MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2017 - NOV3

THE PRICE OF R-1234yf AND THE ILLEGALITY OF A RETROFIT

Peter Coll

We haven't talked about the price of R-12343yf recently,
with the previous discussions in print having focused on
Fiat Chrysler's "list" price of $1696 for a 10-lb jug and a perounce charge of $10.60. As a result, we heard shops talking
quietly about "retrofitting" R-1234yf systems to R-134a and
saving about $200 on the refrigerant with no loss in performance. The fact that (except for the environmental factor) R134a could be installed in an R-1234yf system with no dropin performance is no secret. Daimler spilled the beans in 2012
when it decided that it was not satisfied with the safety of
R-1234yf and retrofitted the Mercedes-Benz systems it had
released with R-134a. Since then, it decided to develop R-744
(carbon dioxide as a refrigerant) air conditioning systems,
and there are a few vehicles in Europe with CO2 air conditioning. Other Mercedes-Benz models were charged with
R-1234yf, and some have an automatic safety system addition
that includes an argon gas "fire extinguisher."
If you check around, there are R-134a charging hose adapters for R-1234yf systems, but as we've pointed out, a "retrofit" is tampering with an emission control (actually, not a
retrofit, but a changeover from the OE's R-1234yf system).
And you don't want to face a charge of doing that, even if a
price-sensitive customer asks you to do so. But now there's
a new factor: as we've pointed out, the prices of R-1234yf
are coming down. The people we know at Honeywell and
Chemours (formerly DuPont) told us to look for that to happen, as the supplies increased and demand stabilized. This
is what seems to be happening, which reduces any incentive
to break the law.
Even the public soon will get the idea. "Small cans" (eight
ounces) of R-1234yf are just going into the wholesale/retail auto parts stores, at a list price of $39.95, which prices
a pound at $80. See Figures 3, 4. But those small cans are

Figure 4: Closeup look shows the can contains just eight ounces of R-1234yf,
which can be attributed both to the smaller capacity systems and the pricing
issue of the refrigerant itself.

Peter Coll

not just the simple small cans of yesterday. They're basically
akin to the high-tech ones sold with R-134a in California that
include a $10 core return because they have a built-in mechanical shutoff valve, so no residual refrigerant is vented.
Outside of California, there presently is no legally-mandated
program we know of that's in effect to have a similar "core
return" fee for these cans, however. But with the markup
necessary for retail stores, that puts the price of the refrigerant down around roughly $60/lb. Also available are can
taps for R-1234yf (Figure 5), but to date no charging hoses,

Peter Coll

Figure 5: Can was available at a national parts jobber store (NAPA) with this
can tap, but at the time (sure to change) without a charging hose.

so the small cans would have to be used with an R-1234yf
manifold gauge set, something we suspect few Saturday
mechanics would be willing to invest in. However, we'll bet
that a charging hose will hit the market any day now, perhaps even by the time you read this issue. These small cans,
branded by Honeywell, contain just R-1234yf; no dye, no oil
and (happily) no sealer. Anyone can buy a can; no certifica-

Figure 3: The small can continues on the market, and for R-1234yf it's really small; just eight ounces and list-priced at $39.95. This one, branded by
Honeywell, is just refrigerant; no oil, no dye, and most important, no sealer.

November 2017

MACS Service Reports

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