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Acid Indigestion

Everything you have been told is all wrong!

After-market additives used to neutralize acid from a compressor burnout or to prevent a future burnout are some of the worst chemical mixtures we have encountered.

These are not high tech remedies or advanced systems treatments. They are, in fact, very crude antidotes which can be more harmful than the actual ailment they intend to cure.

Breakdown

We have analyzed three different varieties of the neutralizers.

Product

1. A mixture of Isopropyl Alcohol and Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) in mineral oil.

2. Alcohol/solvent blend having an alkaline signature.

3. Industrial grade Ethanol 95%, with 5% water.

Solvents and Alcohols are some of the most damaging compounds you could ever introduce into a working Refrigeration System.

Your compressor oil does not tolerate being mixed with aggressive chemicals. Addition of any one of the above products will reduce your oils’ viscosity and the oils’ ability to impart proper lubrication on the main bearing journals. Notwithstanding, well documented chemical incompatibilities and notable side effects.

Special Effects

Whenever an acid molecule is neutralized, one molecule of water plus one molecule of salt will be produced as the byproducts. This is a basic chemical fact, it is not some hypothesis or theory, it is as real as 1 + 1 = 2. The resultant water and salt become the main culprits which will eventually eat your system from the inside out.

The incorporation of alcohol in the above mixtures serve to further complicate matters. Alcohol drives all water out of the drier desiccant. Your drier will become completely disabled to perform the function for which it is intended. Overtime, the driers’ desiccant begins to adsorb the free alcohol circulating in the system. This is because your drier prefers alcohol over water. (Refer to our article "Kiss of Death").

Sealed tube tests have shown that small quantities of alcohol will react with metal, cause insulation to become brittle and deposit solid gray aluminum masses into the oil.

The Neutral Zone

Being a longtime bench chemist, I have lots of skill and experience when it comes to adjusting or neutralizing the pH of a solution. I can tell you it cannot be done without a good pH meter. Just one drop too much neutralizer and the batch is blown. I can’t imagine any Tech in the field being able to blindly slug feed a system with a neutralizer and assume ‘it is right on the money’.

More than likely, the neutral point(7.0) will be overshot and the oil will become alkaline.

Dangers of Alkalinity

Believe it or not, the optimum fluid condition of an Air Conditioning or Refrigeration system must stay mildly acidic.

1.0 5.5 6.5 7.0 14.0
acidic neutral basic

The circulating Refrigerant-Oil stream will have a nominal pH value between 5.5 to 6.5, depending on the Refrigerant type and Oil. This holds true for a CFC, HCFC, or HFC system.

I shall quote form an official source:

It is especially important not to use alkaline or basic material such as these or any other alkaline agents with R-22. This refrigerant is sensitive to alkaline conditions and tends to be decomposed by basic materials. Pg. 177

Compounds [refrigerants] containing hydrogen are especially sensitive to pH, being relatively stable in neutral or acidic solutions but rapidly hydrolyzed under alkaline conditions. Pg. 183

Source, "Fluorocarbon Refrigerants Handbook", By Ralph C. Downing, 1988 Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-322504-6. Get a copy !

The Additive Gang

The oils, refrigerants, gaskets, seals and metals used in the sealed system today have been carefully tested for chemical stability and longevity.

The use of additives may be tempting under certain conditions.

The professional service tech will work to remove the cause of trouble rather than resort to the latest scatterbrained cure. Adding anything foreign to the system often leads to trouble down the line. The least contaminated system will be the best performing system.