Digits make the formula
For a single compound the last digit counts fluorine, the one before it hydrogen plus one, the one before that carbon minus one: R-134a is C2H2F4, R-22 is CHClF2.
Reference tool — not a selection
Read a refrigerant number before it goes in an RFQ.
Refrigerant
Number, make-up, class.
Type the designation. Below the examples, an offered refrigerant can be checked against it: the number and the safety class. The drawing, the class and the RFQ line update with every change.
Examples:
Replacement check
On the designations alone: the equipment maker, the oil, the charge and the class society rules decide.
All 130 engineering tools
Provision plants and air conditioning on board run on refrigerants named by ASHRAE 34 numbers: R-134a, R-404A, R-717. The digits of a single compound give its formula, the 400 and 500 series are blends, the 700 series inorganic gases numbered by molar mass. Type the number, and the reader decodes it, shows a blend’s components, places the safety class and writes an RFQ line for the plant.
Global warming potentials are not given: the published values differ with the assessment they follow. The cylinder label and the safety data sheet decide.
How a number is read
Digits, series, classes.
400, 500, 700
The 400s are zeotropic blends, the 500s azeotropic ones; the 700s are inorganic, 700 plus the molar mass: R-717 is ammonia, R-744 carbon dioxide.
A1 to B2L
The letter is toxicity (A lower, B higher), the figure flammability (1 none, 2L lower, 2 flammable, 3 higher): R-404A is A1, R-32 A2L, R-717 B2L.
| Number | Kind | Formula or composition, mass % | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-22 | single | CHClF2 | A1 |
| R-32 | single | CH2F2 | A2L |
| R-134a | single | C2H2F4 | A1 |
| R-290 | single | C3H8 | A3 |
| R-600a | single | C4H10 | A3 |
| R-717 | inorganic | NH3 | B2L |
| R-744 | inorganic | CO2 | A1 |
| R-1234yf | single | C3H2F4 | A2L |
| R-1234ze(E) | single | C3H2F4 | A2L |
| R-404A | zeotropic blend | R-125 44 %, R-143a 52 %, R-134a 4 % | A1 |
| R-407C | zeotropic blend | R-32 23 %, R-125 25 %, R-134a 52 % | A1 |
| R-410A | zeotropic blend | R-32 50 %, R-125 50 % | A1 |
| R-507A | azeotropic blend | R-125 50 %, R-143a 50 % | A1 |
| R-448A | zeotropic blend | R-32, R-125, R-1234yf, R-1234ze(E), R-134a | — |
| R-449A | zeotropic blend | R-32, R-125, R-1234yf, R-134a | — |
| R-513A | azeotropic blend | R-1234yf, R-134a | — |
The shares of R-448A, R-449A and R-513A are left out, and so are safety classes that only one source gives.
Sources
Digit rule, series and letters: Wikipedia, "List of refrigerants". Blend compositions: Wikipedia and EngineersEdge, "Freon reference" (R-404A, R-407C, R-410A, R-507); components of the newer blends: Bitzer’s page on HFO and HFO/HFC blends. Safety classes: Wikipedia, the Conex Bänninger refrigerant table and the ASHRAE 34 table in Bacharach’s blog.
Before you send the request
Questions about refrigerants in an RFQ
What does R-134a mean?
A single compound: 1 is two carbons, 3 is two hydrogens, 4 four fluorines, so C2H2F4, a hydrofluorocarbon; the a marks the isomer. Its safety class is A1.
What is in R-404A?
A zeotropic blend of R-125, R-143a and R-134a, 44, 52 and 4 % by mass, safety class A1.
What do A1 and A2L mean?
ASHRAE 34 safety classes: A is lower toxicity and B higher; 1 means no flame propagation, 2L lower flammability, 2 flammable and 3 higher flammability.
What should the request include?
The refrigerant number as on the plant plate, the compressor maker, model and serial number, the oil in the system, and the part or service needed; for a retrofit, the refrigerant planned.
Number read?
Send the line with the plant plate.
A decoded number is a cross-check, not a refrigerant selection. Attach photographs of the plant and compressor plates, and Vessel Core checks them before an offer goes back.
Buyer tools
