Contamination of refrigerants either in storage cylinders or vehicle air conditioning systems can lead to component corrosion, elevated head pressures, and system failures when used by unsuspecting technicians. The ability of the technician to determine refrigerant type and purity is severely hampered by the presence of air when attempting to use temperature-pressure relationships.The development of various substitute refrigerants further complicates the ability of technicians to determine refrigerant purity based upon temperature-pressure relationships. The substitute refrigerant blends can also introduce a flammability hazard to the refrigerant technician and the ultimate end-user of the vehicle air conditioning system. Non-condensable gasses (NCG), which are mainly comprised of ambient air, commonly contaminate refrigerant stores or systems.
Contamination can be introduced into refrigerant from sources such as leaking joints on vehicle air conditioning systems, incorrect handling of transfer hoses, incorrect use of refrigerant recovery and recycling equipment, or failure of such equipment. Ambient air contamination will lead to a number of refrigerant system problems, including corrosion induced by moisture content of the ambient air, increased compressor heat and wear due to increased head pressures, added stress on system components due to increased head pressures, and reduction of system efficiency due to displacement of refrigerant by the ambient air or NCG.
The identifier provides a fast, easy, and accurate means to determine refrigerant purity in refrigerant storage cylinders or directly in vehicle air conditioning systems. It also determines the need and controls the purging of ambient air-based NCG from refrigerant storage vessels or vehicle air conditioning systems.
The instrument uses non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) technology to determine the weight concentrations of refrigerant types R-12, R-134a, R-22, hydrocarbons, and air. Refrigerant purity is automatically determined for refrigerants R-12 and R-134a by the instrument to eliminate human error. Pure refrigerant is defined as a refrigerant mixture that contains 98% by weight, or greater, of either R-12 or R-134a. The instrument provides the option to purge sample refrigerant sources of air contamination down to levels set by the user. Air purging is completely automatic and requires no intervention by the user other than telling the instrument to begin the purging process.
The instrument is supplied complete with R-12 and R-134a sample hoses, an R-134a adapter fitting to permit sampling of ACME-ported cylinders, a purge vent hose, a power cord, and all required plumbing housed within a rugged portable case. Refrigerant Identification Sample gas is admitted into the instrument through the supplied sample hose and is presented to the sensing device. The instrument provides the user with direct percent-by-weight concentrations of R-12, R-134a, R-22, and hydrocarbons. If the sample is determined to be pure R-12 or pure R-134a, the instrument also provides a direct readout of the weight percentage of air within the sample. Note that the instrument does not consider air to be a contaminate, since it can be removed by refrigerant recycling equipment or by the purging feature of the instrument itself. Since air is not considered a contaminate, it is possible to read 100% R-12 plus 5% air. The instrument only considers the weights of refrigerant contaminates in the total mixture.
The instrument interfaces with the user through the use of a 2-line, 16-character, alphanumeric display, status indicator lamps, pushbutton communication switches, and an alarm. Alarm indications are provided to alert the user of instrument fault conditions, potentially flammable refrigerant presence, and contaminated refrigerant presence. Direct percent by-weight concentrations of sample refrigerant are provided on the display, as well as user directions and prompts. A printer port is supplied with the instrument that interfaces with most parallel port printers.

Warning: This product may expose you to chemicals including lead which are known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov