Ozone-depleting substance phaseout in Oz ahead of developed world Australia has taken a kicking for environmental performance lately, with stalled investment in renewable energy and climate change policy labelled as embarrassing, but this country should at least be proud of its performance when it comes to meeting its obligations under the Montreal Protocol. What’s more, … Continue reading Australia kicking Montreal Protocol goals
Inept criminals in China, Taiwan and the United States have been a source of refrigeration and air conditioning industry amusement recently. A thief caught in the act of apparently attempting to steal cabling connected to an outdoor air conditioning unit three stories above ground spent 60 hours trapped on top of the equipment as he … Continue reading AC criminals a comedy of errors
Queensland VASA members are encountering hydrocarbon refrigerant use among their client base, including heavy transport firms contracted to the resources sector and large-scale farming businesses. One example is a transport company that would use one VASA member’s workshop for three or four air conditioning jobs per week and provided a significant source of revenue. A … Continue reading Queensland hydrocarbon refrigerant regulation not stopping the rot
Following criticism from the Office of the Ombudsman after an investigation into a 2013 air conditioning fire and explosion that injured more than 20 people and caused extensive property damage, the Hong Kong government is advising the trade not to retrofit systems with flammable refrigerants. In its damning report into the 2013 Ma On Shan … Continue reading Hong Kong government advises against retrofits after HC blast
There has been a lot of promising progress toward a global phase-down of HFCs under the Montreal Protocol in recent months, with just a couple of spanners in the works. Many are hopeful that an international agreement will be forged his year with the Open-Ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol meeting … Continue reading Global HFC phase-down progress
Numerous technicians in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Spain and Vietnam have been killed or injured in recent weeks in a spate mysterious air conditioning explosions, according to sketchy, often contradictory media reports from those countries. In the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, four or five workers were taken to hospital for treatment of burns ranging from seven to … Continue reading Mysterious spate of deadly AC explosions
New Zealand branches of Patton and BOC Gas & Gear in Blenheim, Nelson, Greymouth, Timaru, Dunedin and Invercargill are accepting refrigerant recovery cylinders in two-week stints between July and October 2015. All unwanted refrigerants are accepted, with emptied cylinders returned two weeks after drop-off. Certified cylinders are preferred, although cylinders with expired test dates will … Continue reading BOC weighs into NZ refrigerant recovery program
Rodney Smith from CoolCar Air-Conditioning Centre Hamilton conducted a mini survey on New Zealand-new cars displayed at the New Zealand Agricultural Fieldays near Hamilton in June 2015. He wanted to get a feel for what refrigerant was in the air-conditioning of the latest cars and talk to the sales staff on the stands. A similar review … Continue reading Snapshot of NZ new car AC refrigerant
The Abbott Government’s proposal to relax new vehicle importation laws and enable personal imports of new cars could accelerate the uptake of R1234yf in Australia if the legislation passes. On some production lines, only models destined for countries where low global warming potential refrigerants are either compulsory or receive fuel efficiency credits are fitted with … Continue reading New car import laws could accelerate R1234yf growth in Australia
When I tell people that a technique I use during A/C diagnostics is visualising myself as a refrigerant molecule making my way around the internals of an AC system, my audience often allows their focus to wander from the discussion at hand while trying to determine just how crazy I am. Accurate diagnostics demands an … Continue reading Hacksaw Education
