A new laboratory for refrigerant quality testing has opened in New Zealand

The first laboratory in New Zealand with the capability to test the quality of refrigerants against the globally recognised AHRI Standard 700 is now operational

Refrigerants that conform to AHRI Standard 700 meet international quality standards on moisture and purity specifications that ensure they are fit for purpose when used in vital refrigeration and cooling systems.

A new laboratory at the A-Gas site in South Auckland is the only facility in New Zealand that can offer customers comprehensive testing and analysis of refrigerant quality, enabling proactive diagnosis of potential issues for system owners and assisting contractors to understand a baseline for future work to be carried out.

“Refrigerants that are unable to meet important AHRI conformance specifications such as purity and acidity are at risk of causing poor system performance and efficiency, consequently contributing to potential system deterioration,” says Mitch Williamson, country manager for A-Gas New Zealand.

“This is why we’re extremely pleased that we can offer our laboratory and analytical services to help customers optimise the performance of their assets and avoid unnecessary costs in system repairs.”

The capability of the A-Gas laboratory comes at a vital time as reclaimed refrigerants become an increasingly important part of the supply mix due to significant step downs in hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) importation. Re-using recovered refrigerant without appropriate testing and reprocessing introduces the potential risk of equipment damage and poor efficiency from non-certified or untested, low-purity refrigerants.

The new laboratory will play a major role in supporting the industry, servicing contractors and end users with full analytical testing capability in addition to recovering refrigerant from the market and processing it back to AHRI Standard 700 quality.