Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
These days, contractors are faced with a wide array of refrigerant choices when
retrofitting systems designed for R-12. About a dozen different R-12
replacement products are marketed by major refrigerant manufacturers, as well
as by boutique refrigerant companies who mix proprietary blends and market
them under catchy trade names. For most applications, however, the choices
can be narrowed to a few products that have been extensively tested and
approved by compressor and equipment manufacturers. Of these products,
Genetron 409A from Honeywell is the leading choice for use in stationary
positive-displacement equipment such as:
Available nationwide and typically lower cost than R-12 and most other retrofit
blends, the performance of Genetron 409A is very similar to that of R-12 in low
and medium temperature applications, and Genetron 409A performs well over
the entire operating temperature range of R-12. In most R-12 applications,
Genetron 409A has been used with great success without converting the
systems from the original mineral oil or alkylbenzene lubricant. Typically, the
charge of Genetron 409A used in systems is 10% to 25% less than the original
charge of R-12 that it replaces, adding to its cost-effectiveness.
In a few systems that operate at low temperatures with long refrigerant lines that
provide marginally low refrigerant velocity, the combination of Genetron 409A
and mineral oil may not provide sufficient oil return and steps should be taken to
replace at least 50% of the systems mineral oil with alkylbenzene according to
the manufacturers recommendations. Typically, a single change to
alkylbenzene will remove 50% to 80% of the mineral oil in a system and is
sufficient to provide the necessary oil return and meet the recommendations of
most manufacturers.
In most large and medium size systems with semi-hermetic compressors,
changing the oil is a not a difficult or time-consuming task, and draining the
compressor sump of mineral oil and replacing it with alkylbenzene is not a major
roadblock to performing retrofits on these systems. For small systems with
hermetic compressors, changing the oil can be rather difficult especially where
access to the system itself is limited. These systems are usually operated with
100% mineral oil with Genetron 409A, and problems with these systems have
been rare.
The main reason for utilizing alkylbenzene oil is to improve oil return. This
lubricant has been in use for some time and has historically been applied to
systems that experienced poor oil return with mineral oil. These were usually low
temperature R-502 or R-22 systems. One of the major factors that determine
good oil return is the solubility of refrigerant vapor in the lubricating oil that has
migrated from the compressor to the evaporator. The refrigerant vapor going into
solution with the oil, lowers the viscosity ("thins out the oil") and allows for easier
return of the oil back to the compressor.
In addition to lubricant/refrigerant solubility, line sizing that determines refrigerant
velocity, length of lines, elevation changes, and other geometrical factors all
influence oil return. Temperature also has a strong influence on oil return. Lower
temperature not only increases the viscosity of the oil itself, it also reduces the
solubility of the refrigerant in the lubricant that further increases viscosity. In
some low-temperature freezers where a higher cooling capacity is needed to
provide evaporator temperatures below -10 F, Genetron MP66 is often used
instead of Genetron 409A, but in nearly all other cases Genetron 409A is the
recommended solution.
Genetron 409A is not recommended or approved to replace R-12 in automotive
air conditioners. For air conditioning in cars and trucks, either Genetron 134a or
Genetron 134a+UV should be used and the appropriate retrofit guidelines
followed.
Your local Genetron refrigerants wholesaler can provide you with more
information on retrofit products such as Genetron 409A, and can also provide
you with the most recent copy of the Genetron Refrigeration Retrofit Guidelines
booklet, a necessary tool for all refrigeration professionals.
Ted Gartland, Regional Sales Manager
Genetron Refrigerants, Honeywell International