R12 FREON

[cwalden]

I would like to hear how all of you handle
freon at your dealership.

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[robc]

Are you wondering about inventory control??

If so I know several things dealers have done in the past to solve the problem:

1) Sell the entire tank to the service department at a wholesale price and let them charge out the refrigerant as it is used.

2) You'll never be short inventory if you charge out capacity on every AC repair. Make sure to bill it out as "recycled refrigerant."

3) Have the techs check out/in the recycling machine from the parts department, don't leave it in the shop.

4) One shop I know of had the HVAC techs stall next to the parts department. They had an electrician wire an outlet to a switch inside the parts department. When the tech needed to use the recycler he would have to have parts turn it on for him. The tech didn't mind because he realized he was always forgeting to have the freon/R134a charged out. The parts department would just ask "what R.O.?" when turning on the switch.


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** Rob, Editor WD&S **
Help is only a message post away!
robc@dealersedge.com

[slilly]

WE KEEP IT IN THE PARTS DEPT, CHANGED TO THE WALL, THEY HAVE THE KEY, THE TECH CHECKS IT IN AND OUT.
WHAT REALLY PERSUADED US TO THIS WASN'T SO MUCH THE SERVICE TECHS FAILING TO TELL US, IT WAS THOSE BLASTED BODY SHOP TECHS. FOR SOME REASON BODY SHOP TECHS THINKS BECAUSE IT'S ON THE ESTIMATE IT'S AUTOMATICALLY CHARGED OUT AND IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MUCH OR LITTLE THEY USE.
EVERYBODY GOT A QUICK EDUCATION ONE MONTH WHEN OUR PARTS DEPARTMENT CAME UP "3" TANKS SHORT.
THE OTHER PROBLEM IS EVERYBODY FAILS TO RELAIZE THAT FREON "RECOVERY" ISN'T SUPPOSE TO BE FREE EITHER. EVEN IF YOU'RE RECOVERING AND RECHARGING THE CUSTOMER'S FREON, YOU MUST CHARGE FOR IT TO PROVE BY EPA/SAE STANDARDS THIS VEHICLE WAS PROPERLY SERVICED.

[MARY SHERICK]

THE DESCRIBED INVENTORY METHODS DO WORK. DO NOT PLACE ALL THE BLAME ON THE BODY SHOP TECHS. MANY BODY SHOPS DO NOT EVEN GIVE THE TECH A COPY OF THE RO. JUST REMEMBER, IN YOUR SERVICE DEPARTMENT, THAT FREON NOT PURCHASED FROM THE MANUFACTURER CANNOT BE SOLD AT MARKUP, HOWEVER, YOU CAN WITH GM CHARGE THE EQUIVELANT OF ONE LB AT THE GM DEALER COST PLUS MARKUP,FOR RECYCLING THE FREON IN THE SYSTEM. IF YOU NEED TO ADD FREON, YOU ARE ALLOWED TO USE "RECYCLED REFRIGERANT" IF YOU HAVE A BODY SHOP TECH PROBLEM, YOU MAY HAVE A BIGGER ONE, HOW MANY OF YOUR BODY SHOP TECHS HAVE THE CERTIFICATION TO BE WORKING ON A/C SYSTEMS IN THE FIRST PLACE?? IF THEY ARE NOT CERTIFIED, YOU CAN BE IN FOR SOME HEFTY FINES. MY ADVICE IS FOR BODY TECHS TO FIX BODY REPAIRS, MECHANICAL TECHS TO PERFORM MECHANICAL REPAIRS.

[Lendon Spencer]

We charge 3 lbs to each vehicle that has an ac repair listed to it. Then if the 3 lbs was not used it is up to the advisor to let us know exactly how much was used.Everything I do seems to come up short when it comes to the actual inventory on hand. I always seem to be short. But I have not heard this about charging for "recycled refrigerant". Where is this stated that we should be charging for the recycled r12/r134a?

[David Henson]

Lendon, that's an often overlooked, or what I call a hidden allowance. It's in Article 1.5.17 of the GM P&P. Also covers recycled coolant. Pretty cool, huh?

What other manufacturers have written policies on this? I've heard that Nissan allows it but haven't found it in the P&P.

[kcg]

In our dealership I track tanks and pounds seperately. I only post 30 pounds at a time. If the tech needs a new tank, a quick check of the inventory tell me if I'm behind or ahead. Any discrepencies get charged off to service.

[Mark H]

Well I guess it's about time to resurrect this topic again for the coming summer. I just heard that the price of R12 is now approaching $700 per cylinder. We've always had difficulties with this, usually ending up with about 20-25% of the R12 not being accounted for. Interestingly enough we do not have a shortage problem with the R134. Make sure your machines are not leaking and that they are turned off every day at the cylinder. We purchased a very accurate electronic Pelouze Model 4010 scale that will way up to 150 lbs. This cost about $170. We weigh the tank before and after the tech uses the system and use a sign out and in sheet with date, tech name, amount used and RO number. Attach the tanks with a Velcro strap for easy removal. The documentation creates awareness that parts is tracking usage by tech. Machines are kept in parts by the back counter.
The techs may complain about the extra steps, but if you can document the shortages, I'm sure you can get your dealer principle behind you on this. So far our inventory has remained accurate but we have not tested the system during peak usage months.

[Bob Smith]

We post the freon in/out by pound and have adjusted the cost/list prices accordingly.
The machines are kept in parts until needed by a tech then we bring it to them (as we do their parts needs).

We charge the appropriate amount to each repair, by pound.

With the shyrocketing cost of R12 this is the year that we're going to concentrate on converting systems to R134a. With the adapters, oil, labor and refrigerant - the cost to repair/convert/recharge would be dramatically less and the customer will be set for a recharge in the future when R12 simply won't be around.

We also have shortages and I believe it's due to a couple of reasons.

1) The advisor informing us that no freon was used in the repair (Okay..so how did we find a leak then?) and to please remove it from the RO. This is after the tech is gone for the evening and there is no way to check with him.

2) We've found the tanks left on by the techs and because of this the hoses weaken. Apparently the hose actually breaks down due to the refrigerant being left in the lines. It's imperitive that the lines be evacuated after each use, as described in the operating manuals.

Even with our controlling the machine usage we end up short. I've addressed the issue with the service manager and informed him that we need to take care of this issue as it's a costly one. I got the standard "don't worry, I'll take care of it" answer.

Two numbers and one letter to remember - 67D

[Chris]

We're a Ford dealer and Ford's better idea is to charge freon in ounces (cough). As we are required to do this under warranty we applied the same procedure to customer pay.

Each tech is assigned a 30lb canister of R-12 and 134. Their name is written with black magic marker and tanks are stored in the parts dept. Each time a tech needs freon he is issued the tank. When the tank is returned he tells us how many ounces were used. We bill the specified amount and log that amount on the side of the tank.

When the tank is empty, we total the number of ounces written on the tank. If the tech is short he pays the difference. This insures the tech keeps a watchful eye on freon and I suspicion he may even inflate the amount used to insure he incures no charge backs.

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Chris Bledsoe
Pts Mgr
Pulliam Ford
Columbia, SC
sysop@clynx.com