Powershift

I used it often as tracer gas in the chemical plants to help measure various unknown flowrates in pipes. Went thru a LOT of 30 lb jugs in those days.

One guy I worked with who claimed AC experience used to do a full recharge for his friends without evacuating the system.........he just blew enough (a LOT) R12 thru all the tubings and openings to purge out all the air. Then charged the system

Yes........times have changed.

Larry

wmf62

134a gets a bad rep... I understand it's 'apples & oranges', and that the old A6 style compressor is not as efficient with 134a; but a 134a system can be (cool.. pun intended)....

Bill

Powershift

Bill:

I agree that R134a will do a great job............in an AC system that is designed for it.

You can convert the older R12 systems for R134a, but it takes a bit of work to do it right..........not just blow the R12 charge and add a few cans of R134a back to the system.

I just helped a friend with the Vintage Air on his 1970 Corvette (using R134a gas). We got it down to BELOW 32 F at the ducts. He was in the car with the thermometer and I was in his VERY HOT and smokey garage adding the refrigerant with sweat dripping off my nose. He said I did a GREAT job and his wife would be happy.

Larry

Dbl6gun

I have a Vintage Air "aftermarket" AC system in my 1966..... if my aftermarket compressor was designed to run with R134A, can I realistically convert it to R12A? If so, I'd love to run the older and BETTER refrigerant!
Please educate me!

Nowhere Man

WHY???? as said above with R134 you can get 32* at the vents

domenic tallarita

Ed,
in about 1994 I converted my Chevelle to 134 and just made adapters so I could keep the old R-12 ports.
it's always worked fine, but then again I didn't have a good way to compare it to R-12 as I didn't take the temps it blew.

Larry,
Gets hot here and my friends wife came to pick him up at the shop. This was rears ago, and her air was not working because of a leak. It was a BMW and they had a 40 min ride home. He asked if I had R-12 and at the time we didn't. So he said just do anything so we can get home. The wife was overheated and getting sick. He said it's got to be fixed so do anything. I shot some R-134 on top of the R-12 and it blew cool. He never had another problem with the car and it worked fine till they traded it in. LUCK,Another BuBa thing that worked,
I looked at the 134 conversion kit and it does not have all the O-rings needed to convert the compressor. When I finished my Chevelle I charged it with 134 without the kit and all was good. Not saying that's the right thing to do but I thought I would use it till I had a problem. I got lucky and have since put the original compressor on. Took the one apart that I took off and all the black O-rings were still good.
I was going to do my 67 with 134 and keep the original ports, BUT a long lost friend came over to the shop with a box he said I gave him years ago for helping me. It was a full canister of R-12. So my 67 will be R-12.
Some used to put a bit of propane in the system to make it colder. There was a product called "HOT SHOT" that was supposed to get the system to blow colder and it was said it contained propane. I think it's off the market because it was flammable. Then so is gas & oil flammable.
Larry, thanks again for your help, I owe ya.

Dom

Powershift

Dom:

You are welcome...............you are one of the good guys and are a pleasure to work with. Your compressor work is the best around.

Plus you have a lot of good stories.

Years ago we did what we had to to gets things to work or get them done. Not all were "bubba" or bad. But nowdays I try to help folks to things the right way right from the start. I would feel badly if I did otherwise.

Take care old friend.

Larry

Dbl6gun

Why not? R12 is a better refrigerant.

GTOguy

Smokeless powder is a better propellant than black powder. Doesn't mean using it in a 130 year old rifle is the smart thing to do. Dbl6gun, you need to educate yourself on automotive A/C systems. Plenty of good information on the internet on auto repair websites. R-12 is better in systems designed for R-12, R-134a systems can not/should not be used with R-12. Might as well fill your Corvette up with diesel fuel while you're at it!

Dbl6gun

Nice sarcastic response....

emdoller

I think the moral of the story is:

1) if your system is working, count your blessings and leave it alone
2) if your system isn't working AND it was originally designed to use R12, use R12. You will have a higher probability of getting it to work correctly. If it was designed to use R134, use it.
3) if you want to convert for whatever reason, go ahead it can be done although there's much debater over how cold you can get 134a and / or what needs to be swapped out and/ or modified which is why I like option #1 or option #2 :-)

Ed

Bill Pilon

I do a lot of classic car a/c, both original and retrofit, I make my own hard and soft lines. I have a refrigerant identifier and I won't touch an open jug unless I check it to insure what it is, the same also goes for a system that has a charge in it.

A while back I completely rebuilt a factory air system in a 57 Continental Mark II, it took 7 pounds of R-12, we ended with 35 degree air from the roof outlets.

If a system is designed for R134 then R12 is not a better refrigerant for that system.

The proper amount of the charge is critical and should always be installed with critical charge equipment, the smaller the system the more critical the volume of the charge, I have seen systems where 1 ounce would make a difference.

Bill

Dbl6gun

Thank you Bill for taking the effort to explain it to me.