We all see a lot of questions about dyes, leak stoppers, lubricants, inhibitors, and snake oil. All of those were designed to go into the refrigerant circuit and “improve” something.

I just go back to what Ray Johnson always said. (Ray is one of my early heroes in the biz, and he taught me a lot at Carrier classes.)

“Oil and refrigerant.”

If it isn't oil and refrigerant, it doesn't belong in the system.

Now, I know there are rare exceptions. Heck, Carrier has a tech bulletin from 2014 insisting that Zerol Ice should be added to certain systems due to TXV sticking issues.

But when in doubt… Just oil and refrigerant.

—Bryan