No. ROB-34788-H

Cool-Tech Recycle/Recharge/Recover Machine for Hybrid Vehicles

Meets new refrigerant recovery standards J-2788 for high voltage compressors

Hybrid vehicles are becoming more popular these days as the price of gasoline continues to rise. Back in 2001 there were a total of 4 hybrid models available, today in 2011 that number has increased to 41 models available and continues to grow. Looking at the numbers, in 2009, there were over 1.4 million hybrids in the U.S.A. with better than 1 million of them using high voltage electric compressors. As the number of hybrid vehicles continues to increase, it present new challenges to service facilities providing A/C service work to both vehicles with traditional A/C systems, and the high voltage electric compressor systems used on many hybrids.Specifically designed to service the A/C system of a hybrid vehicle that uses a high voltage electric compressor which uses POE lubricant oil. It can be used to service standard A/C systems that use a PAG lubricant oil as well by utilizing the on board hose flush feature that minimizes oil cross contamination to less than 0.1 percent.

In June 2005, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) started a research program to reduce the emissions of R-134a. The program, called I-MAC (Improved Mobile Air Conditioning), was tasked with cost effectively improving R-134a systems while reducing refrigerant emissions. The I-MAC members have pledged to design smaller systems with fewer leak points and improve service equipment. As a result of this program, the SAE recently approved tighter standards for automotive A/C recovery, recycle and recharge equipment. The new standard, SAE J-2788 requires that all service equipment manufactured after November 1, 2007, must recover 95 percent of the refrigerant and recharge to within 1/2 ounce.

How will this affect ME?

Up until a couple of years ago, R-134a was cheap and plentiful. Today it’s a different story- refrigerant is much more expensive and not always available. The Robinair 34788 recovers up to 20 percent more refrigerant, which means it will cost less to recharge the system. The best charge accuracy that could be claimed by older generation service machines is +/- 1 ounce, a 3 percent error on a two-pound system. That same charge accuracy on a 14-ounce system is over twice the error (7 percent).

Early R-134a systems could still provide some cabin cooling when they were 4-6 ounces (12-18 percent) low on refrigerant. However, new designs are so efficient, they do not have reserve refrigerant, and charge accuracy will be critical. In the shop, the Robinair 34788 will recharge the vehicle to within 1/2 ounce of the charge capacity, and you will avoid the dreaded “call back”. As the shop owner, you will realize more profits per service by recovering more refrigerant and charging less. The savings will be obvious.

To address the differences in the A/C system on certain hybrids, in June 2010, the SAE published a revised version of the SAE J2788 standard that covers the operation of an A/C Recover, Recycle and Recharge (RRR) machine. The revised requirements state that a machine must:

1. Not have on board automatic/ manual oil or dye injection.

2. Must be capable of charging refrigerant into a system with less than 0.1% by weight of any residual oil. A machine must meet these new requirements to be suitable for servicing both vehicles with a high voltage electric compressor that uses POE oil and traditional PAG oil systems.

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