Working Safely with Hydrocarbon Refrigerants Essential Information

October 2011
The use of hydrocarbon (HC) refrigerants has significantly increased over the last two years,
most notably in the retail sector. These flammable refrigerants are now being widely used
in equipment with charges up to 1.5 kg in systems located indoors, for example on a shop
floor. In addition there are many outdoor located systems such as chillers with a typical
charge of 10 kg per circuit. For engineers servicing HC systems the increasing use of larger
charged systems has raised the focus on the safe working environment.

Golden rules for the safe working area

An area where an HC refrigerant such as propane (R290) or
propene (R1270) is being handled can be potentially
flammable, for example in the event of a leak or when
hoses are purged. The work area must be free from
sources of ignition such as naked flames and sparking
electrical devices. Typically an area with a radius of 3m
around the equipment being serviced should have no
sources of ignition. This safe zonealso applies around a
vacuum pump because it could discharge HC refrigerant to
atmosphere.

Golden rules for the work area

where HC systems are being
serviced:
The area must be well
ventilated;
There must be no source of
ignition within 3m of the
system;
The area must be monitored
with a hydrocarbon detector.

In addition, the work area must be monitored

with a hydrocarbon sensor, located at low
level. An example is shown in the photo. The
sensor should provide an audible and visual
alarm if there is HC in the air, well before
there is enough to form a flammable mix (approximately 2% of HC in air by volume).
To reduce the potentially flammable zone good
ventilation is essential. This means that in
many internal areas forced ventilation is
required. A ventilation fan has been developed
(the Care-Air) specifically for engineers working
with HC refrigerants. It uses an ATEX
approved fan motor so is safe to operate in a
flammable atmosphere. It has a 5m cable to
enable connection and switching on / off
outside of the potentially flammable area.

Service equipment
Most equipment used to service HC systems is standard and already used for HFC work.
This includes:

Line tap valves to access systems (but they should only be used for removing the
refrigerant, then replaced with a Schrader valve for evacuation and charging);
Manifold gauge set (saturation temperatures should be taken from a comparator);

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Article, Working Safely with Hydrocarbons

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Leak detection spray (HFC electronic leak detectors must not be used, but electronic
detectors for HCs are available).

Standard recovery machines for HFCs must not be

used with HC refrigerants because of the inbuilt
sources of ignition such as switches, high and low
pressure switches and relays. The Caresaver
recovery machine has been developed specifically for
use with HC refrigerants (it can also be used with
HFCs). This is a rugged machine capable of
recovering both liquid and gas. It has a selfdischarge feature to minimise mixing of refrigerants.
Importantly for use on HC systems, the machine has
a low pressure override, enabling it to pull systems
down onto a deeper vacuum. This is essential for
engineers to safely unbraze connections on HC
systems. The Caresaver ensures as much HC has
been removed from the system as possible.
Nitrogen can then be used to back fill the system to
a very slight positive pressure. This ensures that the
small amount of HC remaining in the system is mixed
with nitrogen and that air cannot be drawn into the
system creating a potentially flammable mix that
would be dangerous when unbrazing.
On small systems the capillary tube or drier can be
blocked. It is therefore essential that the refrigerant
is removed from both the low and high side of the
system prior to unbrazing.

Training

Procedure to remove HCs before

un brazing a connection
1. Recover HC refrigerant using
the Caresaver;
2. Run the recovery machine until
the low pressure lamp
illuminates then switch on its
low pressure override for 5
minutes so the system is in a
deep vacuum;
3. Back fill the system with dry
nitrogen to a pressure of 0.1
bar g;
4. Un braze the connections,
ensuring there is no HC in the
air before lighting the brazing
torch.

Engineers working with HC refrigerants should be

trained in accordance with the specification in
EN378-4:2008 Annex E. The knowledge outlined in
this Annex is covered in the awareness training provided by Cool Concerns Ltd, and includes:

An introduction to HC refrigerants;
Performance and operating conditions;
Flammability and sources of ignition;
Service procedures;
Maximum charge sizes.

Short videos are included to illustrate safe working practices such as the recovery procedure
outlined above. More detailed informaton about training will be covered in a later article in
this series.
For more information:
The Care-Air and Caresaver are available from RDA, www.rda-eng.com, 01983 821189.
Training is available from Cool Concerns Ltd, www.coolconcerns.co.uk, 01684 290333.
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