Introduction; General Service And Safety Precautions; Refrigerants And Other Chemicals; System Flushing, Purging, And Pressure Testing For Leaks - Webasto Transit Vancouver Extended Body Manual

Vancouver

Introduction

1.0 General Service and Safety Precautions

WARNING
Never service, repair, or troubleshoot this system unless you are a professional air conditioning/refrigeration service person.
Improper servicing can lead to serious injury or death from fire, electric shock, or explosion.
Refrigeration and air conditioning devices are extremely complicated by nature. Servicing, repairing, and
troubleshooting these products should be done only by those with the necessary knowledge, training, and equipment.

1.1 Refrigerants and Other Chemicals

Contact with refrigerant, mixtures of refrigerant and oil, or other chemicals can cause a variety of injuries including burns
and frostbite. For example, if refrigerant contacts skin or eyes it can cause severe frostbite. Also, in the event of a
compressor motor failure, some refrigerant and oil mixtures can be acidic and cause chemical burns.
To avoid injury, wear appropriate protective eye wear, gloves, and clothing when servicing an air conditioning or
refrigeration system. Refer to your refrigerant supplier for more information.
If refrigerant or mixtures of refrigerant and oil come in contact with skin or eyes, flush the exposed area with water and get
medical attention immediately.

1.2 System Flushing, Purging, and Pressure Testing for Leaks

Failure to properly flush, purge, or pressure test a system for leaks can result in serious injury or death from explosion, fire or
contact with acid-saturated refrigerant or oil mists.
Webasto recommends that the system be serviced using a flush and purge station such as a Robinair
unit or similar equipment designed for R134a refrigerant systems.
Follow these precautions when flushing/purging a system or pressure testing a system for leaks:
• Use flushing products according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• To purge a system, use only dry nitrogen.
• When pressure testing for leaks, use only
• regulated dry nitrogen or dry nitrogen plus trace amounts of the serial label refrigerant, in this case, R134a.
• When purging or pressure testing any refrigeration or air conditioning system for leaks, never use air, oxygen or
acetylene.
• Oxygen can explode on contact with oil.
• Acetylene can decompose and explode when exposed to pressures greater than approximately 15 PSIG.
• Combining an oxidizing gas, such as oxygen or air, with an HCFC or HFC refrigerant under pressure can result in a
fire or explosion.
• Use a pressure regulating valve and pressure gauges.
Commercial cylinders of nitrogen contain pressures in excess of 2000 PSIG at 70°F. At pressures much lower than 2000
PSIG, compressors can explode and cause serious injury or death. To avoid over pressurizing the system, always use a pres-
sure regulating valve on the nitrogen cylinder discharge. The pressure regulator must be able to reduce the pressure down
to 1 or 2 PSIG and maintain this pressure. The regulating valve must be equipped with two pressure gauges:
• one gauge to measure cylinder pressure, and
• one gauge to measure discharge or down-stream pressure.
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