[banditsc]

So HFO1234yf (somebody wasn't being very creative when they named it) is now offically in.. It's not meant for a conversion from R134a or R12, but it does pave the way for restricing R134a to being sold to only certified people.



The EPA has approved a new air conditioner refrigerant, HFO-1234yf, which is dramatically less likely to affect climate change than the R134a used in American car air conditioners today. Automakers can get greenhouse gas credits from the 2012 to 2016 model years by using the refrigerant, created by Honeywell and DuPont.



R134a, which replaced R12, lives for around 13 years in the atmosphere before breaking down; its “global warming potential” (GWP) is 1,400. 1234yf, on the other hand, breaks up in around 11 days, for a GWP of 4. It was developed to meet European Union directives, which demand a refrigerant with a GWP of less than 150.



Many have complained about the corrosive effects of R134a and its tendency to leak out of automotive air conditioners much faster than the old R12, which was phased out in the mid-1990s. R1234yf was endorsed by the Society of Automotive Engineers and Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association; a Delphi executive wrote that it was “both a cost-efficient and effective refrigerant option.” It can be used with low-pressure air conditioning systems.



http://blogs.abcnews.com/scienceandsocie...234yf.html

http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_HF...31710.html

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[rxter]

Interesting. Do you know if the new stuff can use the same hardware as the 134?

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[banditsc]

That second link seems to refer to it not being a retrofit to R134a systems.

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[wiseman]

ENVIRO-SAFE is the answer. Works great. Pretty cheap, Lots of write ups here.

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[rhudeboye]

Very interesting.



I've always felt that HVAC systems haven't kept up well with other modern technology. It seems to be a stagnant market. They develop new methods to control the output but the technology behind the control panel is pretty old and has a short life span. Most systems in homes and cars are only good for about 6- 10 years.

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[tamathumper]

My company has (or had) exclusive rights to manufacture FRIGC, an environmentally friendlier R-12-compatible replacement for R-134a. The distribution rights were sold to Penn*Zoil, and I believe they were to sell it through their oil change retail outlets, but sales never developed and manufacturing was shelved about 8 years ago. It seemed like good stuff to me, and worked fantastic in my 944S.

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