ARC highlights essential refrigeration tool

The Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) has recommended refrigerant analysers become an essential workshop item for refrigeration technicians and businesses.

Although they’re not a legal licensing requirement, the ARC says refrigerant analysers are a sound investment in protecting against the hazards of inadvertently using contaminated refrigerant.

ARC Chief Executive Officer, Glenn Evans, says having an analyser is insurance against the potentially serious consequences for you, your staff and your customers that having contaminated gas can cause.

He believes it’s vital that technicians know what gas they are handling.

“This applies to everyone working in climate control, but it’s a particular challenge in the automotive sector, where you might not know a vehicle’s service history,” he says.

“Consider the workshop that unknowingly recovered contaminated refrigerant from a customer vehicle, and thereby contaminated its workshop equipment and several other customer cars.

“That’s a costly problem to fix, but an even greater risk is where a system might have been illegally charged with a flammable refrigerant, and that can lead to serious injuries.”

Evans says there are a variety of analysers for sale, often at surprisingly low costs. Making use of the tools early on could prevent problems before they have a chance to happen.

“People who bring in a car with contaminated gas might not know it, but the damage will be done just the same – unless you analyse the gas before working on it,” says Evans.