Posted on 04/23/2013 7:15:13 PM PDT by I still care
As part of a routine test of a new refrigerant being used in the Mercedes-Benz B Class, engineers simulated a pinhole leak in a coolant line. When the refrigerant (now mixed with A/C compressor oil) sprayed on a hot engine, the results were dramatic.
The vaporized mixture reportedly ignited on contact with the hot surface, creating what Reuters (via Yahoo News) described as a “ball of fire,” followed by a cloud of dangerous hydrogen fluoride gas. The corrosive gas then attacked the windshield, etching the glass and raising even more potential concerns about the safety of the new HFO-1234yf refrigerant.
The team of manufacturers within the SAE International group evaluating the new refrigerant's safety includes Audi, BMW, Chrysler/Fiat, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, PSA, Renault and Toyota.
(Excerpt) Read more at motorauthority.com ...
There is also talk that American manufacturers are balking at using this product, but the EU is digging its heels in. That may be just talk, I don't know. We all know the EPA cares more about fish than folks, so my guess is there may be a few "unexpected" A/C fireballs in the future, for which the government will be, shocked, shocked.
Supposedly this is starting to be phased in now, jan 2013.
So we went looking and found these articles. Looks like the EPA is forcing a new refrigerant that may not be safe, and is ten times the cost of what is being used now. Here is a list of articles I found:
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/28/daimler-sounds-alarm-on-new-ac-refrigerant-may-be-flammable/
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/10/12/environmentally-friendly-refrigerant-may-pose-fire-hazard-in-cars/
http://www.emercedesbenz.com/autos/mercedes-benz/corporate-news/mercedes-benz-independent-study-finds-new-refrigerant-to-be-dangerous/
FYI.
Hmmm. They didn’t post as links. Sorry.
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/28/daimler-sounds-alarm-on-new-ac-refrigerant-may-be-flammable/
They won’t if you have ANY HTML in your post
Ball of fire?
Are we talking Ford Pintos...?
Stuff that posts as links in normal posts will not in the initial comment in an original post. It’s a feature, not a bug. < /s>
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/28/daimler-sounds-alarm-on-new-ac-refrigerant-may-be-flammable/
You beat me to the links post, but I’m right on the reason.
A comment after the original post works differently from the comment section in the original post.
We might revisit that case in light of this discovery.
Killed a lobbyist?
Not all bad, then.
Just use Butane, it will do fine as a replacement and doesn’t cost as much. If you are going to burn anyway, why not?
As I said before, there was a time when it was illegal to use certain refrigerants in mobile systems because of fire danger, now the EPA seems to be insisting that we use those dangerous gases. STUPID EPA!
Yes you are. Good catch.
The EPA is in favor of it, because charred human bodies don’t hurt the ozone as much as Freon.
The West is circling in the toilet bowl of history faster and faster...
The scientific name for this phenomenon is the “Jerry Lee Lewis Effect”
Still have several cans of R12 though getting the oil is almost impossible.
BTW, reading your tag line, if you make it up to Atlanta, I know the places to get proper boiled-then-baked bagels.
I’m starting to think I should invest in a couple cases of R-134a.
10 times the cost and probably requires 10 times the pressure.
Likely another terrorism idea for a muzzie.
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