increase the consumption of electric energy, and increase the expenses.
4) The cooling effect is poor, and problems occur frequently. Although the low-quality refrigerant will temporarily feel cool, the temperature is always difficult to drop and achieve the expected cooling effect.
Therefore, when buying or using refrigerants, you must be able to distinguish the pros and cons of refrigerants. It is very important to choose a high-purity refrigerant.