How are people mixing refrigerants?

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted by Chris142
Originally Posted by bbhero
Originally Posted by Chris142
I have been getting calls from people that have put R134a into their newer car that calls for R1234yf. How are they doing this as the fittings are different? One lady put a whole AC pro can into her 1234 car. How??



Redneck ingenuity

Chris142... Do you think vehicle ac systems need to be recharged every so often?? Like every 8-10 years for example..

More like 5-6 years. All systems leak a little. When they get 5+ years old they may still cool ok but will be low enough to not move the oil. Then the compressor locks up and you spend $1500+ to fix it.


My Vic had its original charge until last summer, when I lost the accumulator. My stepfather's Concorde was traded with the A/C blowing cold at 12 years and 200,000+ miles. What the heck are you dealing with that leaks that badly?!

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted by Chris142
Originally Posted by GMBoy
I am very familiar with the 1234yf. I was involved with the change-over on our SUV's in the plant. With that there is no reason you cannot go back to r134a in these systems. I just had a 2013 XTS in the shop that needed a new compressor and condensor. I discussed the price of the 1234yf vs the r134a and there was no hesitation of the customer to go back to the older freon. In 2013 XTS could have either freon as they were transitioning. The 1234yf required 1.30lbs of freon and r134a required 1.5lb per the service manual. This is pretty common practice with the high freon price for 1234yf. I have a specific set of gauges for r12, r134a and 1234yf.
we just got one of the trade magazines. It says that putting r134 into a 1234 car is considered tampering with emissions and carries a hefty fine


No...getting caught putting R-134a into a 1234yfabcdxyzwhatevertheycallit car is considered emissions tampering and faces a hefty fine.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted by Jarlaxle
Originally Posted by Chris142
Originally Posted by bbhero
Originally Posted by Chris142
I have been getting calls from people that have put R134a into their newer car that calls for R1234yf. How are they doing this as the fittings are different? One lady put a whole AC pro can into her 1234 car. How??



Redneck ingenuity

Chris142... Do you think vehicle ac systems need to be recharged every so often?? Like every 8-10 years for example..

More like 5-6 years. All systems leak a little. When they get 5+ years old they may still cool ok but will be low enough to not move the oil. Then the compressor locks up and you spend $1500+ to fix it.


My Vic had its original charge until last summer, when I lost the accumulator. My stepfather's Concorde was traded with the A/C blowing cold at 12 years and 200,000+ miles. What the heck are you dealing with that leaks that badly?!

Every brand. I have never seen a car with $200k with working ac that has never been touched.

 

[clinebarger]

My 2006 2500HD just had it's first recharge a couple months ago, High side charge port started leaking. Has over 400,000 miles. I'd wager it's not very common to run 15 years & that many miles, But it does happen.

 

[Jake_J]

Cost is what's driving people to resort to switching back to or even mixing R134a with R1234yf. Chemours and Honeywell have a monopoly for R1234yf as it was jointly developed by Dupont (Chemours is a spin off) and Honeywell and they hold the patent. So while you can buy a 8oz can of R123a for $6 or $7 the same size can of R1234yf will cost you $40 or $45 at least, and a typical car will require 2 or 3 can for a full charge. The car companies aren't exactly thrilled with the R1234yf either (Mercedes was the extreme example) but while no government agency is forcing them to use it, it's essentially the only choice on the market that can meet the low GWP requirements for refrigerants. I read an article from 2014 which said 'don't worry R1234yf prices will come down as production ramps up', well 6 years later that didn't really happen because well you know...monopoly.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted by Chris142
Every brand. I have never seen a car with $200k with working ac that has never been touched.


I have, many times. We have a tractor at work (2016 International) with 438K and the A/C hasn't been recharged. I'm not sure any of our box trucks (45K to 160K) have had the A/C recharged...I know my old truck (160K) has NOT. (I was the only driver until last year.)

I wonder if my wife's A/C works in her Blazer...?