Almost nothing. But it got your attention. It may be hard to believe, but there are still technicians out there who think of R-410A as that “new fangled refrigerant with the crazy-high pressures that the ‘Man’ forced on us”. I’ve got four words for you guys- Get over it already. Let’s take a look at those so called “crazy-high” pressures everyone is so worried about.
Way back in the days before energy efficiency was a concern; R-22 condenser coils used a single pass of HUGE, unrifled tubing and aluminum fins spaced so far apart you could see through them. On a hot day, these monsters ran a 350 pound head pressure; and that was with a clean coil!
When energy costs hit the roof energy efficiency became a concern; manufactures started using multi-pass rifled tubing with a bunch more cooling fins per inch. The result was head pressures dropping from the 325 range to about 200.
So, what’s this have to do with R-410A pressures? If you haven’t noticed, R-410A head pressures typically run about 375 psig, not much higher than R-22 in the days of old.
What is R-410A’s real downfall? The color of the darn can; who came up with Pink?! All I can say is, put on your “big technician panties” and accept it; it’s not going away any time soon.
