Since the phase-out of R-22 began in 2010 the cost has risen exponentially as each year passed by. In the year 2015 the price jumped even higher due to tougher import and production restrictions put in place by the Federal Government. That’s not the worst of it though folks, not by far. When the year … Read more
I saw this news today while reading through my alerts and frankly I’m saddened. It feels like another piece of my past has gone. If we rewind nearly eleven years ago at the beginning of my career I was tasked with the responsibility of negotiating and purchasing all of the R-134a refrigerant for my company. … Read more
Greetings everyone! I welcome you this weekend to breaking news in the refrigeration world. On August 8th, just a few days ago, a Federal Court in Washington D.C. ruled against the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed phase-out of HFC refrigerants. The lawsuit against the EPA and federal government was brought by one of the largest manufacturers of … Read more
No HVAC tech is complete without a refrigerant leak detector. I don’t care what part of the world you are in this is a tool that you will use and use often. The question though is what type of leak detector to use, what brand to buy, and what to look for when purchasing. Finding … Read more
A-Gas, one of the leading refrigerant companies in the world, has proudly announced a new refrigerant reclamation technology. This announcement came from their United Kingdom branch headquartered out of Bristol. The new technology is known as the ‘Rapid Recovery.’ At this time the service is being rolled out to five locations in the UK: Southwest … Read more
Well folks one of the big dogs in the refrigerated transport market, Carrier Transicold, has begun offering R-452A as an alternative refrigerant for their trucks here in America. Most everyone already saw this coming due to their competition, Thermo King, had already begun switching their trucks over to 452A as well. For those of you … Read more
Well folks the do-it-yourselfer air conditioning repairman will be quickly coming to a close at the end of this year. No more novices trying to ‘recharge’ their system. No more guys just dumping more refrigerant in. Well, we can at least hope so…unless these guys have a friend in the business. Some of the techs … Read more
Hello everyone! It’s been a long time for me here at RefrigerantHQ. Life has been crazy as I’ve started a new job, written a few books, and I’ve started a new website as well dedicated to the tool industry. It can be found at ToughAssTools.com. But hey that’s enough about me. Let’s move on to … Read more
If you are thinking of a career in HVAC industry, there is no better time than now. HVAC technicians are in high demand. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the employment of HVAC professionals to grow by 14 percent between 2014 and 2024. Quality training and the required certification are crucial for a successful career … Read more
The race is on to find suitable alternatives to R-404A. In 2009 the Honeywell corporation invented a new refrigerant called Genetron Performax (R-407F). This new refrigerant is an HFC blend containing forty percent of R-134a, thirty percent of R-125, and thirty percent of R-32. The thinking behind this refrigerant was to come up with a … Read more
Rather you like it or not folks R-410A will be going away and it’s going to be happening a lot sooner than everyone thinks. In 2015 the Environmental Protection Agency announced that they will beginning the initial steps of phasing out R-404A in July of 2016, January 2017, and 2018. Along with that they also … Read more
In 2015 the Obama Administration held a summit at the White House where various large companies in the United States were invited. The purpose of this summit was for Obama to gain pledges from each of these companies on beginning to phase out their HFC refrigerant usage. Each of these companies agreed to a specific … Read more
Hello ladies and gentlemen! I hope everyone had a fun Christmas. I spent all day yesterday putting together a gigantic dollhouse for my girls and today it is back to the grind. Earlier this month I wrote a few articles on what the pricing of R-22 is right now and what it will be in … Read more
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I hope everyone is ready for Christmas, we’re only a few days away now and my four day weekend starts today! I couldn’t think of a better product to review than the LeatherCraft 1539 toolbag since we are so close to Christmas. It would make a great Christmas present for … Read more
Hello ladies and gentlemen! It’s that time of year again. The cold wind is blowing, the snow is falling, and the temperature barely gets over twenty degrees across half of the nation. Instead of thinking about the cold I’m thinking about the summer. What will the heat be like next summer? How bad will it … Read more
Hello everyone! I’m doing something a little different today. The below is a guest post written by our friend Michael Berard at HVACTrainingCenter.com. I’ll be doing my own guest post over at his site as well. I hope you find the article helpful and please check out his site while you are on the topic. … Read more
Well folks I can’t say that I didn’t see this coming. I think most everyone did. On November 2nd, 2016 the EPA announced many changes on their certification program, who can buy refrigerants, and who can handle refrigerants. Not a lot of people knew that today as I write this you actually do not need … Read more
Well folks it’s official. Another phase out is among us. The world has come together to ban HFC refrigerants such as R-134a, R-404A, and R-410A across the world by the year 2100. Yes, that’s right 2100. While that may sound a ways away it is worth mentioning that the first official date of scheduled phase … Read more
An explosion in a hotel in Victoria, Australia left two men dead in June of 2014. This week the cause of the explosion was agreed upon by expert investigators including an expert in chemical arson. The air conditioning unit was located in the basement of the hotel with no proper ventilation, warning signs, or anything else. … Read more
Alright, so I’m kind of ashamed to admit this but I just found out this was a thing only a few months ago. It never occurred to me that covering up your air conditioning unit in the winter was necessary. My family and I just bought a new R-410A unit a little over a year … Read more