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A/C Refrigerant

Sometimes it is user error

February 8, 2022

I encountered a situation in the early days of recovery/recycling machines when they had just been introduced.  I had set up a machine about four months earlier when the customer purchased it.  I went to great lengths to cover proper operation of the unit and the shop owner even attended a certification clinic I conducted. 
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Air contamination in an A/C system can ruin your day

February 2, 2022

I had a memorable encounter with air contamination in the mid 1990s.  I was conducting a lot of retrofit clinics at the time and had recently acquired a demo refrigerant identifier which I took to those clinics. At one clinic, there was a technician who was extremely interested in the refrigerant identifier.  
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The effects of air contamination in an A/C system

January 11, 2022

If you perform an Internet search for effects of air contaminated refrigerant on automotive A/C system pressures, you’ll find many results.  This information leaves no doubt that air contamination of refrigerant in an automotive A/C system can affect system pressures and temperatures
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The concept of superheat

October 19, 2021

We illustrated the concept of superheat in last week's article by boiling water and superheating steam in a moonshine still. This week we will apply this concept to refrigerant in an air conditioning system.  The still has been replaced with an evaporator. 
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Behavioral characteristics of various compressor types pt. 2

October 5, 2021

So now it is time to provide the correct answer along with information on why it is correct and also information on why the others are incorrect.
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AEM Update: Snap application for off-highway R-1234yf

September 22, 2021

MACS will have a variety of heavy-duty and off-road presenters beginning at 8 am on Thursday, September 30.  One will be AEM Update: Snap application for Off-highway R-1234yf
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Behavioral characteristics of various compressor types

September 21, 2021

When faced with a challenging A/C system problem, knowing what type of compressor you are dealing with can help streamline the diagnosis process. 
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MACS Tesla project

August 26, 2021

MACS is working on a project, to collect A/C charge information for Tesla vehicles, and we need your help!
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Mysterious servicing issue in R-1234yf systems

August 11, 2021

Recently a 2017 R-1234yf Honda system, with 72,099 miles, encountering a loss of cooling (slow leak) over time would not pass the equipment charge procedure and the production amount could not be charged. 
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Field study: Incorrectly installed condensers

August 10, 2021

I have handled numerous tech calls involving older GM trucks with incorrectly installed condensers.  In preparation for this series of MACS blogs, I discovered a salvage truck with one of these condenser repairs.  This gave me the opportunity to duplicate the incorrect installation and look for pitfalls and solutions.
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Top three tips on orifice tube behavior

July 20, 2021

In the last four MACS blog articles we covered a lot of detailed information about orifice tube system behavior. We examined a system with a full refrigerant charge verses a 25% undercharge. Now it is time to condense it all down into three important takeaways.
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Low refrigerant charge and the search for real data part 4

July 13, 2021

When we examined the pressure readings and vent temperature readings last week, there was nothing showing up that indicated any charge issues (even operating with the 25% undercharge).
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