Knowledge Base:   All Automotive Air Conditioning FAQ Choosing and Using Alternative Refrigerants Fundamentals of Dehydrating a Refrigerant System Refrigerant Compositions Battery Chargers Air Compressors and Air Management Century Tool & Equipment Line Card Your Plasma Torch, Consumables and Increasing Their Life Product Literature Dangerous R-134a contamination found worldwide Returns Battery Knowledge

How can I know what refrigerant is in an A/C system? Last Updated: 09/28/2007

There is no way of truly knowing what refrigerant is in an A/C system unless you use a refrigerant identifier.  Of course the EPA mandates the use of unique fittings and labels for each refrigerant, however, when a car's A/C system has been retrofitted to use an alternative refrigerant, the "labeling/fittings" step of the process is often missed.  Refrigerants cannot be seen, have no odor, have no distinct color, and have no audible marker –not one of the human senses works in identifying refrigerants.  The only way to know what is in an A/C system is to use a refrigerant identifier.  It only takes one car to pull in for an A/C service to set off a chain reaction.  It's called the one car theory. One car pulls in for A/C service, the technician recovers the 'unknown' refrigerant from the car's A/C system and puts it in his R-12 bulk storage cylinder.  After the service he recharges that car with the refrigerant from that cylinder –and he also charges every other car that comes in for R-12 service with that same cylinder.  If car #1 in this story has a mixture of refrigerants -–now so does every other car that was serviced using that same cylinder… Tags: Contaminated, identifier, Refrigerants, mixed gas Was this article helpful? 10 (Best) 9 8 7 6 5 (Average) 4 3 2 1 (Worst) Comments:   Related Articles  > What happens when a hydrocarbon such as propane or butane is used in an A/C system?  > Do I need to do anything special to retrofit an old R12 system to a R134a system?  > What does R-22 do to a typical MVAC (mobile vehicle air conditioning) system?  > Why can't we continue to use R12?  > What do I do with contaminated refrigerant?  > Do I need be concerned about A/C component warranties if I retrofit a system to an alternative refrigerant?  > Will we ever have problems obtaining supplies of R134a?  > What do all OEMs (car manufacturers) currently use in all of their cars?  > How many refrigerants are currently "acceptable for use" in cars today?  > Can two refrigerants be mixed and still work?  > Can anyone buy the alternative refrigerants and retrofit kits?  > Can I recycle alternative refrigerants?  > I heard a story about HC-12a / OZ-12, are they flammable refrigerants? And what is the full story?  > Can I legally use HC-12a / OZ-12 for use in R134a cars, or in industrial refrigeration applications?  > I heard of propane or butane being used in A/C systems, is this true?  > Does the EPA test alternative refrigerants for performance in cars?  > Honeywell Solstice yf refrigerant Fact Sheet