Fridge gas is sold by refrigeration wholesalers in cylinders sized for technicians, and the right gas is whatever is printed on the fridge's rating sticker. Most new household fridges run on R600a, many older ones and car aircons on R134a, and shop and cold room systems on R404A or newer blends. Refrigerant work belongs with a qualified technician, and hydrocarbon gases like R600a and R290 are flammable. Tell us the gas type, cylinder size and quantity, and wholesalers near you quote directly. The request is free and carries no obligation.
Which gas does the fridge use?
Never guess. The rating sticker inside the door or on the back names the refrigerant and the charge weight in grams. The common ones are:
- R600a (isobutane): most modern household fridges and freezers. Flammable.
- R134a: older household fridges, some bottle coolers and car aircons.
- R290 (propane): many newer commercial bottle coolers and freezers. Flammable.
- R404A: cold rooms, freezer rooms and many older commercial systems.
- R410A and R32: mostly air conditioners.
Mixing gases or topping up with the wrong one damages the compressor and makes later repairs harder.
Gas is not used up: find the leak
A fridge is a sealed system. If the gas is low, it has leaked out somewhere, and adding more without fixing the leak rarely lasts. A proper job finds the leak, repairs it, fits a new filter drier, pulls a deep vacuum and charges by weight to the figure on the rating sticker. That is why a technician's fridge gas refill costs more than the gas itself, and why a cheap top-up so often fails again. Common leak points are the evaporator in older fridges, joints near the compressor and pipes that rub against the cabinet. A good technician tells you where the leak was and how it was fixed.
Cylinder sizes and prices
Wholesalers sell by cylinder, and prices move with supply. As a guide, R600a is about R860 to R920 for 6.5 kg, R134a about R3,000 to R4,800 for 13.6 kg and R404A about R1,700 to R2,700 for 10.9 kg. Small R600a cans are about R85 to R150. A household fridge holds only tens of grams, so one cylinder serves a technician for many jobs. Ask whether the price includes the cylinder or a deposit, and whether empty cylinders are taken back. Store cylinders upright, out of the sun and away from heat, and never in a closed bakkie canopy on a hot day.
Safety and who should handle it
R600a and R290 burn easily. Work with them needs good ventilation, no open flames or sparks nearby, and tools rated for hydrocarbons. Brazing on a system that still holds gas is dangerous. Many wholesalers will only sell to the trade, and in South Africa you should ask any technician for proof of their refrigerant handling qualification. If you are a technician stocking up, see refrigeration tools. If you are a household with a warm fridge, you need a technician, not a cylinder: see refrigeration technicians.
What to include in your request
- Refrigerant type, e.g. R600a or R404A
- Cylinder size and how many
- Whether you have empties to return
- Collect or delivered, and where to
- Your trade or business details
Fridge Gas for different clients
- Households: the gas named on the sticker, charged by a qualified technician after the leak is fixed
- Landlords, guest houses and B&Bs: a technician sourcing gas for regassing several fridges across a block of flats
- Shops, cafes and supermarkets: R290 or R134a for bottle cooler repairs done by the shop's service technician
- Restaurants, butcheries and caterers: R404A for a restaurant cold room and freezers after a leak repair
- Farms, packhouses and dairies: refrigerant for packhouse cold rooms and dairy milk cooling systems
- Factories and cold stores: bulk cylinders for an in-house refrigeration team at a cold store
- Schools, clinics and public buildings: gas supplied to the contractor servicing hospital and school kitchen refrigeration
- Technicians and repairers: R600a, R134a and R404A cylinders kept in stock for regas jobs
Frequently asked questions
What is the price of fridge gas?
Can I regas my own fridge?
Can I use R134a in an R600a fridge?
Who supplies the gas when I send a request?
Fridge Gas by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg