POE vs. Mineral Oil

 October 1, 2014      Jeff Rosenblum

As many of you have already noticed, all Copeland, R22 compressors are now being shipped with POE oil instead of the standard mineral oil. This has made many question installation practices for new compressors, and refrigerant usage for dry charge units.

When installing a new compressor in an existing unit that was previously using mineral oil, the entire system (outdoor coil, line set, indoor coil) must be flushed. There must be NO mineral oil remaining in the system. We recommend that you follow the same flushing procedure outlined in our installation manuals.

Even with the use of POE oil in R22 compressors, allied does not recommend or allow the use of any “drop-in” R22 replacement refrigerants. Use of any refrigerant other than R22 will affect the system capacity and efficiency, and will void the manufacturer’s warranty.

Check with the manufacturer to distinguish between compressors and units with POE and mineral oil.

Jeff Rosenblum 
Technical Support Manager 
15 Years Industry Experience
Cell (330) 962-2491
jrosenblum@famous-supply.com