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Repair Industry Group Warns Motortists of Flammable Refrigerants

15 January 1998

Repair Industry Group Warns Motortists of Flammable Refrigerants

    SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 15 -- A number of chemical blends
masquerading as Freon could cause major damage to vehicles, and the Automotive
Service Councils of California is urging motorists to make sure they are being
sold a refrigerant that has been approved by their vehicle's manufacturer.
    While many of these chemical blends have been given clearance for use in
home and commercial refrigeration systems, they haven't received approval from
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for use in passenger vehicles.  They
are being marketed as less-expensive alternatives to R-12 (also known as
Freon) and R-134A, the industry-standard refrigerants.  The ASC, an
independent repair industry association, has so far only endorsed the use of
R-12 and R-134A.
    "Many chemical-blend products use propane, butane or other flammable
gases," said Mike Mahneke, president of ASC.  "They have the ability to leak
out of the system and cause an under-hood fire, or a hose can burst or an
O-ring can leak at the evaporator and the flammable refrigerant will seep into
the passenger compartment.  The potential could be serious."
    Mahneke also warns motorists that these chemical blends can cause
compressor failure and other refrigeration system malfunctions, and the use of
any other refrigerant not approved by the vehicle manufacturer will void the
warranty on the air conditioning system.
    The Automotive Service Councils of California is also alerting its member
repair facilities to beware of vehicles that have been filled with one of
these chemical blends.  When a repair shop fills a vehicle's air conditioning
system, by law it needs to capture the refrigerant currently in the vehicle
into a dedicated recovery system.  Refrigerants must not be mixed in a
recovery unit.  These blends can cause thousands of dollars in damage to an
expensive recovery system, Mahneke said.
    Mahneke, who owns and operates a garage in Santa Barbara and who is a
certified master automotive technician, said he had to purchase a
$2,000 "sniffer" to identify the type of refrigerant in each vehicle so he
wouldn't contaminate his recovery system with a dangerous chemical blend.
    "Until these chemical blends get approval from the manufacturers, our
recommendation to Wages throughout the state and for vehicle owners is to use
the approved, industry-standard refrigerants, R-12 and R-134A," Mahneke said.
    The Automotive Service Councils of California is an association of
2,700 independent automotive repair shops and related businesses.  For more
information, call the ASC at 916-924-9054.

SOURCE  California Automotive Service Councils