Thank you for the support. Appreciated. Contrary to erroneous posts, I am not at all "trying to scare" anyone. Also, at no point have I claimed that it is hard to work on AC systems. It's amazing how some are able to invent things that did not occur. What I AM saying, is do it in a safe manner, with proper procedures.. People only come here for a couple reasons. A) They don't know how to do something and are seeking CORRECT advise. I have yet to see anyone come here, who totally knows what they are doing during a particular repair, to ask "How do I do this". B) People come here to share their knowledge and assist those that ask for help. That being said, I believe that it is incumbent on all of us to provide CORRECT information. Advocating and passing along incorrect information will only cause frustration, unneeded expense or damage/safety risks for the person seeking help. Everyone is in a position to learn something. Life is one long learning experience. When irrefutable facts are produced that counter any particular stand, the vast majority of people will take those facts into consideration and most times reassess. However, there is also a certain portion of the people who choose to totally ignore said facts and are only interested in gaslighting and measuring dicks. I'm done with this particular thread. People participating are now aware that they should not take incorrect information as gospel and do further research. The internet is chocked full of reliable and correct information on any subject you can imagine. However, it is also chocked full of "Scotty Kilmer Wannabees" and it can be a bit of a battle to sort the two out.

 

I purchased 4 cans on eBay soon after I purchased my '84 in July of 2023, along with a vintage "recharge kit". Later on I found a R12 style pressure gauge and threw it in the toolbox drawer.


I guess my post made it seem I was "scared" when really it is about lack of confidence that I won't f@#k something up. I do however work on the car myself, recently I replaced all the u joints (having a quickjack helped a lot). I've also done easier things like replacing KYB shocks with proper Bilsteins, brake light switches, alternator, cooling fan motor, EGR valve, CTS sensor, door panels and seats, all vacuum hoses and most of the other things that come up on a 40+ year old car. At 68+ years old getting up off the garage floor aint getting any easier but I carry on.

I know you meant well and I apologize. I made it sound like I was singling you out and should not have done that.

 

No problem. I didn't mean to come off aggressive; I think that individual is great and has a lot of experience to share. I just get frustrated by his attitude which tries to constantly convince everyone that this is some kind of really complicated science and you should stay away. I've seen countless posts where this and one other individual deride someone. Not in a helpful way, but in a way that's almost like saying, "get out of my sandbox." I dislike this kind of attitude because it doesn't help someone grow or improve themselves. It actually scares people away. The reality is... this isn't jet propulsion mathematics. Like with many things in life, anyone can watch a YouTube video and figure out how to do A/C with the right tools. This forum should be for trying to encourage people to get things done, not a place to boost your ego.

But yeah, I only mentioned it because legally the person selling the R12 is supposed to ask for your EPA license, since it's controlled. I don't know if it's the same way, but it's literally a 10-minute test you can take online and send in $50 bucks to get licensed.

 

Thank you Arbee for sharing your knowledge with us here at the Corvette Forum!

I appreciate reading your posts because there is a lot of knowledge being shared by someone who KNOWs what he is talking about. Air conditioning and refrigeration is something that I have no formal training in.

Tinkering is part of my nature so over the years I have worked on many AC systems and been successful so far.

A question if you don't mind. Does cleaning the aluminum condenser on the front of your car's radiator make any sense? I have some Coil Cleaner and have suggested to some folks with problems that a clean condenser would be helpful at getting rid of the heat sent up there. On my C4 I have cleaned the condenser with coil cleaner and it was much cleaner looking afterwards. With this being regular maintenance on Home AC system keeping the coils clean to help get rid of the heat I was wondering if the AC Condenser cleaning is worthwhile on a car's AC system? I am very careful to use low pressure water to clean up afterwards to not damage the cars paint or condenser.

I have several patents regarding Passive Cooling as I designed working systems for Westinghouse that was used in the deserts of the middle east. I understand passive but not the refrigeration principles.

Thank you again Arbee, we really appreciate you trying to explain the principles of basic refrigeration and AC system. You do a great job making it understandable and that is a real talent all in its own! Like I mentioned before, you teach us valuable information and that is something that I really appreciate!

 

Thank you for your words. Much appreciated. Yes, cleaning of the coils is a necessary thing to do. It is often neglected and when neglected, lowers the efficiency of the system. Remember, the goal of the condenser is to remove as much heat as is possible. This in turn, along with the increased pressure, turns the vapor back into liquid so it can be boiled again in the evaporator. If a large amount of heat stays in the system after the condenser, then the potential exists for there to be vapor in the liquid line. This then becomes a waste of capacity. The function of the evaporator is to boil the liquid with latent heat (can't be measured vs sensible heat which can be). These systems are designed and built for maximum efficiency for any given refrigerant. It is often said here and in other internet venues that R134A is not as efficient as R12. This is a totally false statement. The reason some may notice a difference in cooling vent temperatures is because the condenser is not sized for R134A. In fact, if you look at the fluid dynamics of the two refrigerants, R134A is more efficient because it takes more joules of latent heat per unit measurement (lb, kilogram etc) to vaporize the liquid, hence more heat removed from the cabin. But as noted, you have to have the capacity to remove that same heat.

 

Thank you everyone for your in put. This seems to have fixed the problem.

Now I wait and see how long the freon lasts in the system.

Thanks again.