Amonia

hope you recover quickly

Are you talking about being exposed to freon?

that happen to me with melting lead into 2lb blocks, well vetalated air,fans, 2 days of bs, no emergincy rm tho, no insurance.

I remember going to a scrapper and they were breaking down an amonia refrigerant piece of equipment. Wow was it stong.

Originally Posted by AuntieCake

Are you talking about being exposed to freon?

Nope. Ammonia. Used in RV fridges. Very potent stuff.

Absolutely wish you the best.

I hope you recover Mel and thanks for the reminder.

The moral would be ''Never assume''

Originally Posted by MelRay

Hope this will keep someone from making the same mistake I did. Had a friend give me a trailer full of rusty metal. Had more I wanted to add to the trailer, so out came the bobcat. Started smashing down everything to make it flatter and hopefully fit more weight in the trailer. Made the mistake of smashing an old rusty rv refrigerator. Was so rusty I thought had to be empty, but I was wrong. Suddenly the Ammonia came out and I had to stop. Cleared out of the area, but sadly too late. Six hours later I had the chills and couldn’t stop shaking. Finally went to bed with a heating pad to stay warm. Next day no better! Got bad enough I had to vomit. 3rd day my chest hurt so bad I didn’t know if it was my lungs or my heart. Finally went to the emergency room. The day I was exposed was August 13th. They still want me to come back because besides my lungs they think I might have burnt my throat. Next visit is to take a scope and look down my throat to see how bad the damage is. In August I turned 60 years old and could still run a mile. Now I’m working on walking 1 block without getting tired. What’s the moral of the story? Don’t know! Just don’t be stupid like I was and assume something is empty of dangerous gas.

Had the old fridge been charged with sulfur dioxide you wouldn't be here telling your story you would more than likely be dead.

Older refrigerators used various refrigerants, propane, sulfur dioxide, ammonia moving forward to the use of freon.

Ammonia still has favor in large refrigeration plants, ice and curling rinks and RV type fridges.

MelRay, I'm glad that you're still alive! Please take your time, listen to your doctors, and recover. Too many people think that the ammonia in cooling systems is the same as what you clean your floors with. Couldn't be farther from the truth! As you have now warned us, industrial ammonia(the stuff that's used in older refrigeration systems) is EXTREMELY dangerous. God Bless you, and get well.

[QUOTE=gustavus;104983]Had the old fridge been charged with sulfur dioxide you wouldn't be here telling your story you would more than likely be dead.

Older refrigerators used various refrigerants, propane, sulfur dioxide, ammonia moving forward to the use of freon.

I think Gustavus has hit on a very important point here, while that 300 pound fridge from 1940 might have a lot of copper, aluminum, and steel value to it; if it was charged with sulfur dioxide or ammonia and still holds a charge it is potentially lethal. If you release R12/R22/R134 it'll have a small but cumulative effect on the atmosphere. But, if you release a small charge of refrigeration(industrial) ammonia, or less likely these days sulphur dioxide there could very likely be a coroner involved.