The Real Cost of Cheap Refrigerant
Illegally imported and contaminated refrigerants are a growing concern for the HVAC and refrigeration industry across New Zealand. These black-market gases are being illegally imported and sold through online marketplaces and social media, often at prices well below normal market rates.
Because Illegal refrigerants are often sourced from untrustworthy overseas manufacturers, they bypass the necessary quality controls, traceability requirements, and safety checks. Without proper laboratory testing, buyers cannot be sure that the refrigerant inside the cylinder matches the label, meets recognised purity requirements such as AHRI Standard 700, or is suitable for its intended use.
With refrigerant prices so high in the New Zealand market, a cheap option can be tempting. However, any initial savings can quickly disappear if contaminated, mislabelled, or incompatible gases causes a system failure. Incorrect labelling or flammability placarding can also expose businesses to transport safety risk, regulatory non-compliance, and potential legal liability.
For businesses that rely on refrigeration to protect their inventory and keep operations running, the potential costs far outweigh the initial savings.
Why AHRI 700 Purity Standards Matters
Quality refrigerant should meet recognised purity specifications, such as AHRI Standard 700. These specifications ensure refrigerant has been tested for critical contaminants, including moisture, acidity, non-condensable gases, and other impurities that can negatively affect refrigeration and cooling equipment.
Using refrigerant that does not meet these requirements can damage costly equipment and disrupt operations.
A-Gas New Zealand recently obtained refrigerant samples bought from an unverified seller on an online marketplace. The samples were analysed at their Auckland laboratory to assess their composition and identify any contaminants present. The results showed significant contamination and raised concerns about refrigerant sold through unverified online sources.
The analysis report shown in Figure 1 presents the results of refrigerant quality testing conducted against AHRI Standard 700 specifications for an R410A sample. The tests confirmed that the R410A sample failed to meet several AHRI Standard 700 specifications, including purity, composition, moisture, high-boiling residue, particulates and solids, and non-condensable gases.
The high levels of moisture, high-boiling residue and non-condensable gases could seriously affect equipment performance and reliability if the refrigerant were used.
Introducing contaminated refrigerant into a refrigeration system can result in:
Compressor damage and premature equipment failure
Reduced cooling capacity and increased energy consumption
Costly downtime and repairs
Difficult and expensive system clean-up
Potential safety risks where incompatible or flammable refrigerants have been introduced without the owner's knowledge
Replacing a compressor, cleaning a contaminated system or managing unexpected downtime can cost far more than buying refrigerant from a trusted source in the first place.
How to Reduce the Risk
Buy refrigerant through established, reputable suppliers, check that cylinders are correctly labelled and documented, and seek laboratory testing if a product’s source or quality is uncertain.
As illegal and untested refrigerants become a greater concern across the industry, refrigerant quality is not something businesses can afford to leave to chance. System owners need to know what is going into their systems. If you don’t know what’s inside a cylinder, you can’t be sure how it might affect the performance or reliability of the system it goes into.
Video Guide on How to Take Accurate Samples
