Y1234 Machine?

[Joe Marconi]

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[xrac]

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[Joe Marconi]

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[AZAUTO]

We have purchased the Robinar unit end of last year and have used it maybe 4 times.  Most of them have been subleted to us by other shops as well however I do expect to start seeing more this year as we have gotten the word out and so far only 2 shops in our community besides the dealerships have it.  

[JimO]

We have had maybe four or five opportunities to use one but of those four or five they all went back to the dealer under warranty so we have held off purchasing a machine. Still waiting, just don’t want to wait too long. 

[JOEPROPER]

We've only seen a few vehicles too and they went back to the dealers.  Maybe next year if the demand is stronger. 

[vbtoytech]

Lexus dealership - Robinair machine is required equipment.  We didn't use it for over a year.  FWIW - I don't have first hand experience, but I was told that the evac/recharge procedure takes substantially longer than a 134 machine.

[southendautocare]

We purchased separate components for servicing 1234YF; a recovery machine, tank, evacuator-pump, guages, scale and a cart (welding cart or small-medium size tool cart in our case). All Robinair brand.  Except tool cart; Harbor Freight, which is getting surprisingly better products especially tool boxes at very reasonable prices.  Not automatic, but for the limited use, everything was $2500 with tax, instead of  $6500 for the fully automatic machine. We can read a scale and spend an extra 10 minutes for that at this point. The electronic leak detector for R134 works for 1234YF.  My concern is the very high cost of 1234YF freon when dealing with leaks, especially slow ones. We may use nitrogen charging, as costs can quickly get out of hand with expensive freon loss. 

[Patrickrocks]

We bought a dual machine a few months back. We have been seeing older cars (2013 Dodge Dart!) with the 1234. Because fo the cost of the refrigerant, we began using co2 to check for leaks. It has worked well. My advice? If you can get a deal on one, buy it. You will need it very soon if not already

[Anders Gustafson]

We purchased one for each of our two locations. The biggest struggle is finding the right pricing and also explaining to the customer why the price is so much higher. We have probably used them 10x combined over the course of 12 months so we are a long way away from covering the investment. The process is much, much longer (1 hour minimum to run through all the steps on the machine), but it's still a valuable service as we are able to work on other vehicles while the machine does its thing. 

[DUFRESNES]

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[Patrickrocks]

Sorry- we don't use co2, we use nitrogen!! Works awesome

 

[RYAN B]

We have had a R1234YF machine for at least 3 to 4 years, we average using 2 or 4 times a month, mostly for body shops or other shops that can't do the service.  We charge 150 to preform the service and 9 to 11 dollars an ounce for the refrigerant. We have done at least 10 to 12 AC condensors in GM trucks this year! We have a Snap On Machine, The service is a little more hands on than an R134a service, it just requires freon to be added and removed for the leak check.  The R1234YF is about 550 to 580 for 10lbs, knowing your not yielding 100% out of the tank, I figure we are getting about 1450 for each tank.  

[DUFRESNES]

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[RYAN B]

Believe it or not, we recharge and dye the systems and drive them if its going to leak you see it pretty quickly. For 134a we always charged them up and dyed the systems and sent them out the door til the ac stopped working and looked for the dye. honestly the only leaks we had so far are Honda and GM condensors, the GM's are hard to see, but we pull the grilles and charge them and you see the leak pretty quick with dye! Honestly I have not had any come back yet with leaks, but I am sure that's coming, and I don't know how we will handle that cause it's so expensive. 

[DUFRESNES]

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[RYAN B]

Have not looked at one yet, but I will.  The way we use to do 134a is not going to work.