Current legislation requires that any system potentially containing fluorinated refrigerants F-Gasses may only have work carried out by competent and registered engineers. This may be simple leak checking of the equipment or work that requires the removal or testing of the refrigerant charge. As such both engineers and the company they work for should be registered with the governing body, click here for a copy of our full company certificate. Our registration may also be verified on the F-gas register website.
In addition to the training and registration required in order to carry out work. Owners or operators of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment are required to keep a log of any work that is carried out on the plant and in the majority of circumstances they need to have the equipment checked for leaks at least once per year by a trained refrigeration engineer.
The frequency of inspections depends on the quantity of refrigerant in the system and is set out below. As a rule the majority of air conditioning systems and most refrigeration equipment larger than a multi-deck display cabinet will will have more than 3Kg of refrigerant so will require checking at least every 12 months with a record being kept to prove these checks in case of an inspection.
|
Leak Check Frequency |
Normal Systems |
Hermetically Sealed Systems |
|
None |
Less Than 3Kg |
Less Than 3Kg |
|
Annual |
3Kg to 30Kg |
6Kg to 30Kg |
|
6 – Monthly |
30Kg to 300Kg |
30Kg to 300Kg |
|
Quarterly |
Greater Than 300Kg |
Greater Than 300Kg |
As a fully registered company G&O Refrigeration is able to carry out any repair or maintenance works on all refrigeration plant, our engineers are qualified to City & Guilds 2079 which requires a high level of knowledge of refrigeration systems. The training ensures are engineers are safe and consider the environment with all work they carry out involving F-Gas systems. There is said to currently be 7,500 engineers carrying out work on F-Gas systems who have yet to undertake sufficient training. By employing them you are putting your self or company at risk as you will be breaking the law, which is why you should always make sure they can prove they are F-Gas registered before they start any work.
Equipment containing 300kg of refrigerant or more MUST be fitted with an electronic leak detecting device, which on detection alerts the plant operator, The leak detector must be checked at least once a year for proper function. Having a electronic leak detector automatically halves the amount of checks by qualified personnel that you have to have each year, even for the 300kg+ systems where it is compulsory.
Records also need to be kept for systems containing over 3kg of refrigerant, these records should state:
- The quantity and type of F-Gas refrigerants installed in each system
- Any quantities of refrigerant added
- The quantity of refrigerant recovered during servicing, maintenance and final disposal
- The identity of the company or personnel who performed the servicing or maintenance, as well as the dates and results of leakage checks and leakage detection checks
These records have to be available for the relevant authority request, we can offer you advice and guidance on this as well as providing with all the necessary paperwork to comply with these regulations.