GlockLT4

I have ONE, UNO, UN, 1 ... 8 ounce can. That's saved for one of the two cars here that still take R-12. :D

GlockLT4

:eek: :eek: :eek: That must stay cold!

GlockLT4

And not a day goes by you wish you had bought a truck load of the stuff :jester

DaBo

I can give you directions to a small 1 car garage in Missouri.

When my Dad passed away, he had promised me his fully loaded SNAP-ON roll around tool chest. In one of the bottom cabinets is about 5 cases of 12 oz. cans. (R-12).

He did not leave a will and his widow (NOT my mother!) Will not let me into the garage to get anything. :cuss :mad :mad :cuss

I keep reminding myself that it's just stuff.

TIMSPEED

There's some stuff called "Hot Shot" That I hear works really well. My uncle (Chrisquik's dad) is in the industrial A/C-Refridgerant business, so we have no trouble keeping our stuff cooooool. :D

vert2go89

Napa has r-12 in cans but you need license to get it.Freeze12 has 80%134 and does not have propane in it.freeze 12 has had good reports and it sells for about 9 bucks a can.I would still vacuum and flush the ac system though.

tomwshk

BubbleHead
Would like the price for one can or maybe two if the price is right.
I am in Naples, Florida but will pay for the shipping.
thanks
Tom

WVZR-1

"BubbleHead" likely sold his four cans nearly 14 years ago - shipping "legally" can be a task in it's self.

odxr

They have some stuff on Amazon called red 12-have not used it.I topped of an r12 system with the freeze12 once and it worked good.Got that stuff from Amazon.

pcolt94

R12 still in EBay. Bought several cans few years ago to support my 280ZX and 79 Blazer. The Datsun is gone now but keep a few cans around for the Blazer. You usual are asked for a 609 license to buy it but some don’t ask. Easy license to get on line then you are set. Think I paid about $20-25 per can but now looks like price is in the 30s and higher since supply is probably less.

There's no such thing as an "equivalent to R12". Most of the compatible advertised stuff sold is a blend and there are lots of them with big claims. Most have a lot of R134 in them and other things and all can be learned on the internet.

ClaudioC4

http://www.frostycool.com/copy-of-fr...valent-1x-can/

Some good info on the site

Trmccarty

I went to a estate auction a few months ago, picked up 5 14oz cans for $20.00. Did not ask for a license which I do have.
Not to hard to convert. Replace o-rings, charging ports, flush complete system, drain oil from compressor and replace accumulator drier. Replace oil with ester oil. Evacuate and recharge with 134a. With have to adjust low pressure switch to lower setting.

darklordftt

Buy the reto kit for $16 to upgrade to R134a. It just changes the hose connections and then you can run the new stuff.

aklim

Question. What about the receiver dryer and the oil? I would think that you might be able to get away with it but the oil might not work and would have to be changed. If so, the receiver dryer will have to be changed since you opened the system or at least I would.

Even if you get it all running right, I heard you may have to change the orifice? Not sure. But lets say it all works out, you have a system designed for R12 which you forced to run R134A and it doesn't work as well or at least, I haven't gotten mine to work as well in 2 different cars.

RR40vette

i have one can of R12 make me a offer

darklordftt

I did it on my '92 trans am 2 years ago and everything is fine. The kit I bought then came with a new dryer, but the shop didn't bother with it. They had the new fittings, and said I could return the whole kit. I just did the conversion on my '89 vette this past weekend, and only changed the fittings.

aklim

That is weird. How do you know the old O-rings will be compatible with R134A and for that matter, the oil? I thought I read that while you can get away with it, the oil and O-rings should be changed and when you open the system, the receiver dryer. Sounds like the shop was trying to do it quick and dirty. Last 2 vehicles I did it on, we took all the O-rings off and flushed the lines. I had the shop test it for vacuum and then charge the system. I have not read that much about reputable shops doing it that way.

BTW, what is your definition of "everything is fine"? If by that you mean it cools, I agree. If you mean it cools as well as R12, I really disagree. After we did it on a car, we had like a 12 degree difference between before and after factoring ambient temp in. So the R12 cooled 12 degrees better than the R134A. Supposedly the pressure and condenser difference was an issue.

On a 90+ degree day with humidity, there would be a difference. 70+, hard to notice.

Trmccarty

Aklim, you are correct about the orifice tube. I forgot to mention it. You need to replace the GM orifice with a Ford blue orifice tube. I have had good luck with adjusting the cycling switch to cut out the compressor about 24 psi instead of 28 psi. I have never had the same temps coming out of the center vents as I had with R12. Always at least 4-5 degrees more on a good day.
The best one I ever did was my 87 Chevy R10. Blowed 38 degrees out it the center vent. But the evaporator is very close to the vents on that old truck, and by the way it is still working after 14 years.

DinoBob

People just don't get it.

Purple92

You need to be licensed to purchase R-12 - it's a Federal Law, and it's been that way for over a decade. You can get the license by taking a course and passing a test - some places offer it on the Internet. You need a different license to purchase the R-22 that was used in Home A/C systems. You do not need a license to purchase R-134 but there are some who wish to change that. The R-22 is still pretty easy to find - R-12 is NOT readily available (you can't legally produce it in the US, and it's illegal to import), so ... the majority of the time when you can find it - it's recycled - and it's in 30 Lb or larger tanks. If you do a little bit of Internet searching you'll find some people have been caught bringing R-12 into the country illegally, and the penalties for doing so can be pretty darn harsh !!!

The oils used in the R-12 and the R-134 systems are quite different, and not exactly compatible. Even if you fully evacuate the system during a changeover - some of the "O"-Rings in the older systems may not happy being exposed to the newer oils - and can fail quickly. The correct way to do the changeover to R-134 will require replacement of all the "O"-Rings in the system. If you don't do that - you may get away with it - or you may not (I believe it depends on exactly what material the "O"_Rings used in the system were made from).

I will not debate the pros or cons of the various R-12 replacements out there - I just don't know enough about how they perform, but I will tell you one thing - If you use one of those "replacements" and then have the car serviced by a licensed pro - and they use the R-12 recovery equipment on the car - the "R-12 replacements" can really screw that equipment up - and you could be liable for a rather large "Bill" from the service place for damaging the equipment. So - if you use the R-12 replacements - be sure to put a sticker on the line by the service port - that will warn a tech who works on the car in the future - (and it probably means that anyone who follows the law probably won't touch the car - because they can't hook up the recovery equipment),

BTW- one last point - it's NOT illegal to top off a system that is a bit low with the appropriate refrigerant. Some places will tell you that they have to evacuate the system and check for leaks before they can do anything - that is absolutely wrong !!!