This newest model of identifier can work on R1234yf and R134a systems. Photo: Neutronics
Back in March 2011, Auto A/C Reporter (AAR), a respected publication serving the automotive air conditioning industry in Europe, reported the discovery of severely contaminated R134a in several locations across the European Union. The magazine reported that these containers contained large quantities of R40 and R22, and there had been instances of severe system damage as a result of the use of these contaminated sources. About the same time, it was found that hundreds, if not thousands, of international refrigerated shipping containers had been serviced with the same formulation of counterfeit refrigerant.
Inside those containers, a bomb was brewing.
R40 is more properly known as methyl chloride. Any material can be used as a refrigerant if you can manipulate its pressures accordingly, and any material considered for use as such is assigned an “R” designation. The problem with using this particular gas in any modern refrigeration unit — be it a shipping, automotive or aerospace application — is that it doesn’t play well with the aluminum found in most of these systems. When it interacts with aluminum, it forms a third compound called trimethylaluminum (TMA) that is “pyrophoric” — which means that it is a flammable liquid and vapor that ignites in contact with air.
Kind of like the contact with air you might see in a leaking system, or when connecting your service equipment.
U.S. Army issues alert
As the evidence grew that the use of R40 in formulating counterfeit refrigerants was not limited to a particular geographical area, the U.S. Department of the Army issued a G4 All Army Action (ALARACT) message titled “Counterfeit R-134A of 021415MAR12,” highlighting the discovery and potential dangers of R40 present in these counterfeit supplies.
Andrew Schultz, lead engineer of Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center’s (TARDEC’s) Power Lab, told Motor Age, “When we became aware of the news about counterfeit refrigerant problems, we surveyed our vehicles at various locations. This revealed that we had contaminated refrigerant in our [ground] vehicles.”
An Integrated Process Team (IPT) was formed to tackle the problem. There were several issues related to the contamination of military refrigeration systems that had to be determined, including:
• the ability to detect the presence of R40 and other potentially dangerous contaminants;
• understanding how R40 and other substitute chemicals used in the production of counterfeit refrigerant reacted with system components, and the safety impacts related to these interactions; and
• what to do with a system that was found to be charged with these counterfeit blends.
In addition to TARDEC staff engineers, subject matter experts from the aftermarket — including the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) — were also involved in finding the answers to these and other questions.
According to Schultz, after the initial discovery, messages were sent to field personnel warning of the problem. All local purchases of R134a was placed on hold, and any needed supplies had to go through normal supply channels. Early contaminated vehicles are said to have been discovered in Afghanistan, and may have been returned to depots in the continental U.S. or shipped to other overseas duty stations. Add in the consideration that when a contaminated vehicle’s charge is recovered during a needed service to a previously uncontaminated recovery machine, it becomes clear that a means of isolating and identifying contaminated vehicles was needed.
To date, it has been determined that nearly 25% of the Army’s ground vehicles returning from theater contain contaminated refrigerant. And it’s not just R40.
“Various other benign and hazardous refrigerants have been found,” says Schultz. “The initial risk of R40 has thus far been proved to be a minimal issue in Army ground vehicles. However, flammable contaminates have been significantly more prevalent. Army fielded equipment, which is commercial automotive, is not certified to handle these chemicals and can result in fires. Some of the non-flammable contaminants have been found to destroy seals/hoses causing system failure.” That’s not good if you’re on a convoy mission in the middle of the desert.
TARDEC Senior Engineer Jeffrey Marcinok uses a refrigerant identifier to field test a vehicle. Photo: TARDEC
Is this strictly an overseas or military problem? Peter Coll, vice president at Neutronics Refrigerant Analysis and vice-chair of the SAE Interior Climate Control Service committee, told Motor Age that the processes and protections in place for U.S. imports of refrigerant help keep the occurrence of dangerous counterfeits at a minimum here. But it’s a serious issue in other parts of the world, particularly in Brazil, Vietnam, Korea, Dubai and the United Arab Emirates — all of which happen to be major shipping ports.
But if you think this is more of a shipping industry issue, think again. The same container of refrigerant they use is the same one we do.
Many forms
“There are different forms of counterfeiting,” explains Coll, noting there’s brand counterfeiting — for example, a generic refrigerant in a name brand container. Then there is content counterfeiting — R12 in an R134a container, for example.
And then there is the pure counterfeit where they are calling the product R134a, in a faked “brand name” container or not, but using whatever chemical cocktail they want. “That’s the most dangerous one,” he says.
So far, the IPT team has found 18 different refrigerants contaminating U.S. military vehicles.
“We’ve tested about 2,000 contaminated systems from shipping companies, military and other facilities, and we found that every single one of them had a blend of refrigerants. We’re talking about things like R22, R142b and a lot of things,” Coll says. “More recently, we’ve gotten word of some new contaminants, including R30. With the focus on R40, the counterfeiters are looking for other refrigerants they could use that we wouldn’t be able to detect.”
And that’s where the challenge grows. Every time a counterfeit is discovered, the counterfeiters learn from their mistakes. The only sure way to tell whether R40 is present is with a gas chromatograph of the suspect refrigerant. So forget using a simple pressure/temperature test. Most counterfeiters learned long ago to use a blend of cheaper refrigerants that would mimic the PT relationship of R134a. Even if you’re not concerned about R40 in your shop’s supply, the only way to know that you have pure R134a in the tank is to test it with an identifier.
Sealant is a leading cause of compressor failures and system woes. Photo: Pete Meier
And that great online deal you found? “If I hand you a 30-pound cylinder of R134a, how do you know it’s R134a? You don’t,” Coll says. “Thirty pounds of water weighs the same as 30 pounds of R134a; 30 pounds of sand weighs the same as 30 pounds of R134a.”
Hey, we’re not making this stuff up. It’s happened!
Supply or vehicle charge
Most of our discussion has been centered on the challenges faced by our military in identifying potentially dangerous situations involving counterfeit refrigerant. The need to test supply sources prior to use, and to know what is in the vehicle prior to servicing, is clear when that potential involves the risk of explosion.
The European magazine Auto A/C Reporter ran stories early on about unexplained catastrophic failures on some EU automotive systems. Photo: Auto A/C Reporter
But that’s not the entire picture. Consider our fighting men and women caught in a Humvee in 120°F heat and the A/C fails — or worse, leaks a flammable refrigerant into the cabin? Consider the cost to identify, safely recover, repair and then recharge vehicles damaged by the blends used by the counterfeiters.
Those same issues apply to our work here at home. Even if you take all the precautions and buy your virgin refrigerant from a known supplier, there is still one factor you have no control over: What the customer (or another shop) put in before he brought it to you.
“Anything less than a pure R134a test result is ‘no good,’ and should not be used [or recovered],” says Coll. “This has become a serious enough issue that, going forward, all new RRR (Recovery, Recycle, Recharge) and recovery-only equipment will require refrigerant identification before recovery of the vehicle’s charge.”
And while a refrigerant other than the one you want to install can be considered a contaminant to the system, there are additional ways to contaminate of which you ought to be aware. Air is a common contaminant that has a tremendous impact on system performance. It is also one of the easiest to add. Not performing a system evacuation prior to recharging will ensure air in the system — and who among you is willing to bet that every DIY job that finds its way to your doors has air in it?
It is considered a “best practice” to test and verify what’s in the car before servicing. Photo: Neutronics
Sealant is another common contaminant. “The low cost of sealant additives is attractive to consumers, due to the typical cost of repair,” Coll points out.
A customer arrives at your door asking for help in getting his system blowing cold again, and learns that just to find where the leak is coming from may run him $300. His favorite DIY supply store offers sealant he can put in himself for under $20. In his mind, what’s the worst that can happen? It doesn’t work and he’s out the $20? If it does work, he’s saved himself $280!
And when it doesn’t work, he’ll either add more (if one can is good, two has to be better, right?) or he’ll bring it to you. Do you honestly think he’ll tell you what he’s done?
If you don’t test for the presence of sealant on every car you service, you run the very real risk of damaging your equipment — putting you out of the A/C repair business for at least a few weeks.
Anything less than a 100% pure test result should be considered a red flag to servicing the system. Photo: Pete Meier
And if your season is short already, you’ll lose a lot more money from lost sales than you would by purchasing the sealant testing kit and a refrigerant identifier.
Today, procedures and processes are in place to inspect, detect and dispose of contaminated refrigerant in our Army’s ground vehicles. It’s not a bad idea for your shop to do the same.
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