Robinair 16910 User Manual
Operating Manual
Model 16910
ID Plus Refrigerant Identier
Table of Contents
Safety Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Unit Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Hardware Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Operating Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Error Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Replacement Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Specications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Warranty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
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Safety Precautions
WARNING : To prevent personal injury:
Study, understand, and follow all warnings in this manual before operating this
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unit. If the operator cannot read these instructions, operating instructions and
safety precautions must be read and discussed in the operator’s native language.
— Si el operador no puede leer las instrucciones, las instrucciones de operación y
las precauciones de seguridad deberán leerse y comentarse en el idioma nativo
del operador.
—Sil’utilisateurnepeutlirelesinstructions,lesinstructionsetlesconsignesde
sécurité doivent lui être expliquées dans sa langue maternelle.
The Identier
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to be potentially ammable.
Operate this unit with either R-12 or R-134a refrigerant. Cross-contamination
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with other refrigerant types causes severe damage to the A/C system, to service
tools, and equipment. Do NOT attempt to adapt the unit for another refrigerant.
Do NOT mix refrigerant types through a system or in the same container.
DO NOT breathe refrigerant and lubricant vapor or mist. Exposure may irritate
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eyes, nose, and throat. If accidental system discharge occurs, immediately
ventilate the work area. There must be adequate ventilation in the vehicle
servicing area.
gives an alarm (audible and visual) should a sample be determined
When testing vehicle air conditioning systems, the vehicle ignition and
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compressor must be turned OFF. This action prevents EMI/RFI problems as well
as eliminates potential user hazards from moving parts of the vehicle.
The air detection sensor is a chemical fuel cell sensor that will eventually
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expire. The user must replace the air detection sensor whenever the instrument
indicates as such. Failure to replace the air detection sensor will result in nonfunctionality of the instrument.
Wear eye and skin protection when working with refrigerants. Escaping
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refrigerant vapors can freeze upon contact. Do NOT direct refrigerant escaping
from the sample hose toward exposed skin or toward the face.
To reduce the risk of electrical shock, do not open the instrument housing.
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Do not use the instrument in wet or damp areas. Minimize the use of extension
cords.
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Safety Precautions
Caution : To prevent equipment damage,
Air Detection Warm-Up: For best accuracy in air detection only, allow the instrument an
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additional 5-minute warm-up period after completion of the warm-up and calibration modes.
Allow the instrument to sit undisturbed for 5 minutes following the completion of the initial
calibration mode.
Refrigerant Blend: As of December, 1996, there are nine (9) EPA SNAP “acceptable for use”
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refrigerants that are available and legal for use as R-12 substitutes. The Identier does not
identify any of the substitutes as pure R-12 or pure R-134a. Each of the nine blends has been
tested in the factory laboratory and none are able to “fool” the Identier. Should one of the
blends be encountered, the Identier fails the refrigerant and provides an analysis in terms
of percentage by weight concentrations of only R-12, R-134a, R-22, and hydrocarbons. Due
to cross-sensitivity issues of the blends on the sensing device, the resultant reading will not
be correct in the analyzed concentrations. However, the Identier never identies any of the
blends as pure R-12 or R-134a.
Sample Filter: Replace the sample lter on the instrument AS SOON AS RED SPOTS OR
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DISCOLORATION APPEAR ON THE OUTSIDE DIAMETER OF THE WHITE ELEMENT. Failure
to correctly maintain and replace the sample lter will result in severe damage to the unit.
Sample Input: The instrument requires connection of the supplied sample hose to the
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LOW-SIDE or VAPOR port of refrigerant storage cylinders or vehicle air conditioning
systems. Do NOT attempt to introduce liquid or samples that are heavily laden with oil into
the instrument. Do NOT connect the sample hose to the HIGH-SIDE or LIQUID PORT. Liquid
or oil laden samples cause severe damage to the instrument. ALWAYS verify the refrigerant
to be tested does not contain or will not emit heavy loads of oil or liquid.
Air Purge: Do NOT attempt to purge the detected air from refrigerant sources that are vapor
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only. In order to purge air from refrigerant sources, there MUST be some quantity of liquid
refrigerant present to replace the volume of the air. Attempts to purge the air from vapor-only
sources will result in the loss of the entire refrigerant charge.
Inspect the sample hose before each use. Replace the hose if it appears cracked, frayed,
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obstructed, or fouled with oil. Do NOT use hoses other than those supplied with the
instrument. The use of other hose types will introduce errors into the refrigerant analysis
and instrument calibration.
Do NOT open the instrument housing. There are no serviceable components internal to the
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instrument, and opening the housing will void the warranty.
Place the Identier on a at and/or sturdy surface or utilize the housing hanging hook.
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NEVER admit any sample into the instrument at pressures in excess of 300 psig.
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Do not use the coupler supplied on the service end of the R-134a sample hose for any
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application other than with the instrument. The coupler is modied, does not contain a check
valve, and is not suitable for any other refrigerant application.
Never obstruct the air intake, sample exhaust, or vent ports of the instrument during use.
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Unit Description
Contamination of refrigerants either in storage cylinders or vehicle air conditioning
systems can lead to component corrosion, elevated head pressures, and system failures
when used by unsuspecting technicians. The ability of the technician to determine
refrigerant type and purity is severely hampered by the presence of air when attempting
to use temperature-pressure relationships.
The development of various substitute refrigerants further complicates the ability of
technicians to determine refrigerant purity based upon temperature-pressure relationships.
The substitute refrigerant blends can also introduce a ammability hazard to the
refrigerant technician and the ultimate end-user of the vehicle air conditioning system.
Non-condensable gasses (NCG), which are mainly comprised of ambient air, commonly
contaminate refrigerant stores or systems. Contamination can be introduced into
refrigerant from sources such as leaking joints on vehicle air conditioning systems,
incorrect handling of transfer hoses, incorrect use of refrigerant recovery and recycling
equipment, or failure of such equipment. Ambient air contamination will lead to a number
of refrigerant system problems, including corrosion induced by moisture content of the
ambient air, increased compressor heat and wear due to increased head pressures, added
stress on system components due to increased head pressures, and reduction of system
efciency due to displacement of refrigerant by the ambient air or NCG.
The identier provides a fast, easy, and accurate means to determine refrigerant purity
in refrigerant storage cylinders or directly in vehicle air conditioning systems. It also
determines the need and controls the purging of ambient air-based NCG from refrigerant
storage vessels or vehicle air conditioning systems.
The instrument uses non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) technology to determine the
weight concentrations of refrigerant types R-12, R-134a, R-22, hydrocarbons, and air.
Refrigerant purity is automatically determined for refrigerants R-12 and R-134a by the
instrument to eliminate human error. Pure refrigerant is dened as a refrigerant mixture
that contains 98% by weight, or greater, of either R-12 or R-134a.
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Unit Description
The instrument provides the option to purge sample refrigerant sources of air
contamination down to levels set by the user. Air purging is completely automatic
and requires no intervention by the user other than telling the instrument to begin the
purging process.
The instrument is supplied complete with R-12 and R-134a sample hoses, an R-134a
adapter tting to permit sampling of ACME-ported cylinders, a purge vent hose, a power
cord, and all required plumbing housed within a rugged portable case.
Refrigerant Identication
Sample gas is admitted into the instrument through the supplied sample hose and
is presented to the sensing device. The instrument provides the user with direct
percent-by-weight concentrations of R-12, R-134a, R-22, and hydrocarbons. If the
sample is determined to be pure R-12 or pure R-134a, the instrument also provides a
direct readout of the weight percentage of air within the sample. Note that the instrument
does not consider air to be a contaminate, since it can be removed by refrigerant recycling
equipment or by the purging feature of the instrument itself. Since air is not considered a
contaminate, it is possible to read 100% R-12 plus 5% air. The instrument only considers
the weights of refrigerant contaminates in the total mixture.
The instrument interfaces with the user through the use of a 2-line, 16-character,
alphanumeric display, status indicator lamps, pushbutton communication switches, and
an alarm. Alarm indications are provided to alert the user of instrument fault conditions,
potentially ammable refrigerant presence, and contaminated refrigerant presence. Direct
percent-by-weight concentrations of sample refrigerant are provided on the display, as
well as user directions and prompts. A printer port is supplied with the instrument that
interfaces with most parallel port printers.
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Unit Description
Air-Radicator Purging
When a refrigerant source has been determined to be pure (at least 98% by weight of
either R-12 or R-134a), the instrument automatically offers the air purging feature to the
user, should there be any air contamination. Continuous monitoring of the venting gas
stream to determine exact air concentrations controls the purging feature. Purging limits
can be set by the user between 2%–9% by weight to tailor the purge to specic needs. The
instrument controls all functions of the purging feature with no intervention by the user
required to complete the procedure. The user can halt or cancel this procedure at any time.
Control of the purge operation is achieved through direct measurements of refrigerant
concentration and is not dependent upon temperature or pressure measurements.
Existing technology in the vehicle air conditioning market typically uses both pressure
and temperature measurements to determine air concentration and to control the
purging procedure. Pressure-temperature technology is susceptible to errors induced by
refrigerant contamination and difculties in obtaining precise temperature and pressure
measurements. This is due to the inability to account for rapid temperature and pressure
drops of the refrigerant during the purge procedure by temperature-pressure based
equipment or procedures. Temperature-pressure based technology commonly requires
the refrigerant source to come to a temperature-pressure equilibrium before purging can
begin. This process can take as long as eight to 24 hours.
With direct measurement of refrigerant concentrations, there is no need to wait for
a refrigerant source to reach a temperature and pressure equilibrium. Also, rapid
temperature and pressure changes during purging operations do not affect the
measurements.
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Hardware Descriptions
The Identier provides the user with a complete tool to identify refrigerant mixtures, and
rid the mixtures of air contamination, all housed in a portable, rugged carrying case.
Housing
The instrument is housed in a rugged, hand-held, injection-molded nylon case. The case
houses the sensing devices, the plumbing system, and the electronics of the instrument.
Power Cord
A nine-foot (2.75 meter), molded, three-prong, grounded, NEMA, power supply cord
is attached directly to the instrument. Different power cords may be supplied if the
instrument is to be used in areas outside North America.
Sample Filter
The sample lter provides retention of particulate and oil mist suspended within the
sample vapor. The lter is supplied with a red, maintenance-indicating dye. As soon as
red spots or discoloration begin to appear anywhere on the white outside diameter of the
lter element, THE FILTER MUST BE REPLACED. Failure to replace the lter when
indicated may lead to severe instrument damage not covered under warranty repairs.
Air Intake Port
The air intake port is located at the top of the instrument and provides the entry point for
ambient air into the instrument during calibration procedures. Never obstruct the port
during use of the instrument.
Sample Exhaust Port
The sample exhaust port, located on the bottom edge of the instrument, will emit spent
sample gasses. Keep this port clear and unobstructed during use.
Sample Inlet Port
The sample inlet port admits refrigerant vapor into the instrument through the connection
of the mating end of the sample hose.
System Pressure Gauge
The system pressure gauge indicates to the user the presence of a refrigerant sample ow
into the instrument.
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