The introduction of R134a in the '90s was a step towards a more environmentally friendly air conditioning refrigerant with a 0.0 Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP). More recently, the air conditioning industry came out with R1234yf to tackle global warming. R1234yf has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of only 4, which is 335 times less than that of R134a.

 

Government pressure to achieve net zero carbon emissions has driven manufacturers to adopt R1234yf as the latest environmentally friendly refrigerant gas. Quotas for the import of R134a are reducing year on year, meaning less quantities of this refrigerant are available in Australia. Of course, manufacturers respond with the increase in production of R1234yf compatible vehicles.

 

Europe and the US are far more advanced in the use of R1234yf compatible vehicles, and we’re expecting the flow-on effect of that in Australia towards the end of this year.

 

Although it’s evident the kick-off to the new refrigerant has been slower than expected, time is flying and we’re half way through the year already. Towards the end of this year, things will really ramp up.

 

If you haven’t been faced with a R1234yf compatible vehicle yet, then you should be prepared for them to show up for servicing any time from now. The list of vehicles in Australia continues to grow, with the latest vehicles added being the Kia MY22, some Volkswagen models, Toyota Kluger and Volvo trucks.

 

The major manufacturers including Subaru, Nissan, Audi, Volkswagen, Jeep, BMW, Porsche, Dodge, Chevrolet, Peugeot, Citroen and now, Toyota and Kia, all have R1234yf compatible vehicles available in Australia. So be ready!

 

With R1234yf being considered ‘Class A2L - mildly flammable’, there are some measures you need to put in place to safely and legally handle this refrigerant.

 

A recovery machine (TO-73360 Agricold or TO-73327 Konfort Bi-Gas) - single gas or bi-gas for an effective way to manage the current dual gas environment we’re working in. Recovery machines achieve cash savings with their ability to recycle the more expensive R1234yf refrigerant! The set and forget operation means you can save time and work on other jobs while the machine does all the recovery, recycle, vacuum and recharge for the system.


 


 


For the manual way, you’ll need an ‘A2L’ compliant vacuum pump (TO-64220 Robinair Vacuum Pump) and leak detector (TO-25378 Refco Tritector-R leak detector), as well as a reclaim cylinder (REC-CYL-HI-YF)