Dow Jones finally posted the article...
R-12 replacement works in both mobile, stationary applications.
* Janet Essman
1221 Words
8179 Characters
03/23/98
Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News
11
COPYRIGHT 1998 Business News Publishing Company
Here's a familiar scenario: A technician goes on a call to repair a
restaurant's failing walk-in cooler. He finds a small leak on a flare
nut, which he knows he can fix quickly with the hand tools in his
truck.
But the cooler contains a typical high-glide refrigerant, so he must
evacuate the system and recharge it completely, which will take about
two hours. Until then, the customer's cooler remains down.
Now here's a new scenario that is changing the way refrigeration
technicians do business:
The leaking cooler contains a low-glide blended refrigerant suitable
for easy top-off and recycling. The technician does not bother bringing
in a reclaimer because he knows recharging won't be necessary.
After he tightens the flare nut, he simply adds a couple ounces of
refrigerant, and the cooler is quickly up and running.
The second situation is becoming the more common one as industry
professionals discover that "FRIGC" FR-12 refrigerant provides
performance without installation hassles.
"There's no better test than right here in the field, and FR-12
passed our tests," said Tom Palombo, service manager at the Pepsi-Cola
Allied Bottlers, Inc., regional headquarters in Albany, N.Y.
Palombo's group handled approximately 4,200 soda and vending
machines, reach-in and walk-in coolers, freezers, beverage dispensers,
and water bath fountain units last year.
Pepsi-Cola Allied Bottlers made the decision to use FR-12 exclusively
as a refrigerant replacement at all of its franchises. "Since the
studies came out showing the potential hazards with some refrigerants,
Allied Bottlers had been searching for refrigerants that are
environmentally friendly and compatible with our equipment.
"During the last eight months we have installed FR-12 in about 200
systems that needed service, and we've had no problems at all."
NO OIL HASSLES
FRIGC is a blend of HFC-134a (59%), HCFC-124 (39.5%), and R-600
(butane, 1.5%) manufactured by InterCool Energy (ICE). "We designed
FR-12 to closely match the behavior and performance characteristics of
R-12," said Keith Finger, stationary brand manager for ICE.
"This enables hassle-free installations without sacrificing
performance in medium-temperature refrigeration applications."
Finger also claimed it exhibits the lowest Global Warming Potential
and the lowest Ozone Depletion Potential of all R-12 replacement blend
refrigerants. The refrigerant is also EPA SNAP-accepted for use in both
stationary and mobile applications.
"Today there's a greater public awareness of environmental problems
and procedures for using refrigerants. It used to be that you would
work on a system and people would walk by without commenting," said
Palombo.
Palombo considered several alternatives, but says he never made the
switch from R-12 because he thought that retrofitting would be
time-consuming and costly.
"We were looking for something that could replace R-12 without having
to change the oil. Most of the systems we use have small, welded
compressors where oil change procedures are not feasible under the
methods recommended. Manufacturers recommend changing the oil three
times to get rid of any trace, because any trace of mineral oil might
be a problem.
Palombo continued: "When we first installed it in vending machines
and reach4n coolers, we were pleased that the 135-lb head pressure we
like to see was there. Then we discovered that FR-12 saves us time
because we can top off a slightly low charge without having to reclaim
the whole system."
According to Charlie Sciullo, an hvacr applications engineer at ICE,
"Most R-12 alternative blends are high-glide refrigerants that change
in composition when they escape through a leak, changing the
refrigerant's properties considerably. This makes it necessary to
evacuate all of the refrigerant and refill the empty system, a process
that may take several hours."
LOWER PRESSURE, LESS STRAIN
The service technicians who work with Palombo agree that FR-12 has
made their jobs much easier.
"I've had fewer problems with compressors going out," said Randy
Ditschler. "The pressure on the high side is much lower with FRIGC than
with other gases, so there's a lot less wear and tear on the
compressors and they start easier."
He also finds that condenser temperatures remain lower and more even
in systems using FR-12.
"With some alternatives, there's a quick change in temperature across
the condenser so it doesn't work efficiently. With FR-12, the
temperature is even and more of the condenser can work to remove heat
from the gas," he said.
Ditschler recently experienced first-hand the advantages of the
refrigerant's lower discharge pressures and temperatures.
"I got a call that the vending machine was not cooling, and what I
found was a suction line had been pushed into the condenser fan motor.
I moved the suction line out and the vendor started up again with no
problems and is still running fine several weeks later. It never would
have lasted this long if it had a different [higher-pressure]
refrigerant in it," he said.
REDUCED DOWN TIME
FRIGC FR-12 is also used at the Albany Marriott, a 360-room hotel and
conference center that serves up to 1,000 meals each day.
"At any given time we could have 1,500 guests in here eating and
drinking," said Matt LaClair, chief engineer for Marriott
International.
"Every piece of equipment needs to be up and running because if it's
down it will hamper our production. If you have a cooler down, you lose
area in the kitchen, and chefs don't like that!"
LaClair said he hesitated trying other refrigerant alternatives
because of the down time and processes involved.
"To use another refrigerant in a cooler we would have to cut the
compressor out, drain the oil, rinse it thoroughly, fill it with new
oil, solder it back in, evacuate the system, and fill it with the new
refrigerant. This might take six to eight hours. That's a lot of down
time. With FR-12 we can service four coolers in the time we would have
done one," he said.
After installing FR-12, LaClair said that his coolers ran more
quietly. "Noise can be a real problem here. Many of our coolers are
behind ballrooms where meetings are held. When the door to the kitchen
opens, you can hear the coolers. With FR-12 the coolers are actually
running a lot quieter," he said.
LaClair noted that the refrigerant is UL classified and has met
ASHRAE's highest safety designation, A1/A1. "It's nice that FR-12 is
non-flammable, unlike some blend refrigerants," he said. "In the hotel
and conference industry, that's a quality you hope you never have to
find out about."
Jim Snyder recently tried his first jug of FR-12. As owner of
Snyder's Quality Energy Service in Rensselaer, N.Y., Snyder services
residential and light commercial air conditioning and refrigeration
units. His customers include restaurants, convenience stores, floral
shops and other sites with walk-in and reach-in coolers.
"I've done four cooler conversions so far, and these units have been
running much colder," he said. "My goal is to keep head pressure down
and keep the units dispelling as little heat as possible.
"These are self-contained units where the heat that's generated runs
into the store. That's a big problem in the summer."
Snyder said his customers will also see lower utility bills when he
converts their units. "If a unit's high-side pressure runs lower, so
does its running amperage. This keeps the equipment cooler using less
electricity. It also gives it more longevity," Snyder said.
* Janet Essman was commissioned to write this article by InterCool
Energy, Latham, N.Y., a subsidiary of Intermagnetics General Corp. |
