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A
LEADING global supplier of refrigerants recently
cautioned local consumers against the proliferation of
substandard refrigerants in the market.
DuPont Far East Inc. recently revealed
that many substandard refrigerants contain dangerous and
obsolete chemicals that could damage a vehicle’s
air-conditioning system. “We would like the public to be
more vigilant in purchasing refrigerants. Check with
DuPont or with any of our authorized distributors to
make sure that you’re getting a genuine product,” said
Jun Zambrano, DuPont Far East Inc. industry manager.
Refrigerants such as R-12 and R-22 have
long been phased out after it was proven that they
destroy the ozone layer, yet many owners of old vehicles
have not complied with laws that require the use of
environment-friendly R-134a.
We wrote a story regarding this issue
early last year. According to some local suppliers,
“bogus” refrigerants are peddled by fly-by-night,
ambulant sellers to unsuspecting dealers and aircon
repair shops.
The local suppliers also said the
importation of these products from China has been
hurting the local industry, which is already using
R-134a. They even decried the inability of the
government to monitor and stop the inflow of the said
substandard refrigerants from abroad. In short, there is
rampant smuggling going on.
The substandard refrigerants are said to
be a lot cheaper than their legal counterparts but are
dangerous and could damage vehicles’ air-conditioning
systems.
After visiting several aircon repair
shops, DuPont found out that some substandard
refrigerants being sold are labeled as R-134a. Many
contain a mixture of R-12, R-22 & R-134a gases. One
cylinder that was checked revealed a mixture of
70-percent R-22, 18-percent R-12 and only 12-percent
R-134a. Some containers were even found to have highly
flammable propane gas!
The company added that these cause the
formation of solids that can lead to blockage, loss of
heat transfer and detrimental system performance.
“We believe it is beneficial for an
equipment owner to purchase clean, high-quality
refrigerants in order to minimize the possibility of
system failures and related problems,” said Zambrano,
who added that its quality DuPont Suva R-134a is the
refrigerant that is in the market today. DuPont R-134a
(Suva 134a) has very high purity, and meets the Air
Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI 700-2006)
and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE J2776)
specifications.
Suva 134a was introduced by DuPont as a
replacement for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) such as R-12
in many applications. Suva 134a is the global standard
for new mobile air conditioning and can also be used to
retrofit existing R-12 mobile air-conditioning systems.
It is also used in new medium- and high-temperature
stationary commercial refrigeration, as well as chiller
systems and home appliances.
I THINK
it’s about time the government required local government
units to install proper street signs on their respective
roads.
These road signs are very important,
especially in the provinces where local and foreign
travelers go. During a road trip to Pangasinan last
week, we noticed that visible road signs were sorely
lacking except for a few towns and municipalities that
we passed through.
Local government units can take a cue
from those towns and cities in Metro Manila where
streets signs are very clear and very visible even at
night because they are made with reflectorized
materials. Another thing that makes them more lasting is
that they are kept away from the reach of vandals—they
are installed on high steel poles.
Road signs are susceptible to vandalism.
Many are uprooted and sold to junk shops even before the
paint on them has dried. Many others are spray-painted
for no apparent reason while others are placed in
locations where no one sees them.
Traveling up north through the North
Luzon Expressway is smooth since road signs are plenty.
But after exiting Mabalacat, one needs to ask for
directions since there aren’t any for several
kilometers.
We even arrived at a point in Tarlac
where we didn’t know whether to go left or right. We
were lucky there were people on the street who gladly
pointed us to the right direction. When we shouted “Pangasinan,”
they motioned for us to go left. We later found out that
a right turn would have taken us to Cabanatuan, which is
very far from our destination.
Upon reaching Bolinao, we overshot a
street on our left, which leads to barangay Ilog Malino,
our intended destination. Reason: There was no sign to
guide us. Many have reportedly missed the same street
which, to our surprise, is the main road going to the
various beach resorts in the said province.
It won’t cost millions of pesos to
construct a sign that would point to the said area,
which is reportedly the No. 1 tourist spot of Pangasinan. |
