Independent garage owners are being encouraged to “get ready” for R1234yf refrigerant, which was first used by vehicle manufacturers in 2011 and is now found in all new car air conditioning systems since 2017.
Air conditioning service unit manufacturer, Dometic said: “Many makes and models of vehicles have had R1234yf for a number of years prior to the above which will be seen in aftermarket garages.
“R134a is banned in new cars with new chassis manufactured after 2010 and will also be banned in new cars manufactured 2017.”
However, Dometic added that “R134a will remain on the market for decades” and that it “will still be used in other vehicles”.
It said: “Time and time again we see air conditioning service units being offered in the marketplace that do not meet the technical requirements for use with R1234yf.”
“Workshops are most likely to have two different air conditioning service units in the future, because R134a and R1234yf are not compatible with each other.”
Refrigerant prices
It’s thought prices for R1234yf will be considerably higher than R134a.
Due to the variation in prices on refrigerant, WAECO offer a “low emission concept”, which will recover 99.9 per cent of refrigerant.
Dometic concludes: “Conventional service units may lose up to 100 grams of refrigerant per use through the vacuum pump and during oil recovery.
“This is all different with the ASC 5500 G RPA from WAECO.
“Based on the low-emission principle, it has a refrigerant loss rate of close to zero per cent.”
Related: Revised F-Gas regulation now starting to affect UK workshops, say trade bodies
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