2009 A/C SERVICE REPORT:

THE(NEW)

NUMBERS
G A M E

R-1234yf
BY PAUL WEISSLER

re you just getting into a/c service? You

couldnt have picked a more turbulent
time. The most dramatic aspect: Well
be switching to a new refrigerant, and, unless theres a last-minute change of heart in
Germany, maybe a second one on a few cars.
As we speculated it would be in
our 2008 report, the new refrigerant is
R-1234yf, a minimally flammable
chemical selected for its ultra-low
global warming impactjust 4, vs.
1430 for R-134a, but with a nearly
identical temperature-pressure curve
and similar other characteristics that
mean it would require only moderate

changes to existing auto a/c systems.

Since last year, R-1234yf has passed a
string of toxicity tests, and although
there are long-term toxicity tests still
underway, theres now really no doubt
about the basic safety of the substance.
It has greater density than R-134a,
so it will require specific calibration of
the expansion valve and a larger diame-

Photoillustration: Harold Perry; photos: Wieck Media & Jupiter Images

Changes are coming to the world of air

conditioning service. We know what they
are, but its difficult to say when theyll
arrive. For now, understanding the
challenges ahead will have to suffice.

The new electronic leak detectors that meet the SAE

J2791 standard are expected to perform well with R1234yf, based on some preliminary evaluations. Shown
are (clockwise from top right) the Robinair 22791, the
Tracer TP-9364 PRO-Alert and the Techno-Tools D440A.

ter low-side hose. There would be a

small loss of efficiency with existing
condensers and evaporators, but these
heat exchangers can be redesigned to
compensate. R-1234yf cooling performance should be comparable to that of
R-134a.
R-1234yf also has zero ozone depletion potential (no danger to the stratospheric ozone layer, the issue that
killed R-12). However, there are no
plans to retrofit existing R-134a systems as we did to R-12 systems in the
early 1990s. In part because of the
flammability factor, retrofit would be
impractical, so industry plans are focused on continuing R-134a production
for as long as needed for service, even
after the phaseout. That means you can
confidently invest in one of the new recover/recycle/recharge machines that
meet the SAE J2788 standard for high
performance and accuracy (or if you
prefer, one that will meet the H standard, toosee The Hybrids Issue,
on page 22), without fear of it becoming obsolete. At this time it also appears that the new electronic leak detectors, which meet the SAE J2791
standard for identifying a wider range
of refrigerant leaks with less false-trig-

Photo courtesy Neutronics

Photo: Paul Weissler

2009 A/C SERVICE REPORT

This refrigerant identifier display (DET-1, etc.) on the Neutronics Ultima ID HVAC Refrigerant Identifier may not seem
to mean anything, but its what comes up when the identifier detects R-1234yf. Only a factory software change was
made, and identifier owners will be able to get a similar
modification to pinpoint R-1234yf. Identifiers that directly
read the new refrigerant will eventually be available.

gering, will perform similarly in an R1234yf system. The new refrigerant

seems to have lower permeability than
R-134a (will seep out less) with present
and next-generation refrigerant hoses.

New equipment
will be required
to recover, recycle
and recharge the
new R-1234yf
refrigerant.
Although current refrigerant identifiers cant directly pick out R-1234yf,
with some factory modifications they
can produce a so-called fingerprint
identificationi.e., a readout that a
technician will know means a system
contains about 95% or more of the
new refrigerant. The modification will

be a moderate-cost change to any later-model Neutronics-made identifier,

including those it makes for other marketers. Eventually, Neutronics will produce an identifier that specifically gives
the percentage of R-1234yf, as well as
other refrigerants and air. Although R134a and R-1234yf are close in their
pressure/temperature relationship, if
mixed during prior service, there can
be enough of a difference in pressure
gauge readings to throw off diagnosis.
There will be new recover/recycle/
recharge equipment required for R1234yf. While the refrigerant seems to
be environmentally benign, the EPA
mandates that all chemical refrigerants
must be recovered and recycled. Furthermore, the expected higher cost of
the refrigerant and critical nature of todays smaller refrigerant charges emphasize the need for accurate recovery
and recharge.
An R-1234yf machine also will be
important from a shop service operations standpoint. The new R-1234yf
machines will require different engineering, to provide the safety margin
needed with a flammable refrigerant.
Although R-1234yf is minimally flammable, the machines will likely have

Source: Honeywell

This chart shows what happens to suction (low-side) and discharge (highside) pressures if R-134a is added to an R-1234yf system. The horizontal
numbers (0.1, 0.2, etc.) refer to 10%, 20%, etc., of R-134a, and the peak discharge pressure is reached at about a 50-50 mixits approximately 8%
higher than pure R-1234yf. The peak suction pressure (3% higher) is at about
22% R-134a, and drops below the base line of R-1234yf at about 67% R-134a.

enough margin to be used also with R152a, a mildly flammable refrigerant

that although not in any companys
firm plans today, might eventually find
some application. R-152a has been

tested in secondary-loop systems,

where the refrigerant circuit is completely underhood, and is used to chill
an antifreeze solution that then is circulated through a heat exchanger in

12L Sphere
Containing
R-1234yf
and Air

Photo courtesy DuPont

Automotive
Cable

Movable
9.5mm
Copper
Electrode
Stationary 9.5mm
Copper Electrode

Automotive
Cables
High-Current
12-Volt/1020 CA Battery
12-Volt Switch

This DuPont test setup was made to see if a high-amperage arc from a
shorted 12-volt battery could ignite R-1234yf in a combustible mixture with
air. The sphere contains the mixture, and the switch was thrown to create
the arc. The refrigerant requires such high ignition energy, it did not ignite.

the underdash HVAC case. It has possible cost advantages in vehicles with
rear HVAC.
When will the R-134a phaseout begin in the U.S.? We cant give you a
date. No carmaker has officially announced a changeover, although all but
the German manufacturers (VW/Audi,
Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche)
have made it absolutely clear R-1234yf
is their choice. The current economic
turmoil has created other priorities. The
first announcements could come at any
moment, and once the ball is rolling,
youll see itll be nearly unanimous.
However, the refrigerant changeover subject arose because the European Union set a legal mandate to use
a low global warming refrigerant on all
new-vehicle platforms starting Jan. 1,
2011. Although the U.S. is under no
such deadline right now, the globalwarming-conscious in the Obama administration in Washington, plus regulators in California and other states, are
anxious to matcheven beatthe EU
deadline, with an enthusiastic push
from such influential nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) as the National
Resources Defense Council.
During the recent convention of the
Mobile Air Conditioning Society
(MACS) Worldwide, the EPA had an
all-day session titled R-1234yf Commercialization Meeting, with presentations intended to assess the service
industrys preparations. It covered
everything from the equipment that
will be needed for the new refrigerant
to what technicians will have to learn
to work on such systems.
We can tell you that a U.S. switchover at the start of 2011 is unlikely. Its
just not enough time for all the work
that has to be done, and the normal
bureaucratic sequencing to be completed. R-1234yf still is just part of the
way through an EPA regulatory procedure that wont produce an official proposal until later this year, so the official
okay for its use wont come until 2010.
Several states have laws against use of
flammable refrigerants, and the EPA is
working to get them modified so R1234yf can be used legally in all states.
Engineering standards are still in development, and the components that

Photos courtesy Hyundai-Kia

2009 A/C SERVICE REPORT

Left: The Hyundai-Kia America Technical Center checked R-1234yf for flammability on a hot surface, starting
out with a thermocouple (arrow) on the exhaust manifold to measure real-world temperature. The reading
peaked at 1075F. Right: The engineers then heated a steel plate in an oven to even higher temperatures
starting at 1292Fand sprayed refrigerant onto the plate.

must meet them havent undergone

durability testing.
All the carmakers know pretty much
how the legal issues will sort out, so before they even announce theyre making
the change, theyre getting ready as fast
as possible. Our current best guess: If
all the ducks line up, maybe a few cars
sometime late in 2011, with the real

changeover starting on new platforms in

2012maybe. One issue: No one has
said how soon the chemical companies
can even produce R-1234yfor how
much. Producing R-1234yf requires a
more complex process than making R134a (thats why the price will be higher), so to what extent some R-134a
manufacturing facilities can be used is a

question those companies decline to answer now. In mid-2008 they said they
could meet an end-of-2010 date to supply an adequate amount for the limited
2011 needs they saw. We expect some
updated production estimates and a
better feel for the changeover by late
spring or early summer.
And whats a new platform anyway?

The Hybrids Issue

the POE (polyol ester) oil the highvoltage hybrids use. The H standard sets a limit of .1% cross-contamination. Thats safely below the
1% PAG-in-POE limit needed to
avoid potential danger to a technician touching the compressor under
system operating conditions that
could result in high-voltage leaking

from the high-voltage compressor

electric motor windings to the compressor body.
The equipment manufacturers
know what they have to do to meet
J2788H, and some actually have labtested their equipment. So as soon
as the standard is official, the H
machines will be available. An H
machine will not be permitted to have oil and/or dye injection, so if you want these
features, youll have to get a
J2788-only (no H) machine.
At this time, an informal EPA
advisory says it cant permit
manufacturers to retrofit to
the H standard those J2788
machines already sold, because the SAE J2788 standard
covering them already is part
of the Clean Air Act. But if a
no-modifications method of
gaining equivalent safety
when servicing high-voltage compressor systems becomes available,
were sure that technicians will find
out about it.
Photo: Wieck Media

t one time we thought hybridseven plug-inswould

be only a small market factor,
but theres a push for more stringent
fuel economy standards, particularly
in California and the Northeast
states that follow the California
lead. That seems to indicate well
have lots more hybrids nationwide,
which is likely to mean more
high-voltage electric-drive
compressors.
The H (for high-voltage)
version of the SAE J2788 standard for recover/recycle/recharge equipment is complete,
and is going through the SAE
review system. J2788H requires
a machine to be able to repeatedly service conventional R134a systems with PAG (poly
alkylene glycol) oilusing only
one set of service hoses. The
machine must next be able to
service high-voltage electric-drive
compressor systems without crosscontamination between residual
PAG oil in the hoses and lines, and

High-voltage electric-drive compressors, with specitic lubricant requirements, are coming into greater
use. This two-mode compressor is
used by GM and other carmakers.

2009 A/C SERVICE REPORT

Like lots of things in regulations, it isnt
really defined by the European Union.
It isnt just new sheet metal, or just a
new powertrain. What if the platform
chassis is a modified version of an existing one, as is common? (Youd be surprised how few all new cars really fit
that description.) However, no manufacturer selling whats perceived to be a
brand-new model in Europe as of Jan.
1, 2011, wants to explain its no-its-nota-new-platform rationale to European
regulators. So there may be some delayed introductions that year if the carmakers need some extra time for the a/c
changeover. Although the European
Union put in a three-year delay (from
2012 to 2015) for European market vehicles to meet stringent total carbon
dioxide emissions regulations, it didnt
touch the R-134a phaseout.

Now lets look more closely at the

new refrigerant itself, which actually
was discovered about a half-century
ago, and well explain that because R1234yf is listed as a minimally flammable refrigerant, it never got consideration for use in a/c systems before
global warming became an issue.
So what does the phrase minimally
flammable really mean? It means it can
be used as an a/c refrigerant with direct
expansion for absorbing heat in the underdash evaporator. But the system itself
also requires safety mitigation per the
EPA, to prevent a flammable concentration from accumulating in the passenger
cabin in a worst-case evaporator leak
scenario. What would that safety stuff
be? Will the system need sensors to detect leaks and a vent valve to blow the
refrigerant out before it conceivably

could reach a flammable concentration

in the passenger compartment even in a
worst-case leakage scenario?
Last year we thought vent valves
would be the approach, and, yes, that
remains a possibility. What weve
heard since leads us to believe that at
the very least there will be requirements for a more robust evaporator
that passes severe durability and crash
tests, along with eliminating refrigeration line joints in the dashboard.
The minimally flammable description is not a euphemism. R-1234yf really is difficult to ignite, and it gets the
lowest possible flammability classificationA2Lof ISO (International
Standards Organization). DuPont and
Honeywell, two chemical companies
that are jointly developing the refrigerant (Europe-based Arkema is another)

Section 609 Certification

(at www.macsw.org), including an
open book certification test that
requires a higher passing grade
than a proctored test. MACS train-

Photo courtesy MACS Worldwide

emember when you got your

EPA-required 609 certification
so you could legally buy R-12
and continue to service a/c systems?
The training program and the test
dealt with recycling R-12 and R-134a,
and saving the ozone layer. If you
look back on it now, certainly with
global warming more on everyones mind, youd think, Boy, is it
outdated.
However, if you have a new
technician and you have to get him
certified, the news is that the EPA
realized that, too. So it had those
organizations that certify technicians prepare comprehensive updates for EPA review and approval,
and get them ready for the start of
this year. Previously certified technicians are grandfathered in, and
therefore are not required to take
the new test. But when shop owners see the subjects of the new coverage, they should decide if the
newest technician in the shop
should be the only one with the
most up-to-date information.
The Mobile Air Conditioning Society (MACS) Worldwide is one of
the organizations that has updated its Section 609 training and certification materials. The updated
MACS program is already online

MACS new 609 Certification Training Manual, which is approved by

the EPA, is the text on which the
organizations 609 test program is
based. Self-tests are available online at www.macsw.org . Training
with proctored tests will be given
at MACS clinics this spring.

ing programs, with proctored tests,

will be given throughout the country this spring.
The new training program still
covers the ozone layer issue and so
do some test questions, but the
primary emphasis is on new technology, equipment and techniques. Some of the subjects that
werent in the old program or tests
include a number of things that,
ideally, an a/c technician should
have since learned, but perhaps
has not. Among them are:
system visual inspection;
more complete refrigerant recovery and more accurate recharge
techniques, even without the latest equipment;
maintaining your equipment;
all the applicable SAE standards,
including equipment that meets
the J2788, J2810 (refrigerant recovery only) and J2791 (electronic leak
detection) standards;
use of J2791 electronic leak detectors;
trace dyes, including applicable
SAE standards, and proper use;
field-assembled hoses;
best repair practices.
And theres a lot more, so its far
beyond a few reminders for the
grandfathered-in.

have performed many flammability

tests, including high-amperage arcing
to simulate a shorted battery or blower
motor, but R-1234yf requires such high
ignition energy, nothing happened.
What about a refrigerant spray (say,
after a stone chip puncture on a condenser or a sudden failure at a joint) on
a really hot surface, such as a cherry-red
hot exhaust manifold? The most definitive work weve seen was done at the
Hyundai-Kia America Technical Center
near Detroit, where peak exhaust gas
temperatures on a 4-cylinder were measured at over 1600F, and a thermocouple measured the peak exhaust manifold surface temperature at 1075F.
Armed with that information, the engineers heated a thick steel plate (simulating the manifold) to 1292F, well above
the peak manifold temperature, and
sprayed a mixture of 21 oz. of refrigerant with 3% oil, then 6%. In each case
the refrigerant did not ignite, although
the oil did. They repeated the test with
a flame on the hot surface and, under
that condition, the oil and R-1234yf did
ignite. However, they tested the refrigerant alone with the plate heated to
1600F (the peak temperature of the
exhaust gas) and it did not ignite.
Accepting that the risk of flammability is very small, R-1234yf still would
be the first mass-production deployment of an automotive a/c refrigerant
with any such issue at all. As a result,
everyone is being super-cautious, and
well have to see what the carmakers
decide to do. If they choose a heavyduty evaporator design, that could
force changes in the designs of aftermarket evaporators, and a technician
would have to install an evaporator that
meets the OE design to maintain the
EPA-required safety mitigation.
The only other refrigerant under active consideration that has a lower
Global Warming Potential (GWP) number is carbon dioxide (called R-744
when used as a refrigerant). It has a
GWP of 1, so its become the basic unit
for measuring global warming impact.
The number is so low the refrigerant
would not have to be recycled. Inasmuch as carbon dioxide is dry ice, you
can assume its a good refrigerant; its
been used in commercial refrigeration

since the 1800s. However, it requires an

ultra-high-pressure cycle (2300 psi on
the high side, about 500 psi on the low
side) and doesnt condense until its below 88F. So it almost never goes
through a gas-to-liquid phase change,
requiring a lot of expensive electronics
for efficiency. At high ambient temperatures, R-744 efficiency is lower than
that of R-134a or R-1234yf. The high
pressures mean high costs for sealing.
General Motors estimated the cost for
R-744 parts alone at $350 over the cost
of an R-134a system, and ended up canceling supply contracts when components failed durability tests. In addition,
carbon dioxide is a potential asphyxiant,
so excessive leakage from an evaporator,
combined with normal human respiration, could result in a passenger cabin
atmosphere that affects the drivers ability to operate the vehicle. Therefore,
the EPA also requires safety mitigation
for carbon dioxide as a refrigerant. An
odorant in the refrigerant is one approach being considered.
So far the German manufacturers
havent given up on R-744, the announced choice of VDA (the German
auto manufacturers association
VW/Audi, BMW, Daimler/MercedesBenz/Smart and Porsche). The German government environmental agencies and German environmental NGOs
still are pushing for carbon dioxide as
the natural refrigerant, but many performance and other problems remain
to be solved. Without customers other
than VDA members, the costs would
remain high. There is speculation that
very limited introductory use of carbon
dioxide, in a few low-volume cars sold
in Germany, might be done to showcase the system and see if the problems
can be solved with real-world experiences. But unless something dramatic
happens, the German manufacturers
would face falling behind the rest of
the world in use of low global warming
refrigerants. Furthermore, there is no
R-744 system ready for hybrids, even
more of an incentive to join the move
to R-1234yf.
This article can be found online at
www.motormagazine.com.