R22a; Why is it Bad?

As far as I know, there is no such thing as R22a. R22 is modestly ozone depleting. Some of the newer refrigerants avoid ozone depletion, but still have global warming potential.

Do you really mean geothermal, vs. ground-source heat pump?

Hello, I am sure you did some research online since you wrote your reply, all the Hvac forum talk about it once in a while.

Any way, i guess i should said "ground-source heat pump" instead of geothermal, but i tough geothermal means ground-source heat. Can you explain me the difference, geothermal refer more to geyser, maybe?

Thank for your reply.

I kinda doubt he needed to do research, the guy knows the topic I'm laughing right now

@ Tornado, You should research your info before making a frivolous comment. R22a is the refrigerant blend r290 butane/propane and is indeed flammable.

Geothermal would be just moving heat up from the depth, and would only need water. Think 'hot springs'. E.G the underground heat is above the surface temperature and doesn't need fancy chemicals.

Del

@ Del the cat, Wrong!! Geothermal means and is "ground source" GEO=earth/THERMAL=hot

R22 is a chloroflorocarbon, and "experts have deemed it an ozone depleting substance and it is, so is the chlorine a volcano spews but you can't tax a volcano or make one a political issue

I wonder if they did that deliberately to create confusion. Sheesh.

Hmmm like you say...

You are telling me that there is some cheap a/c unit running on propane gas, how can they get away with that? (insurance companies wise, it has to get some type of commercial approval to be able to lay the tins on a shelf, this is America after all.) They must assume no one have them install in an enclosed room, I guess.

I'm glad i ask the question...I hope to ear some reply from the "pro" R22A.

IF it walks like a duck...and quacks like a duck....methinks it is probably a duck in someones proprietary (and therefore patentable and more expensive) sheeps' clothing.

It boils (ha ha) down to negative marketing for commercial reasons.

Can someone from AUS or Germany comment? I understand that propane is a legal refrigerant there.

Any horrific explosions associated with the old deep freeze?

I asked an AirCon tech about it here in Canada who was quick to trot out industry legends about Canadian familys killed by their refrigerators in huge fireball explosions. This in a country where it was never legal to use propane - and where its statistical occurance is near absolute (statistical) zero. Very 'fishy'!

For some unknown reason the Australian gov't has now approved the sale of Propane based refrigerant R290 over the counter to DIYers. It can apparently be added straight to the original system with no ill effects other than the obvious explosion concerns, although time will tell on the issue of seals etc. Local refrigeration technicians are refusing to service vehicles that have been charged with this product as they have no way of removing it from the system without contaminating their vacuum equipment, and, unlike the DIYer, they dare not release it to atmosphere.

The on-line "information" on this refrigerant is thoroughly lacking/confused. But it sells for about 10x the same amount of propane.

It is actually a propane with a bit of n-Butane thrown in to match the properties of R22. It might be OK for something that was outside but there ought to be a law about using it in houses. There is a law (somewhere) forbidding use in autos. It is supposed to be more efficient than R22. The problem is, the stuff is just sold in bottles so no one really knows what it will be used for. Maybe it will be used as fuel for a gas grill.

I figure the sellers really don't care if some fool blows his house up trying to save $100. Most of the DIYs just add the mixture to a system using R22. They figure with a name like R22a they ought to be compatible. I got suspicious when R22a was not listed in any list of coolents I could find. Both butane and propane do have coolent IDs.

Apparently, the members of this forum ask questions BEFORE they jump off the cliff. In most of the other forums they made the query after it was added to their system and things were not working as they would have liked.

Pat yourselves on the back!

I am agree with you on all of your statements, thank you very much.

Every few yrs a house blows up in the DC area because of a natural gas leak in the house. It mixes with air and gets ignited by a spark. Natural gas is has something in it that makes it stink. That probably reduces explosions by a great deal. You you know if R22 smells? That said we do use natural gas in houses but I would expect the pipe work is less likely to leak but you do raise a great question. Probably less care is used for the piping of freon lines.

We have more houses blow up from meth labs. Lately though, not so much - they have apparently moved to bath salts, etc.

This is not updated product as well as not safe according to the environment as it's not EPA approved product, now there is more updated & safest product available in the market and it's EPA approved as well, i.e R424a refrigerant .