Most air-conditioning installation work in the region is replacement and retrofit, carried out largely by independent service teams. That group is the one most directly affected as the market moves to A2L and hydrocarbon refrigerants.
The point worth making is that most technicians are still carrying a kit bought for the R22 and R410A era. That kit still works. Three items in it are no longer suited to the refrigerants now being installed.
Why the new refrigerants change the tool requirement
R32 is classified A2L, meaning low toxicity and lower flammability. R290 and R600a are classified A3, meaning low toxicity and higher flammability. Both groups can ignite in air at certain concentrations, where R22 and R410A cannot.
That difference does not make the work dangerous when it is done properly. It means that some familiar steps, particularly those that create a spark or a hot surface, have to be carried out with different equipment.
| Refrigerant | Safety class | Typical application | Typical charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| R22 | A1 | Legacy systems, being phased out | Varies by system |
| R410A | A1 | Residential and commercial air conditioning | 1 to 5 kg |
| R32 | A2L | Current generation air conditioning | 0.6 to 3 kg |
| R290 | A3 | Display cabinets, small cold rooms, heat pumps | 150 to 500 g |
| R600a | A3 | Refrigerators and commercial chillers | 30 to 150 g |
Three tools to replace first
The vacuum pump
A conventional pump has a mains switch and a motor that produces sparks while running. Working on an R290 or R600a system, if there is a leak during evacuation, that spark sits next to a source of flammable gas.
Pumps used with these refrigerants have to be the non-sparking type. Some models add a Bluetooth remote so the technician can stand back from the work area during evacuation and follow progress on a phone.
The leak detector
A halogen sensor, the most common type on the market, cannot see hydrocarbons. A detector that performs well on R410A may not register an R290 leak directly in front of it.
Systems running R290 or R600a need a detector whose sensor covers the hydrocarbon group. For a service team working across several system types in one day, a multi-sensor unit that reads halogen, CO₂ and hydrocarbon at once is a more sensible answer than carrying two or three separate instruments.
The charging scale
An R600a system usually holds between 30 and 150 grams. At that charge, a scale resolving to 5 grams introduces an error of roughly 3% to 17% from the reading alone. That is enough to leave the system short of its design performance or to overheat the compressor.
Hydrocarbon systems need 0.5 gram resolution. Some models are built specifically for this group, with a lower capacity but finer resolution, and a remote so the technician does not have to stand next to the cylinder while charging.
What carries on working
Existing manifolds, temperature probes, thermal imagers, vacuum gauges and clamp meters all carry on working. The single condition is that the manifold holds tables for the new refrigerants.
Most recent digital manifolds update their refrigerant list through software or a phone app. If the current manifold is analogue, or digital without an update path, it is the fourth item to consider replacing, though less urgently than the three above.
Safety on site
Tools are only part of it. The remaining three items are about how the work is organised and they cost nothing.
- Ventilate the work area before opening the system, particularly in enclosed rooms or basements
- Remove ignition sources from the working radius: gas torches, welding sets, electrical equipment with mechanical switches
- Establish the maximum permitted charge for the room volume, to EN 378-1
- Recover refrigerant with suitable equipment rather than venting it
Most incidents involving flammable refrigerants happen during maintenance, not while the system is running normally.
What order to replace them in
For a service team working to a budget, the sensible order is the leak detector first, then the charging scale, then the vacuum pump. A detector that cannot see the refrigerant creates direct risk and affects the quality of work on every system, while the vacuum pump only matters when the team is actually working on A3 equipment.
Elitech supplies multi-sensor infrared leak detectors, non-sparking vacuum pumps and 0.5 gram charging scales in Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines. Please contact us for advice on building a kit for the work you do.
Read more: Why analog manifold gauges drift on aircon jobs and Aircon vacuum pump: how to know the moisture is out.
