New automotive refrigerant!

[kevm14]

You know I'm serious with the exclamation point.

http://www.vehicleservicepros.com/news/ ... -this-year

How did I pick this up? Watching the Leno Hellcat video, I caught the plaque on the upper radiator support and it said "R-1234yf." I thought, man, that sounds like refrigerant but nothing I've heard of. Looked it up and, yup, it's a thing, and not just with the Challenger. 8 other cars.

The flammability discussion in the article is amusing. Less amusing is the implication that we could end up with two MORE new refrigerants, to add to the R-134a (and, in decreasing cases, R-12) we're used to.

[Fast_Ed]

Yeah, the R-1234yf has been the plan for a while, but naturally it was fought against by many concerned parties..

Also, didnt you and I discuss the R-1234yf a while ago and you said it was stupid to stockpile R134a? It probably is, but it's also waaaay cheaper in bulk, if you plan to recharge enough cars.

[Fast_Ed]

Also, with regards to flammability, I'm pretty sure people have been recharging AC systems with propane in some countries. Not sure they have all had car fires yet though.

Found a link.. Turns out it is sometimes used in R12 systems by DIY'ers, and is probably not legal in the US. But Possumliving.com says it works!!
http://www.possumliving.com/2012/08/pro ... e-air.html

[Fast_Ed]

To further thread-jack:

The problem is that EPA expressly forbids the use of any unapproved refrigerant, including propane, as a direct replacement for R12. They do however have a list of refrigerants that are approved as a replacement for R12. Among these are Freeze-12, R406a, Free Zone, Ikon 12, SP34E, Autofrost, and a few others in addition to R134a. To the best of my understanding, once a former R12 system is converted to one of these approved refrigerants, later conversion to propane or other hydrocarbon refrigerant no longer constitutes a conversion from R12.

Freeze-12, eh? Interesting........

[kevm14]

One of the things I read was Freeze-12 is made of lighter and heavier compounds. As the system leaks, the lighter compounds escape and the makeup of the remaining refrigerant is really not working correctly anymore. I have Freeze-12 in my Caprice and haven't recharged it for years. So I can't speak to that.