Does anyone know if they will be banning the sale of 134a this coming year like they did with R-12?

Thanks

Andy

 

no................

 

No, DuPont's patent on R134a is not due to expire for a while yet. They were about to lose the patent on R12, suddenly R12 gets banned. One of those things that make you go HMMMMMM???

 

So we all better stock up then. Ive heard the EPA is changing to a different refrigerant starting in 2013.

 

I'm a EPA certified tech...i checked the EPA website and there is no mention of any pending regs, etc.....GM is planning to introduce a "green" refrigerant to a few select cars in 2013...I would suspect it is in response to euraope which has banned new cars from using 134 for a while now.....IIRR, they are using CO2.

 

So it wont disappear from store shelves this year?

 

No & there is no hint of any legislation to ban the sales to private individuals (small quantities)

 

Propane works great. If you buy the old "freon" in mexico, this is usually what you get . But, I understand flammable refrigerants are not allowed when retrofitting R-12, but the law is not written in a way where you cannot retrofit to R-134, then replace with propane.

 

Propane is not a desirable refrigerant. Been the cause of more than one fire/explosion.

 

actually, most states have laws banning hydrocarbon based refrigerants for automotive use.

 

Hydrocarbon refrigerants are specifically prohibited for motor vehicles in the USA.