What is the best practice when dealing with unknown refrigerants in the field?

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When you encounter an unknown refrigerant, the safest and most responsible approach is to treat it as unknown, recover the refrigerant from the system, label the container, and identify it with proper testing. This keeps the unknown from contaminating other refrigerants and ensures you know exactly what you’re handling before any further work. Proper testing and labeling also guide you to the correct disposal or reclamation path and help protect everyone from potential hazards, since some refrigerants can be toxic, reactive, or flammable.

Mixing an unknown with known refrigerants contaminates the recovery stream and can ruin the purity and value of recycled refrigerants, leading to regulatory and safety problems. Releasing refrigerants into the air is illegal and dangerous, and ignoring the unknown offers no guidance for safe or compliant handling.