AC recharge

[Karl K.]

Hello everyone,
I have a 65 coupe with a factory air conditioning.
There are bubbles in he sightglass and is not
blowing cold. What is recommended to recharge them
with, is the old r12 still available.
Any help appreciated,
Karl Kritzer

[Russ S.]

Re: AC recharge

R12 is available all day long on Ebay If your local AC guy has the R12 recharge machine but no R12, then get it on ebay and take it to him.

[Jim M.]

Re: AC recharge

Hi Karl:
It is normal to see some bubbles in the sight glass, especially in warm weather. The best way to check system integrity is with a pressure gauge connected to high and low pressure service ports. R 12 is still available, but folks like you and I need a license to purchase and use it, and it is rather expensive. Hopefully a recharge is all you need. The best preventive maintenance for a/c systems is to run the compressor for 10 minutes weekly, year round. Good luck, Jim

[Karl K.]

Re: AC recharge

What are your thoughts on Freeze-12 the R12 replacement?

[Pete B.]

Re: AC recharge

Check Craigs list too!!!

[Jim M.]

Re: AC recharge

I would be extremely hesitant to put any of the "drop-in" refrigerants in my a/c system. Best to make sure your R 12 system is entirely intact and use R 12. Some folks have made the switch to R 134A, but to my knowledge, other things need to be changed as well when doing this, including type of oil, o-rings, and the condenser, as the 134A has different heat transfer properties and operating pressures. Thanks, Jim

[Domenic T.]

Re: AC recharge

Jim
O rings & oil for 134.

We have converted many to R-134 and the condencers are not a problem.

Also freeze 12 did a good job on the charging of the R-12 units we did so far.

There is an O-ring that is good for R-12 and R-134 and it is green.

We took R-12 out of a car that needed a mercy charge and put R-134 in
it to get them by for a day or so. That was 4 years ago and they still think we were pulling their leg when we told them it was not recomended.

I have not found any of the R-12 O-rings rotted from R-134 in the system when I do rebuilds.

By the way most compressor rebuilds are O-rings & front seals only.

I watched a vidio from one of the posts that was done in a major shop and they did not do the rings, inner case roller bearings, thrust bearings, or chech any of the inner case for clearences which there are MANY to check.

Part of the problem is that the A-6 compressor parts are not available any where.

I talked with one of the air condition rebuilders that does vintage rebuilds and they only put in what they have, none of them have steel rings and to my knowledge they do not tear down the inner case.

So like you said turn it on and use it so it will last. When I run my old stuff I always run the air to excersize it.


DOM

[Larry M.]

Re: AC recharge

I would try and find a local auto AC shop that is familiar with your older system. Have them check the pressures and check for leaks. If R12 is low, they may have some.....if they don't you can buy it on Ebay for about $25 per can, sign a waiver, and then bring the R12 to the local guy for charging to your system.

Many folks I know have also used Freeze 12 in their R12 systems and report good results. Personally I would not use it, but would buy the original R12.

If you are handy with tools, buy a set of AC gages and manifold, go-oline and for about $25 and 1 hours time, get your #609 AC certification. Then you can buy and service the R12 system that you have. This is what I did many years ago. Now I also try to help the local guys in our Louisiana Chapter with their Corvette AC issues.

Keeping these old cars and their AC systems operating is a labor of love......you either love it and work on it, or you buy something newer that someone else takes care of for you.

Good luck. Let us know if other questions.

Larry

[Dick W.]

Re: AC recharge

Change overs to R- 134a are generally not recommended unless you have a catastropic failure in you system.

I, and most AC professionals, regard products such as Freeze 12 the same way we do snake oil. Best to stay away from such products as there are no long term test results available. All the major OEM's do not recognize it for use in any of their products.

[Michael F.]

Re: AC recharge

agree with Dick W., been there done that with freeze12 on a (gasp) toyota, didn't last over 6 months and nowhere as good as r-12. listen to the experts like Dick.

[D S.]

Re: AC recharge

Change overs to R- 134a are generally not recommended unless you have a catastropic failure in you system.

I, and most AC professionals, regard products such as Freeze 12 the same way we do snake oil. Best to stay away from such products as there are no long term test results available. All the major OEM's do not recognize it for use in any of their products.

Dick, I totally agree. I had converted my '93 K1500 Blazer and '66 Impala to R-134A and I am going to change them both back to R-12.
I kept my '70 Corvette with R-12. I believe it is much colder than Freeze 12 and R-134A especially while sitting in traffic jams and long stop lights.
I buy R-12 and oil at swap meets where no license or certification is required. I have accumulated over two cases of 12 and 15 ounce cans.

[Domenic T.]

Re: AC recharge

Scott,
The reason OEM dosen't recognize freeze 12 is the same reason they don't recognize R-12.

They had to move on to R-134 by order, and I think R-134 is about to be ordered out also.

There was a gas called hot shot that cooled but was taken off the market because it was flamable.

Actually propane cools and was added by some independents as a hot shot to get better cooling.

The propane lost it's flamability because of it's dilution with R-12 and R-134.

On my chevelle I had a leak that would only leak while hot., engine running. It would hold preasure cold.

I charged it with propane enough to be flamable because the sniffer didn't show a leak, especially at the condencer with the fan pulling air thru it.

I stopped the fan from turning and found the leak with a propane tourch anout the size of a match right in the center of the condencer.

I removed the condencer to look for a stone strike that I could weld and found nothing, not even a trace of oil from the R-134 I converted it to.

I also submerged the condencer in water and put 150 psi air and it would not leak.

Replacing it solved the problem. Most profecional shops would have replaced the system piece by piece or at very least every thing under the hood.

The point was that the propane cooled great during the test.

The test is not recomended because of the bubba's but it is actually safer than one thinks. After all what do we have in our gas tanks that can do more damage to car and shop.

DOM

[Larry M.]

Re: AC recharge

For what it's worth:

Freeze 12 is a blend of 80% R134a and 20% R142b. So it is mostly 134a.

The big issue comes with the refrigerant oil. Freeze 12 does not mix well with R12 mineral oil......so it causes oil contamination and oil related issues with the compressor.

Sometimes this is fatal....other times folks get by. You can take your chance.

Larry