What happens when a hydrocarbon such as propane or butane is used in an A/C system? Last Updated: 09/28/2007
The performance of the A/C system is actually not hampered by the use of these gases, however, the safety of the user of the vehicle is. If there is a leak in any part of the A/C system or a front-end collision, which causes a leak in the system, the potential for fire and explosion is nearly 100%. Under the hood of a car there are hundreds of potential ignition sources to ignite the propane.