I read on the internet a guy recently died from overdosing on freon.

The AC unit in my townhouse is leaking freon or whatever u call the gas that goes into the system. There are two pipes going inside the unit, one gets cold, and the other looks like a water drain pipe.

The maintenance man has been to my house about 6-8 times in the past 3-4 months to recharge my unit, over and over. Im guessing the gas is leaking out in my house. How can I detect if its leaking out in my house?? and if it is, can this cause me to get sick??

10/2/2007 10:02:17 PM

it can freeze your lungs.

10/2/2007 10:05:20 PM

Well if CFCs can eat a hole in the ozone layer, I'm pretty sure they could do some damage to you.

Here are some suggestions:

http://www.ehso.com/ehshome/chemicals_freon.htm

10/2/2007 10:12:09 PM

i drink it all the time

10/2/2007 10:34:20 PM

Quote :

"Fortunately, Freon does not have serious long term health consequences. It is not a carcinogen, teratogen, or mutagen, and it does not damage the liver. When it is inhaled, it is rapidly excreted by exhalation, and it is not significantly accumulated in the body"

and its ability to destroy the ozone layer doesn't make it toxic, did you not learn anything in chemistry?

10/2/2007 10:34:57 PM

^ Actually, that site is wrong. Depending on the Freon number, some of them ARE carcinogenic, etc.

And yes, I learned plenty in chemistry.

10/2/2007 10:46:37 PM

the amount of refrigerant in you home HVAC system would most likely not be enough to seriously hurt you, unless it all leaked into a small, tightly sealed room and you stayed in it for a long time.

just my .02

10/2/2007 10:50:39 PM

most likely it's leaking outside.

10/2/2007 11:48:58 PM

Common refrigerants R-22 and R-134a can harm you in the following ways:

1) Refrigerants displace oxygen and can lead to suffocation.
2) Refrigerants leave their cylinders as either a very cold liquid or gas where either phase can lead to serious burns.
3) Refrigerant cylinders also contain an oil which acts as a lubricant for the components inside of refrigeration loops and can act as an irritant causing air passages to become constricted. There isn't a lot of it so I doubt it would poison you, but anyone who has gotten a fair amount of that stuff on their skin can tell you it's not very pleasant.

R-12, R-22, and R-134a are very safe gases at standard temperatures and pressures. They do not harm the ozone unless in the upper atmosphere where they are subjected to very cold temperatures, very low pressures, and high energy UV rays not usually found at the earth's surface. R-22 is 99% less damaging to ozone as R-12 and R-134a poses a negligible risk to ozone. They are almost 100% non-reactive with any substance. It's about as dangerous as playing with helium and will yield similar effects. However, the willful release of R-12, R-22, and R-134a into the atmosphere is a felony. All are very powerful greenhouse gases. If you willfully release R-12 into the atmosphere you're a special kind of idiot. Not only is it terrible for the ozone layer, it's worth about $4000 per cylinder.

10/3/2007 12:10:24 AM

Anything can kill you if you do it enough.

10/3/2007 12:10:34 AM

this is the lounge, shouldnt do it

No, you'll be fine.

[Edited on October 3, 2007 at 1:14 AM. Reason : .]

10/3/2007 1:14:07 AM

Don't let the freon get heated, for sure. It could turn into phosgene gas, which is highly toxic.

10/3/2007 1:26:09 AM

it you're really worried about it, find out where the people get their refrigerant from, call them and get them to fax you the msds

10/3/2007 1:30:21 AM

MSDS for R-22, the most common refrigerant used in home HVAC systems.

http://www.refrigerants.com/msds/r22.pdf

10/3/2007 10:24:49 AM

i remember kids in high school who would "huff" entire garbage bags full of freon that they had leached off of air conditioners...i'm sure it fucked their heads up in some sense, but it didn't kill them

so if they are literally huffing it to get high and you aren't feeling any effects, my guess would be that you're fine

10/3/2007 10:28:42 AM

huffing anything as an inhalant until you asphyxiate will kill you.

10/3/2007 12:38:03 PM

sophomore year in bragaw my roommate and i began feeling sick at the exact same time. we thought it peculiar, went to health center. we thought maybe carbon monoxide, we had no clue. well they checked our room, and saw that our AC unit was leaking freon. it hadn't really worked well for a month, no wonder!
they told us to spend the night somewhere else, and meanwhile they put a new AC unit in.

10/3/2007 1:11:11 PM

try it and let us know

10/3/2007 2:30:14 PM

If you have a leak, get it fixed. Its not exactly cheap to have them come out repeately to top off your unit. its also not going to be cheap to replace your coils, if thats the problem, but get it done. You are going to end up ruining your compressor as well if you continue this game, and then its really going to cost you.

Of course, I am assuming you own the place. if you don't, then thats a different story.

[Edited on October 3, 2007 at 4:03 PM. Reason : .]

10/3/2007 4:03:24 PM

Actually you are already dead from inhaling freon and this (Tdubb) is hell...welcome...you will be stuck here for eternity...

10/3/2007 4:11:00 PM

did you suck on the hose yet?

some one want to comment on that?

10/3/2007 5:16:37 PM

yes, but not at the rate / amount you mention, at least not quickly

10/4/2007 8:53:56 AM

R134A is a good way to chill a motor shaft before pressing on a heated bearing or coupling onto the end. Plus its easier to find than dry ice or Liquid N2

10/5/2007 7:24:38 AM

^ Why not use liquid CO2 out of the cylinder for things like that? It's a hell of a lot cheaper and less environmentally damaging.

10/5/2007 11:27:55 PM

shit will fuck you up, yo

I've done it, it is extremely dangerous, and I do not recommend it.

[Edited on October 7, 2007 at 1:07 AM. Reason : ..]

10/7/2007 1:06:23 AM