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Refrigerant Charge Estimator

Tool · 04 of 06 · NIST REFPROP densities
Step 1

Refrigerant & climate

12 refrigerants. R-449A is Foster's medium-temp default; R-454C low-temp.
Climate
Sets the saturated condensing temperature for liquid-line density.
Step 2

Liquid line

ft
Step 3

Suction line

ft
Step 4

Equipment

Condensing unit
Class-typical or manual datasheet entry. Adds factory pre-charge + receiver fill.
Evaporator
Adds the evaporator pumpdown charge. Optional for liquid-line-only checks.
units
Multiply evaporator pumpdown by this many units.

How this calculator works

The refrigerant charge estimator calculates the mass of refrigerant (lb) held in liquid lines for 12 common refrigerants across 12 copper pipe sizes (¼" to 3⅛" Type-L ASTM B280). Liquid-line mass = pipe internal volume × saturated-liquid density. Saturated-liquid densities are sourced from NIST REFPROP 10.0 at the entered liquid-line temperature (default: condensing temperature − 5 K subcooling). The tool calculates pipe internal area from ASTM B280 Type-L nominal OD and wall thickness, then multiplies by entered line length. For A2L refrigerants (R-32, R-454A, R-454B, R-454C, R-455A) the estimated charge should be checked against the IEC 60335-2-89:2019 room-area limit using our A2L calculator. This is an estimation tool; actual charge on a commissioned system should be verified by weigh-in method per EN 378-2 / EPA Section 608 recordkeeping requirements.

References: NIST REFPROP 10.0; ASTM B280-20; IEC 60335-2-89:2019; ASHRAE 15-2022 (refrigerant safety); EPA Section 608.