Safety Regulations For Dealing With Refrigerant R134a

Safety Regulations for Working on Air-Conditioned Vehicles and Dealing with Refrigerant R134a

The refrigerant R134a which is used is known as a safety refrigerant. This means that this refrigerant is non-flammable, non-explosive, non-toxic, non-irritating, odorless and tasteless. Nevertheless, attention should be paid to the following:

General Safety Regulations

WARNING: Danger of injury as a result of contact with liquid or gaseous refrigerants.
- Wear rubber gloves to protect your hands.
- Treat affected skin in the same way as in the case of freezing. Rinse immediately with cold water and then consult a physician.
- Wear safety goggles to protect your eyes.
- If refrigerant still gets in your eyes, consult a physician immediately.

CAUTION: Danger of fire due to the air-conditioning system heating up from sunlight shining into the vehicle or during welding and soldering work.
- When carrying out repairs on the air-conditioning system, the system must be emptied by suction and the refrigerant must be purified. Chlorine-free refrigerants must also not be allowed to escape into the atmosphere and must be disposed of correctly.
- Due to their chemical composition, different refrigerants must not be mixed with each other. This also applies for smaller quantities.
- No welding, soldering or hot-air heating may take place on parts of the filled air-conditioning system or in its immediate vicinity.
- Make sure that parts of the air-conditioning system do not heat up during welding or soldering work on the vehicle.
- While drying after painting work, the temperature burden on the vehicle must not exceed two hours at a maximum temperature of 80 °C.
- Whether or not the system is filled with refrigerant, the heating causes a very strong overpressure which can cause damage to the system or even lead to an explosion.
- R134a is completely non-toxic at normal temperatures, but it decomposes upon contact with a flame or at high temperatures.
- Refrigerant bottles must not be thrown and must not be subjected to direct sunlight or other heat sources for an extended period when full.
- The maximum permissible temperature of a filled refrigerant bottle must not exceed 45 °C.

Safety measures

NOTE: The following safety measures should be observed for refrigerant R134a (additional regulations may apply in certain countries).

If repair work necessitates opening the refrigerant circuit, the refrigerant circuit is first to be emptied. Avoid all contact with liquid or gaseous refrigerants. If refrigerant should escape despite all safety measures having been taken, the resulting refrigerant/air mixture should not be inhaled. Therefore, switch on extraction systems, protect hands with rubber gloves and eyes with protective goggles.

CAUTION: The intensive effect of refrigerant on unprotected body parts can cause freezing.
- An eye-rinse bottle should be kept within reach.
- If liquid refrigerant gets into your eyes, rinse them thoroughly with water for about 15 minutes.
- Subsequently, use eyedrops and immediately consult a physician.
- The physician must be informed which refrigerant has caused the freezing.
- If refrigerant gets onto any other body parts despite all safety measures having been taken, these should also be rinsed immediately and thoroughly with water for at least 15 minutes.
- Although refrigerant is non-flammable, smoking, welding, soldering and hard-soldering is prohibited in areas containing refrigerant.

WARNING: Risk of injury: High temperatures from open flames or hot solids cause chemical breakdown of refrigerant gas. Inhalation of the resulting breakdown products leads to dry cough and nausea.

Emptying the refrigerant circuit
- Refrigerant should not be released into the environment but is to be extracted from the refrigerant circuit using an extraction or service station. The extracted refrigerant is then either processed again on-site or returned to the manufacturer for environmentally-friendly disposal (varying or additional regulations may apply in certain countries).

NOTE: Refrigerant R134a contributes to the greenhouse effect as soon as it is released into the Earth's atmosphere.

- Refrigerant R134a contributes to the greenhouse effect as soon as it is released into the Earth's atmosphere.

Working on the refrigerant circuit
- Work on the refrigerant circuit should only be carried out in areas with good ventilation. There should be no erection pits, shafts or cellar stairs within a radius of 5 meters. Any extraction systems should be switched on.

WARNING: Risk of injury:
- The leaking refrigerant is not only colourless and odorless, but is also heavier than air and therefore displaces oxygen. If refrigerant gas escapes despite all safety measures having been taken, there is an undetectable risk of suffocation in poorly ventilated areas and erection pits.
- The gas/air mixture formed when refrigerant escapes should not be inhaled but rather extracted via suitable extraction systems (workshop extraction system).
- No welding, soldering or hard-soldering should be carried out on any part of the filled air-conditioning system. This also applies to welding and soldering work on the vehicle when there is a danger of parts of the air-conditioning system heating up. The warming causes very strong overpressure in the system, which can cause the refrigerant system to rupture.

Painting work on vehicles with air-conditioning
- When carrying out repairs involving painting work, object temperatures in the drying oven or its preheating zone may not exceed 80 °C.

WARNING: Material damage: The warming causes very strong overpressure in the system, which can cause the refrigerant system to rupture.

Notes On General Repairs
- The refrigerant circuit of the air-conditioning is only to be emptied and opened if this is necessary due to safety measures or if components of the refrigerant circuit have to be replaced.
- The air-conditioning refrigerant circuit also remains closed during all other standard vehicle repair work.

Contact corrosion
Contact corrosion can occur if unsuitable connecting elements (screws, nuts, washers, rivets, plugs, adhesives, etc.) are used.

NOTE:
- For this reason, the manufacturer only fits connecting elements with a special surface coating.
- Only use original Porsche parts.