Refrigerant identification tools are the best line of defense against counterfeit or contaminated refrigerants. The options range from external hand-held units to internal/embedded options included in the A/C machine. Identifiers vary in price and in the detail of data collected.
Here’s a quick look at the pros and cons with the two types of identifiers available on the market.
Let’s look at an external refrigerant identifier first. One of the major advantages is its portability. You can take it out of the shop and into the parking lot to service a vehicle. Another advantage is that less contaminated refrigerant is purged, and the sample hose is much shorter at 4 to 8-grams.
Regarding the disadvantages of an external identifier, a major drawback is that you must purchase a separate device whereas an internal identifier is already built-in. Because the external identifier involves a manual process (as opposed to an automatic process with a built-in identifier), the risk of machine contamination increases. With an external identifier, more of the responsibility is placed upon the end user.
A major advantage for an internal refrigerant identifier is that it is fully integrated into the machine. When the technician tells the machine to start the recovery process, it must first complete a refrigerant identification before it proceeds. Once it passes that identification, the recovery process can then proceed. This is an important safeguard.
In addition, the results of the identification are available and tied to a report that can be printed off to conveniently hand to your customer. An external identifier may not have the printing and reporting capability, though some do.
One of the major disadvantages of an integrated refrigerant identifier is dealing with the contaminated refrigerant because it is no longer a 4 to 8-gram sample hose. Instead you must now deal with 8 feet of contaminated sample hose that typically contains 100 grams of refrigerant. From a machine process standpoint, the technician now needs to complete a contaminated refrigerant process that could take extra service time. Plus, purging that much refrigerant can be expensive.
Whether you choose a built-in or external refrigerant identifier, the best advice is: use one!
Information provided by: MAHLE Service Solutions
