...... I looked this up and apparently it is a real thing in the UK .... There are badly designed fridges with Eco-Friendly Coolant that Causes Refrigerators to Explode.
Thanks for doing the leg work on that.
That’s interesting.
You know, as much as we carp about regulations, there are some that are very good.
That type of a refrigerator should be against the fire code for a multiple family dwelling like that.
...... I looked this up and apparently it is a real thing in the UK .... There are badly designed fridges with Eco-Friendly Coolant that Causes Refrigerators to Explode.
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British refrigerators are designed to generate heat.
It’s how they keep their beer warm.
Ping to 103 regarding exploding UK fridges.
...... I looked this up and apparently it is a real thing in the UK .... There are badly designed fridges with Eco-Friendly Coolant that Causes Refrigerators to Explode.
This reminds me of a scene from some spoof spy movie involving a Ford Pinto. But it’s green, so that’s O.K. If it were the U.S. in the 80’s, the lawyers would end up owning the company, and the victims/their survivors would get at least something. Ah for the good old days.
A wave of violent refrigerator explosions in Britain reportedly is believed to have been caused by an attempt to make the machines more “green.”
The five reported explosions — which destroyed the refrigerators and the kitchens that housed them — appear to coincide with a widespread switch to ‘Greenfreeze’ technology, the Daily Mail reported.
The new refrigerators use a different cooling system running on gases that are supposed to be less harmful to the ozone layer, but refrigeration contractor Graeme Fox told the Daily Mail that if the flammable natural gases leak into the fridge, they could trigger a powerful blast.
One woman whose fridge exploded three weeks ago told the Mail it caused more than $16,000 worth of damage. Another told the paper she thought an earthquake had struck when she and her sleeping family were rattled awake by her exploding fridge.
An independent engineer confirmed that a gas leak is suspected in the most recent fridge explosion, the Daily Mail reported.
Institute of Refrigeration President Jane Gartshore told the Mail that it’s theoretically possible that the blasts could be caused by an isobutane leak but added that “there are hundreds of millions of these fridges and these incidents are very, very rare.”
There are more than 300 million Greenfreeze fridges worldwide, the Mail reported.
Interesting.
The eco friendly refrigerant is essentially PROPANE or close to it as I understand it. Cheaper than the ozone saving alternatives. A friend tried to convince me this was a good thing to do instead of spending nearly $600 for a 20 lb canister of the “old” refrigerant to top up my HVAC unit last year. I demurred and sprang for the $600 even though I was selling the house.