That’s right. Some people say, I believe it’s a conspiracy, that the up to 90 liters of fuel that Maserati‘s might have in the back, are flammable too.
R1234f ist flammable too. Plus: the result is the most lethal acid existing. Still it’s the actual antifreeze.
Happy Eskimos are more important! And Greta Thunafish will have a better sleep.
Additionally one could get a 14 liters can of r134a for 170€ over here. That would last for 20 years of driving.
You make some fair points.
HFO-1234yf is rated as A2L, non toxic and mildly flammable, this means it will only sustain a flame in a very narrow band of stoichiometry, rendering it self extinguishing in most circumstances.
Petrol is A3 flammable, however it is contained and used in systems that are designed and used to prevent this being an issue, with things like inertia cut off switches to prevent fuel release in the event of an accident.
Isobutane and propane are A3 flammable and highly reactive in the presence of oxygen. As I said, personally I would not want to use them in a system that was not designed for them. In this case a high pressure system with various joints and pipes in a hot engine bay.
Refrigerant is supplied by weight due to the volume changing significantly with pressure and temperature, but assuming you 13.6kg, this is probably in illegal disposable cylinders (outlawed due to their environmental impact when recycled) which are being imported from China through illicit channels. Even then the going rate is around 300€ - 450€ for one of these cylinders.
While I would like to see lower GWP alternatives to R134a in the market place - there are some that aren’t flammable but they have not achieved market penetration in automotive use like R513a - at this time it is safest to try and use as little of the right refrigerant as possible, through pressure testing not just vac testing and hoping.