ffarina

My AC unit has lost it's R12 charge. Is it Ok to buy a conversion kit and fill it with the R134a? Anything special required?

EmNash

The kit should have what you need but you should determine why you lost refrigerant in the first place before switching.

Lee H

IMHO, take it to a shop and get it done right. The cost to get it fixed after a DIY job will be much more.

ffarina

The refrigerant has sealers in it correct?

Jud Chapin

You don't want to use any refrigerants that contain sealers.

Easy Mike

It is against the law to vent R12 into the atmosphere and against the law to piddle with automotive AC systems unless you are a certified automotive HVAC technician. Any competent automotive AC shop can make this swap for you, do it right, and do it legally.

Pay the pros for this chore.

71rdster

when switching from R12 to 134, the system needs to be completely flushed. The primary reason, is that a different oil type is used with r12 than 134,and they are not compatible. A professional will change out all of the O-rings in the system when doing the conversion. Old hoses can be used, but manufacturers use a different and heavier gauge material for hoses on OEM 134 systems.

Other than the legal issues of handling r12, these are all things you could do, but as Easy Mike said get it done right by a pro. For one thing, you won't have to pay to do it twice.

hugie82

A pro will put a vac on the system. R12 and 134 don't play well with each other. Then you can do the booster shots as needed over the years!

wnmech

Find and repair your leak and stick with the good old R12 that originally came with the car. You will be much happier with the R12. I have no trouble finding it on craigslist every day for average of $20 dollars per can

Wrecked82

Every 2 or 3 years I pay $70 for R12 plus labor to recharge a/c. Not that expensive.

Jud Chapin

r22???

themetalman03886

I would stick with R12, it is much more effective at cooling, they only phased it out due to R134A being much better for the environment.

HamadUP

Do it once, and do it right. Take it to a A/C tech. and let him know exactly what you want to do, let him thoroughly flush the whole system to remove all the R-12 oil, replace all the O-rings with a R-134a compliant rings, put the correct oil, and take a vacuum for 20 min. or so before charging it with the R134a. If you can replace the condenser with a parallel flow one, do it, its MUCH better to have it in a R-134a system.

lonebull

you get about 33% more efficiency with the newer condensers. do a search. lots of info on the cond. swap just within the last year. well worth the effort. lonebull