Keep Cool and Keep up with the E.P.A.

Are you in a position to have some maintenance performed on your automobile air-conditioning system? There are some things you ought to know first . . .

In 1987 the United States joined with other nations to forge the Montreal Protocol, an agreement that set an intitial timetable for globally phasing out ozone depleting chemicals like the chlorofluorocarbons found in older automotive air-conditioning systems. Based on this accord, the U.S. government passed the Clean Air Act of 1990, establishing a national timetable for phasing out such chemicals. Later, in 1992, new information from NASA scientists showed that global ozone depletion was a bigger problem than originally expected; the new studies led President Bush to institute an accelerated timetable for the phaseout, and by the end of December 1995, manufacturers were no longer allowed to make refrigerants containing Ozone depleting chloroflourocarbons (CFC). That means that CFC-based R-12, which most of us know by the trade name Freon, can no longer be manufactured. As a consumer you can continue to use R-12 in your air-conditioning system, but since no more can be manufactured, supplies are limited and the cost of R-12 keeps going up.

If you are thinking about air-conditioning maintenance, you should think about converting to an alternative refrigerant. Since 1994 all new cars have been constructed with air-conditioners that run on R-134a, and the auto aftermarket industry has seen an increase in the number of alternatives to R-12. How will you decide which alternative refrigerant to use?

Some help is available from the E.P.A. and its Significant New Alternatives Program (SNAP) program, which evaluates the alternatives to R-12 "for their ozone-depleting, global warming, flammability, and toxicity characteristics," and rates them as either "acceptable under certain use conditions" or as "unacceptable." Although the qualification to acceptable sounds ugly, "use conditions" are the steps that all certified AC maintenance shops should follow: the use of special equipment to ensure that no old R-12 based refrigerant will be vented into the atmosphere when it is removed from your vehicle; proper steps to prevent the mixing of different types of refrigerant; proper labeling for future reference; and a knowledge of what modifications to your air-conditioining system are necessary when the conversion is performed.

The one casualty of the clean air act is the do-it-yourselfer's ability to maintain his or her own air-conditioning system: the days of topping off your air-conditioning system with a can of Freon are over. You'll have to take your car to a certified professional with access to specialty equipment. As Bob Lanzendorf, Product Manager for Everco Industries, a leading supplier of A/C replacement products, points out however, there are advantages to using a proffessional service: "having your car's A/C maintained by experts lets you stay cool on the hottest summer days, while helping to safeguard our earth's fragile environment for future generations."

As of October 1996, the the E.P.A had rated 9 refrigerants as acceptable. The first, on 3/18/94, was R134a, the refrigerant chosen by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) like GM, Ford, and Chrysler. The second refrigerant rated acceptable by the E.P.A., on 6/13/95, was FRIGC (FR-12). Other refrigerants--those marked acceptable in 1996--include Free Zone (5/22/96); Ikon-12 (5/22/96); R-406A, aka McCool or GHG, (10/16/96); GHG-X4, aka Autofrost or Chill-It (10/16/96); Hot Shot, aka Kar Kool (10/1696); GHG-HP (10/16/96); and Freeze 12 (10/16/96). All refrigerants rated acceptable in October 1996--except Freeze 12--were saddled by the additional condition that one must install special barrier hoses on any system that uses them.

The hardest choice consumers face is deciding which of the SNAP acceptable refrigerants to use. Only knowing something about them can help you make that decision. What follows is a brief discussion of some of the differences between the two most widely available refrigerants: R134a, the OEM's choice, and FRIGC, which is distributed by Pennzoil Products Company, and which you are liable to find at your local Jiffy Lube.

Brad Welshans, FRIGC Brand Manager, Pennzoil Products Company, points out that there are two major problems one has to face when converting an air-conditioning system to use alternative refrigerants. The first question is one of chemical compatibility, while the second is a pressure-temperature problem.

Questions to ask about the chemical compatibility of an alternative refrigerant and a system that was designed for R-12 have mostly to do with the issue of wear on old parts: Will it cause rapid wear? Will you need to replace major components? Refrigerants that were designed to work with the largest number of R-12 systems are more likely to be chemically compatible than others.

The main difference between R134a and an alternative refrigerant like FRIGC, which is actually a blend that includes some R134a, involves pressure and temperature factors. A system running R134a has to operate at a higher pressure than it did when it ran on R-12. Will your components be able to handle it? Here's what the E.P.A. says about the pressure deifferences between old systems and R134a systems:

"Some vehicles may also have components that were not specifically designed with R-134a in mind, and as a result may not withstand the higher pressures of R-134a. As a result, these components may experience a shortened service life. That service life may be shortened only slightly, or a great deal."

Because of this, the E.P.A. estimates that retrofitting your car for use with R134a "will cost between $100 and $800, depending on the make, model and age of the vehicle." If you run into a worst case scenario and need a new compressor, a new condensor, and completely new set of hoses with your conversion, you could face costs of up to $12,000. That's a hefty sum, and one the distributors of FRIGC think you can avoid.

Welshans explains that FRIGC was designed to run compatibly with old R-12 systems. FRIGC runs at similar pressures to R-12, and therefore the conversion can be done with "minimal systems adaptations," he says. The costs associated with converting to FRIGC are the new, specialized fittings required by the E.P.A., the time in the shop, and the cost of the refrigerant. Conversions to FRIGC are currently being test marketed at under $100.

The other part of the temperature/pressure equation involves cooling power. The E.P.A. points out that R134a simply does not have the cooling power that R-12 had. "Since R-12 systems were not designed for use with R-134a," they write, "owners should be prepared for a slight reduction in a/c performance." The agency is quickly indicates, however, that the reduction may not be significant "in most parts of the country."

Welshans points out that cooling ability is another significant difference between R134a and FRIGC, which was designed not only to operate at similar pressures as R-12, but to have the same cooling capacity.

Knowing what you're looking for in a refrigerant and what questions to ask along the way, can save you some money when it comes to converting your old air-conditioning system for use with an environmentally sound alternative refrigerant. Hopefully this article will help you out when you have to make choose your refrigerant.

Parts of several very helpful E.P.A. question and answer sheets were used to compile this article. Check out www.epa.gov/ozone/ for E.P.A. information.

Click here to find out more about FRIGC. (outdated link)