About 70% of new refrigerators for residential use are operating with HC refrigerant; but of course may not be installed in a kitchen that also has a gas stove, right?

No, actions and risks that I take / accept are my responsibility, I'm not one who tries to hold others responsible for my actions. I own it.



Life is full of risks. We all make choices, and weighing the risks is one of them. Do you never speed? Have you never followed another car maybe just a little too close? You take risks in your daily life, just like all the rest of us. I would submit that a life with no risk would be a very dull and boring life. My point is that we all accept some risk, so now the question is what is the level of risk vs. the possible reward that one is willing to live with.


The evaporator is buried in the heater box (plastic) which is buried under the dash, pretty much in the center of the car. Any collision which is going to penetrate / deform the heater box to the point that the flammable gas escapes from the evaporator (and only the evaporator) would almost certainly cause major injury or death to the front seat occupants, so a post-collision explosion is not a concern in my book, at that point. The scenario is just so far fetched.


Any leak in the engine compartment which may result in an explosion or fire is probably not going to cause any harm to vehicle occupants. Another very small risk that I'm willing to accept.


Actually getting the escaping gas to the correct ratio of oxygen / fuel so that it will ignite, and also having an ignition source present, is a pretty tough set of circumstances to set up.


Now, do you drive a gasoline-powered car, or ride in a gasoline-powered car? THAT is far more risky, in my book, in terms of a post-collision fire.

A kitchen is a completely different operating environment. The risk of a crash is minimal and interior volume large compared to a car.

By federal law, HC charge is limited to 2 OUNCES and only in 100% new self contained equipment. Any inside / outside system like a split or whole house AC isn't legal. A metal tube / soldered joint whole house AC system has much less chance of leaking compared to an automotive environment so why would it be advisable to charge a car with HC ?

A household fridge has a sealed compressor motor but does have an enclosed , but not sealed , snap thermostatic switch that could produce a spark. A car has an arcing / sparking DC blower motor directly in the air flow path. What one do you think is a greater ignition hazard?

What position does Mercedes take on very flammable refrigerant like HC?

What stance did MB take on the somewhat flammable R1234yf refrigerant when it first came out?

https://hvac-talk.com/vbb/showthread.php?1751241-propane-r-290-being-used post 9


https://hvac-talk.com/vbb/showthread.php?1751241-propane-r-290-being-used/page3 post 35