II. Functional Description

Contamination of refrigerant in air conditioning systems or storage cylinders can lead to component corrosion, component destruction, elevated system head pressure and system failures when utilized by unsuspecting technicians. The ability of a technician to determine refrigerant type and purity is severely hampered by the presence of air when attempting to utilize pressure- temperature relationships. The development of substitute refrigerants further complicates refrigerant identification and purity determination based upon pressure-temperature relationships.

The ID900 Automotive Refrigerant Identifier will provide a fast, easy and accurate means to determine refrigerant type and purity in refrigeration systems and refrigerant storage cylinders. The instrument utilizes a combination of infrared and chemical fuel cell technologies to determine purity and contamination levels or refrigerants R12 and R134a as well as air concentrations in both refrigerant types.

The instrument is supplied in a storage case that will house all components. R12 and R134a sample hoses are provided as well as a R134a cylinder adapter fitting and a power cord for connection directly to the vehicle battery. An optional wall power adapter is available to permit powering of the instrument directly from standard wall power outlets.

Sample gas is admitted into the instrument through the supplied sample hose and presented to the sensing devices. The instrument will provide a digital readout of refrigerant purity, a pass or fail condition and the amount of air contamination. A sample will be considered to be pure, or passed, if the concentration has been determined to be 98% by weight or greater of a single refrigerant. The instrument will also provide the user with a direct readout of unknown compounds that can be R22, hydrocarbons or other refrigerants commonly utilized in blended refrigerant types.

All operating instructions are provided to the user through display prompts to avoid mistakes and erroneous readings.

The ID900 Automotive Refrigerant Identifier will provide the refrigerant technician with knowledge of refrigerant purity and protection against equipment and air conditioning system damage resulting from contamination.