by John Hess

It’s that time of the year again. My e-mail inbox is stuffed with pleas for help in finding that magic retriever of cold air — a low-cost refrigerant system sealer. It’s either that, or they’re asking whether or not to use one in the first place.

While sent in by folks of every stripe, these requesters all seem have two things in common: They’re cooking in their vehicles and desperate for relief, and their A/C systems won’t hold a charge. Well, maybe they have a third thing in common: They can’t or won’t pay to have a professional A/C shop fix the system properly.

Here are examples of the messages I get. While some are definite candidates for a sealant, others obviously aren’t:

Forget it — a cracked compressor and he’s worried about something damaging the system? Here’s another:

Wow, talk about a tough sale. Though that price is couple of years old, it was still quiet reasonable at the time. Most evaporator replacement jobs then were at least $1,000. But Jane still wouldn’t go for it. As Tony Soprano would say, “Whatareyougonnadoaboutit?” Since most Chrysler and Jeep evaporators are good candidates for sealing, how about someone offering to take a shot at fixing it with a professional leak sealer?

You can find more testimonials, both pro and con at:
http://www.imcool.com/articles/aircondition/ac_sealants_p2.htm.
Up front, I’m well aware of the negative feelings (to say it nicely) that most A/C shop owners and techs have about sealers. I also hear from the other side, however, brethren of the above who are using sealers quite successfully. Joe Fortunato (Automotive Air & Specialty, Jupiter, FL), for instance, a 39-year A/C tech and 25-year shop owner, is not shy about using the Cryo-Chem product. He’s been installing it for several years and gets a 98% success rate when used on true candidate vehicles, such as the Plymouth Voyager above. Joe doesn’t offer a warranty on the service, but if the sealing job doesn’t hold, he will credit the cost toward a full evaporator replacement service.

How A/C sealants entered the vehicle market

As additional support for the viability of Cryo-Chem and sealants in general, I offer snippets from a post to the bulletin board at www.aircondition.com by George H. Goble, better known a few years on the internet as “ghg.”
Background: George is the inventor of several R-12 alternative refrigerants, one of which is GHG-X3 that he introduced in 1990. Later classified by ASHRAE, it became known as R-406A, and eventually by the trade name “Autofrost.” Yes, it is a “blend” refrigerant (more on blends in a future MT article).

Here’s how George described his first “fix” in 1982 of his 1978 Datsun 810’s leaking A/C system:

George was ready for a leak sealer, and lo and behold:

Take one “Home” A/C system leak sealer kit, try it in a leaky car, and voila!

Interested readers are encouraged to read ghg’s entire post at:

For those needing more evidence of George’s refrigeration bona fides, he is a senior systems engineer for the Engineering Computer Network department at Purdue University. Besides inventing, patenting and developing several substitutes for Freon, check out the paper he and colleagues presented at the Purdue 1992 International Refrigeration Conference — Energy Efficiency and New Refrigerants: .
For those of you techs who believe you know everything there is to know about R-12, R-134a, and associated lubricants, I challenge you to read this piece and not learn something new.

If you’re still convinced that sealants aren’t a viable service for “legitimate” A/C shops, I ask you, would a man who understands more about refrigerant systems—including vehicular—than most of us could absorb in a lifetime, flippantly suggest the usage of something that would damage them? Not hardly.

Do-it-yourselfers are the problem

So far, the sealant manufacturers and parts houses have probably been cheering this piece. Here, however, is where we will probably part company (I might even regain some shop owner/technician supporters). While it’s not illegal (where are the environmentalists?), it certainly is somewhat unethical, in my humble opinion, to offer these products to the DIY public. Why? For one thing, because of the age-old human adage that if one shot didn’t do it, give it another [Editor’s note: How abour, Too much is not enough?]. That’s how systems truly do get fouled. Then, if you need a certificate to buy refrigerant and work on refrigeration systems, why don’t you need a certificate to buy refrigerant-sealing products that circulate within the refrigerant? I’ve not (yet) asked the manufacturers, nor reps from the EPA, that question, but someone really should.
Cliplight, a manufacturer of two A/C sealants, Super Seal HVACR 944Kit and the Super Seal Premium 946Kit, has commented publicly on what DIY sales of sealant products can bring:

Should the a/c system fail to respond successfully to this DIY treatment, the consumer — in final desperation — contacts a qualified service technician. Most professional techs will refuse to work on a vehicle that has had DIY “cocktails” injected into the system. If he does the first stage evacuation process, it could present him with nasty surprises! Especially if the system had been contaminated with moisture saturation (undetectable by the DIY consumer).

Protecting the compressor

Understandably, most vehicle manufacturers, along with A/C component and recovery equipment makers, are not proponents of A/C sealers. As a rule of thumb, if they find remnants of a sealer in anything returned for warranty, the claim will be denied. When a shop uses a sealer in a system, either the shop or the vehicle owner assumes responsibility if contamination causes a problem. Most technicians who use the product will advise the customer that it is a last ditch effort; there is no warranty.
Note: Cryo-Chem, SSR International does offer dealers a limited one-year warranty with its SSR134Kit. It covers corrosion leaks in condensers and evaporators. The dealer must be 608/609 certified, follow SSR’s installation directions and satisfy other requirements.

Cliplight Manufacturing not only offers a limited one-year warranty on its product, but also, under “Coverage B,” covers many A/C components. For instance, if SUPER SEAL PREMIUM was found (by Cliplight) to have caused the failure of the compressor, Cliplight will reimburse the dealer up to $350. Since several conditions and exclusions apply, be sure to check the web page for the details:

Contamination protective devices

Recycle Guard from AirSept: To protect your refrigerant recovery equipment and clean jugs of refrigerant, you do not want to recover sealer-laden or otherwise contaminated refrigerant. Airsept’s Recycle Guard uses high-tech filtration to separate and remove sealant, dye, lubricant and solid contaminants from the refrigerant. These remain in the canister while the vapor refrigerant exits to your A/C machine (https://www.airsept.com/).
System Guard from SYSTEMGUARD: To show if someone has tampered with your A/C service job (such as a vehicle owner adding contaminated refrigerant or DIY “stop leak,” then blaming you for the disastrous results), slip either a heat-shrinkable System Guard sleeve or plastic tie wrap over each service port. They’re color coded and serial numbered. Once heat shrunk or crimped to the port, any disturbance will be clearly visible ().

Neutronics QuickDetect A/C Sealant Detection Kit: QuickDetect is designed to act as an A/C leak. If sealant is present in the system, it quickly solidifies in the disposable test cartridge causing the flow meter to show “no flow.” When attached to the high-side port, if the flow meter shows constant flow for two to three minutes, it’s most likely sealant free. If the flow rate visibly decreases, the refrigerant contains a sealant. Other than the low-cost test cartridges, all of the QuickDetect components are reusable (https://www.refrigerantid.com/).

For more information about sealants, check out the air conditioning pages of www.imcool.com. Not only will we offer a “Blog,” but also your “Comments” can be added to our articles that contain controversial subject matter.