ACtion Magazine - May 2013 - (Page 18)

©Automotive Video by Paul Weissler A ll you have to do is read the headlines to see that, what was expected to be a slow but smooth changeover to R-1234yf, now seems to be in a state of confusion. Walking into the MACS Convention trade show was illustrative. Several R-1234yf recovery/recycle/recharge (R/R/R) machines were on display, but in at least one case the machine was built to comply with a European maker’s standards, not the standards developed by SAE International’s Interior Climate Control Standards Committee (ICCSC), the generally accepted standard. And that machine — for Daimler — is no longer in use as the company has decided that R-1234yf does not meet its own internal safety requirements. Subsequently, an effort has begun in Europe (by a German government advisory agency), to delay the regulatory deadline to the end of 2015, in exchange for a promise to introduce carbon dioxide A/C technology. The German carmakers had originally abandoned that effort in 2010, agreeing to use R-1234yf. Multi-refrigerant machines? Not exactly One manufacturer at the trade show displayed a fourrefrigerant machine that works with two commercial refrigerants (R-22 and R407C) as well as R-134a and R-1234yf. The company (CPS Products) said it was designed to comply with the individual SAE standards for auto A/C machines (SAE J2788 and J2843 respectively), and was viewed by some show attendees as an interesting engineering exercise. However, it apparently is a “single production platform” for all recovery machines the company will produce, not one machine for all refrigerants. Outside the U.S., the machine will offer the possibility of use with commercial refrigerants. However, in the U.S., the machine is intended to be set up for either R-134a or R-1234yf, — take your choice — but 18 ACTION • May 2013 to comply with SAE standards, it cannot be switched for use with a different refrigerant at any point, although some research on that subject was done. That machine is indicative of some issues the industry is facing. An SAE standard (J1770) for R/R/R machines with a common plumbing circuit that could service R-12 and R-134a systems was published some 18 years ago. However, it is not applicable to today’s equipment and R-1234yf. Bottom line However, the SAE ICCSC has just begun work on a new dual-refrigerant standard (just R-134a and R-1234yf) and although there is industry interest in dual-refrigerant equipment, a date for the standard’s completion has not been set. In fact, it’s not even known if a dual refrigerant machine will be found acceptable. However, it may be possible to develop a standard that would permit a single changeover one time, say from R-134a to R-1234yf. Such a machine would require all the special engineering that R-1234yf machines have to address the refrigerant flammability issue, primarily anti-arcing switches and internal ventilation. In effect this allows an R-1234yf machine to be set up to begin its service life as an R-134a machine, and the shop could switch it over if/when the R-1234yf service business becomes dominant. http://www.auto-video.com/ac-8-ball-p-246.html

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ACtion Magazine - May 2013

Action Magazine - May 2013
Contents
Outlook
Freeze Frame
Virtual View
Under the Southern Cross
Leonard's Law
News & Updates
What Is Happening in the Auto A/C Industry?
New Equipment, Tools and Service Parts for 2013
Striking Customer Service Gold
Asociation News
Quick Check
New Products & Services
Last Watch

ACtion Magazine - May 2013