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Freon Locking Caps Make Good Sense

By
Real Estate Agent with Young Realty Group, Inc. BK3055753

I recently had the opportunity to speak with a distributor of Freon Locking Caps.  These simple, inexpensive caps lock down your freon lines to prevent two things:  One, keeps freon from leaking out of the fitting and two keeps kids/adults from stealing your freon.  Stealing freon is not new either is "Huffing" freon to get high. 

After the death of a friend's son from inhaling freon from a neighbors A/C unit, I decided to use my influence as a real estate professional.  What I do is recommend is this:  You have a ticking time bomb in the open, on your property.  You are liable for any accident that occurs on your property and should take reasonable care and lock up your freon lines.  The small caps are very inexpensive and must be installed by an A/C company in most states.  I had three of my customers a/c's fixed with these caps at the rate of $38.00 for the visit during the annual routine cleaning/maintenance.  What little effort this took may prevent another tragic death of a child.  For further information on Freon Locking caps, email me. 

Looking for something to send out to customers and tired of recipes....send out a safety tip such as this.

Below is a photo of the caps. 

without caps

 

With Caps

Diane Bell, Hilton Head Real Estate, Bluffton
Charter 1 Real Estate, Hilton Head, Bluffton, SC - Hilton Head Island, SC
Intersting post, Lori.....I had absolutely no idea that someone would try to steal freon.  What next!
Jun 11, 2007 11:32 AM
Spokane Home Loans Spokane Mortgage
Spokane Mortgage - Spokane, WA
I also had no Idea that someone would steal freon
Jun 11, 2007 11:46 AM
Christy Powers
Keller Williams Coastal Area Partners - Pooler, GA
Pooler, Savannah Real Estate Agent
Wonderful post. Thank you so much for this great information.
Jun 11, 2007 12:39 PM
Lori Young
Young Realty Group, Inc. - Naples, FL
Broker/Owner

Statistics

  • The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that one in five American teens have used Inhalants to get high. 
  • According to Stephen J. Pasierb, President and CEO of The Partnership for Drug-Free America, 22% of 6th and 8th graders admitted abusing inhalants and only 3% of parents think their child has ever abused inhalants. 
  • An analysis of 144 Texas death certificates by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse involving misuse of inhalants found that the most frequently mentioned inhalant (35%) was Freon (51 deaths).  Of the Freon deaths, 42 percent were students or youth with a mean age of 16.4 years.
  • Suffocation, inhaling fluid or vomit into the lungs, and accidents each cause about 15% of deaths linked to inhalant abuse. 
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse's ‘Monitoring the Future' study reveals that inhalant abuse among 8th graders is up 7.7% since 2002.   
  • 55% of deaths linked to inhalant abuse are caused by "Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome."  SSDS can occur on the first use or any use.  The Inhalant causes the heart to beat rapidly and erratically, resulting in cardiac arrest. 
  • 22% of inhalant abusers who died of SSDS had no history of previous inhalant abuse. In other words, they were first-time users
Jun 11, 2007 01:31 PM
Real Estate Flyers
Guru Real Estate Flyers - Toronto, ON
Awesome information! Thanks
Jun 11, 2007 01:53 PM
Joan Whitebook
BHG The Masiello Group - Nashua, NH
Consumer Focused Real Estate Services
I have never heard of this before - sniffing freon -- I will check with the police dept. in NH and see if it is a problem in our state.  Thanks for the information -- it is good to know there is a easy way to prevent injury to children.
Jun 11, 2007 02:37 PM
Tim Maitski
Atlanta Communities Real Estate Brokerage - Atlanta, GA
Truth, Excellence and a Good Deal
Sniffing freon?  Wow, I never heard of that before.  Thanks for writing about it.
Jun 11, 2007 03:08 PM
Abraham Chaffin
Sand Shell Realty - Cambria, CA
Cambria Real Estate
Wow - it's hard to believe someone would actually inhale that stuff - I've smelt it before and it is definitely not pleasant. Anyway - thanks for the tip!
Jun 11, 2007 04:09 PM
Chris Lengquist
Ad Astra Realty - Olathe, KS
Kansas City Real Estate Investing
I had never given it a thought...
Jun 11, 2007 04:54 PM
Bob & Carolin Benjamin
Benjamin Realty LLC - Gold Canyon, AZ
East Phoenix Arizona Homes
This is excellent information. Thanks for the photos as it helps to understand what the issue actually is.
Jun 11, 2007 05:37 PM
Doreen McPherson
Homesmart ~ Scottsdale ~ Tempe - Tempe, AZ
Phoenix Arizona Real Estate ~

Thank you Lori. 

Yes, the photos make it very easy to understand.  I wasn't aware of this either. 

You may want to put the statistics in the post, so they won't be missed by those who don't read comments. 

Jun 11, 2007 06:13 PM
"The Lovely Wife" The One And Only TLW.
President-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc. - Kissimmee, FL

Lori...

This is amazing. I...like others here...Had no idea this was going on. It make me wonder how many consumers have no idea either. Nor did I know that inhaling is that big of a problem with today's teens. This is so very sad.

Thanks for sharing all of this with us.  

TLW...ROAR!

Jun 12, 2007 05:22 AM
Vickie Arcuri
Coldwell Banker Realty - Fort Lauderdale, FL
South Florida Luxury Real Estate

Hey Lori, thanks for the post.  We had a huffing incident at our house and the neighbor's house a couple of years ago and all the Freon was drained over a period of a week or so...it just kept getting hotter and hotter in the house as they kept coming back for more.  Our A/C unit is now no longer accessible, but these caps would have been great to have then.  I'll keep them in mind to recommend to others.

Jun 12, 2007 01:53 PM
Ryan Hukill - Edmond
405home @ ERA Courtyard - Edmond, OK
Realtor, Team Lead
Wow Lori, thanks for sharing! This is something I've not been exposed to. Way to service your clients outside the box!
Jun 12, 2007 04:55 PM
Anonymous
Susan Achrem

Do you know where I can purchase one of these freon locking caps?

Jul 06, 2010 02:48 AM
#23
Anonymous
Lori Young

Call your local A/C company and ask if they have these caps.  You can have them installed when you have your a/c serviced.  Should not cost a lot.  Novent is the maker and may assist you in a local rep.

Jul 06, 2010 03:06 AM
#24
Anonymous
Zack Gallinger

Thank you for posting about locking refrigerant caps, the more we can get installed the more lives that can be saved. If your readers would like to save money on these caps they can purchase them at www.lockingrefrigerantcaps.com for less than $20 and have their a/c company install them on the next scheduled maintenance or repair visit. We only sell the keys to a/c contractors but homeowners can purchase the caps at wholesale prices without having to pay mark up! Thanks again for your efforts in keep kids safe!

Sep 15, 2011 07:58 AM
#25
Lori Young
Young Realty Group, Inc. - Naples, FL
Broker/Owner

I would suggest installation on all sales.  Besides the fact that this saves lives it can also reduce homeowner liability.

Sep 27, 2011 03:29 AM
Anonymous
Bill C.

What keeps them from just cutting the copper tubing to sniff the freon?

Jul 14, 2012 09:32 PM
#27
Lori Young
Young Realty Group, Inc. - Naples, FL
Broker/Owner

Cutting the cooper is too much work.  Point is to make it not so easy to have access.  Besides I think the freon would blast out of the pipe if you cut it.

 

Jul 15, 2012 01:01 PM