LOKRINGING rather than SOLDERING

The best connection between safety, ecology and economy

VULKAN Lokring is a division of the VULKAN Group, and has been the world’s market leader for permanent solderless tube connection technology for refrigerant lines for more than 30 years. With the LOKRING system, the company offers absolutely clean, permanent and purely mechanical tube connections with a permanent hermetic seal for all refrigeration and air-conditioning technology requirements, confirmed by a special TÜV test and approval procedure. The patented LOKRING tube connection is not only a reliable and economical method of connecting refrigerant lines, it is environmentally friendly too. Up to now, more than 1 billion so-called single-ring tube connections have been successfully installed by LOKRING in the industrial production of vehicle air-conditioning systems, refrigerators and freezers. In the automotive industry, manufacturers have been relying on the success of solderless technology from VULKAN since the beginning of the 1980s. In this branch in particular, extremely high standards have to be met in terms of air-tightness and reliability, which can only be achieved by a metallic and hermetically sealing tube connection. VULKAN Lokring has continually applied the expert knowledge gained as an original equipment manufacturer for industry on the development of solderless tube connection technology for installation and service in refrigeration and air-conditioning technology as well. This means VULKAN Lokring can deliver a tube connection system in original equipment quality for almost every installation or service situation. This LOKRING tube connection technology is based on an axial sliding technology: The two ends of the tubes to be connected are brought together in a connection joint, then two LOKRINGs are pushed axially onto the joint using a hand assembly tool. Due to the conical inner contour of the LOKRINGs, the joint is reduced to such an extent that the tube and the joint create a metallic-hermetic connection through surface pressing. There is no measurable drop in pressure or reduction in volume flows in the tube system, however. Leading manufacturers in the white goods industry all over the world value the LOKRING system not only for appliance production, but also for repair work. Because the simple hand assembly of the solderless connection means that appliances and systems do not have to be dismantled in a time-consuming and expensive process, they can be repaired directly on site. The principle of “LOKRINGing rather than soldering” not only means time and money saving, it also means long-term environmental and health protection. During soldering, toxic substances such as phosgene, hydrochloric acid and dioxin are produced through the burning of residue refrigerant or oils, which is extremely harmful both to the environment and fitters’ health. In addition, the fire hazard caused by soldering systems with combustible refrigerants is averted. The LOKRING method thus combines environmental and health protection in an economic way. After the EU Directive 842/2006 came into force with the legal requirement to reduce the use of climate-killing hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), the LOKRING technology became more and more important in refrigerant and air-conditioning installation technology. If the average leakage rates and the resulting refilling quantities in refrigeration and air-conditioning systems using conventional soldering connections are considered, the ecological contribution and economical effect achieved by using LOKRINGs to reduce the global warming effect caused by leakage quickly becomes clear. VULKAN Lokring has also recognised the increasing importance of the eco-friendly and alternative refrigerant CO2. Last year, LOKRING developed a tube connection system for a special application for one of the largest supermarket chains in the world that can be used for sub-critical CO2 cooling systems.