"The air conditioning refrigerant needs to be changed once a year."
I often hear this kind of similar statements. Some say it changes every year, while others say it changes every 2, 3, or 5 years. I once thought that air conditioning refrigerants needed to be replaced regularly.
The oldest air conditioner in my house has been in use for five or six years, and I thought to myself that the refrigerant should be replaced no matter what.
I found a worker at the home appliance repair shop downstairs from my house, but when he heard my needs, he let me go home directly. Later, I went through some materials myself and found out the truth about air conditioning refrigerants.
Should the refrigerant be replaced?
There are many types of air conditioning refrigerants, commonly R22, R32, and R410a. On the outer packaging of refrigerants, the shelf life is usually marked, which is 3-5 years. Based on this, many people conclude that air conditioners need to change the refrigerant every 3 to 5 years.
This is actually completely wrong!
The outer packaging of refrigerants has a shelf life because refrigerants are stored in pressure tanks. The sealing of pressure tanks is limited, and after three to five years, the refrigerant in the tank will leak or enter the air, affecting the purity.
But when refrigerant is added to the air conditioner, the sealing performance of the air conditioner is much better than that of the pressure tank, so there is no such thing as "shelf life".
In other words: The refrigerant in the air conditioner can accompany the air conditioner for life, and if there are no accidents, it does not need to be replaced halfway.
Refrigerant needs to be replenished regularly?
After seeing this message, I had a doubt in my heart, so I quickly ran to the worker's store to consult in person:
Why do we often see workers carrying refrigerant tanks to users' homes to add refrigerant?
The worker said that this is not actually replacing the refrigerant, but supplementing the refrigerant. This step is also known as "fluoridation" by frontline workers - fluorine, which is the refrigerant (previously referred to as R22 alone, also known as "Freon", now a general term for refrigerants).
Under normal circumstances, the internal environment of the air conditioner is absolutely sealed. But when a malfunction occurs, the refrigerant will leak or be missing, commonly known as "fluorine deficiency". At this point, it is necessary to replenish the refrigerant, and the refrigeration effect can only be guaranteed after the refrigerant reaches a certain amount.
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