Safety testing of domestic refrigerators using flammable refrigerants

A domestic refrigerator with flammable refrigerant was tested according to the methods specified in the safety Standard, IEC/EN 60335-2-24. sts were all carried out as specified in the Standard. Some of the test specifications were straightforward but some tests ambiguous and gave different results depending on the method used. thod of testing the protection of the refrigeration circuit does not simulate the type of damage that could be caused by defrosting with a knife. The simulation of a leak in a protected cooling circuit is not specifically defined. The concentration of refrigerant in the compartment with the protected circuit depended on the method used to prevent foam from entering the capillary tube (either 140 or 17,500 ppm). The position and direction of a simulated leak in the compressor compartment is not specified in the Standard but had a significant effect on the concentration distribution (643–240,000 ppm). The sudden release of an accumulation of refrigerant caused peaks in the concentration that could not be measured by the response time of the measuring instrument specified (28,500–8000 ppm in 1.5 s).