Got a question about recharging a/c

[ehall]

I talked to a couple of shops I trust and they all said it was feasible to evac the R12 and refill with ester oil and R134a without changing any parts. The oil is the thing--you need oil that will mate with the R134a refrigerant so that it circulates through the system, but will not destroy the old soft parts, and ester oil will do that. Replacing the drier/accumulator is smart but is not needed if you use ester oil.

One thing that can also come up is that a low-pressure switch designed for R12 does not always work with R134a loads. In that case you will also have to replace the switch, which may require replacing the drier/accumulator.

 

[XJ Buddy]

The AC in my 87 Pioneer never worked and go figure my new 93 Sport doesn't have a working AC either. My dogs want it fixed ASAP!!! Have any of you all checked out JOHNSEN'S FREEZE 12 it requires no system flushes and works with the existing R-12 lubricant.

 

[702XJcruiser]

I am not an AC expert but I just had a shop fill me up with freeze 12 a couple weeks ago. You can buy the whole freeze 12 kit and do it yourself for about $75. It is supposedly completely r-12 compatible and in searching I have seen nothing but good things about it.

I live in Vegas. It was 100 degrees yesterday and on my way to work I hit my ac vents with my ir thermometer and it was blowing 48 degrees. Oh yeah

 

[old_man]

There are several R12 replacement gases you can buy that you can simply add to the R12. Freeze12 is one of them. They are a few bucks a can more, but you can simply add them.

 

[ERock62]

Sweet I might look into this Freeze12

 

[kastein]

According to the MSDS, Freeze12 is 70-90% (by weight) R134a and 10-25% (no word on where the other 5% goes) HCFC-142b (1-chloro 1,1-difluoroethane), which is very similar to R134a (1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane.) You can buy R134a (sorry Californians and Wisconsinians, you can't unless you buy a lot) for fairly cheap and HCFC-142b seems to be available from various Chinese companies.

HCFC-142b looks like fun stuff, it is apparently flammable and an anesthetic.

Hurry up though, because HCFC-142b can now only be bought for use in equipment built before the start of this year, and by 2015 import/sale will be banned. http://www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/phaseout/hcfc.html

 

[Shorty]

According to the MSDS, Freeze12 is 70-90% (by weight) R134a and 10-25% (no word on where the other 5% goes) HCFC-142b (1-chloro 1,1-difluoroethane), which is very similar to R134a (1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane.) You can buy R134a (sorry Californians and Wisconsinians, you can't unless you buy a lot) for fairly cheap and HCFC-142b seems to be available from various Chinese companies.

HCFC-142b looks like fun stuff, it is apparently flammable and an anesthetic.

Hurry up though, because HCFC-142b can now only be bought for use in equipment built before the start of this year, and by 2015 import/sale will be banned. http://www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/phaseout/hcfc.html

I would guess the other 5% is made up of ester oils to help the dissimilar refrigerants carry dissimilar oils in harmony-- or it's just pixie dust to let things work together.