I have been working on cars and trucks for over 50 years. owned my own auto repair shop over 30 years. I have been smoking ac systems for a long time. However what I did is replace the oil in the machine with compressor oil instead of what ever comes in it. Saves a whole lot of time and guess work. Works great, never had a problem. Smoke em if ya got em.
I have a new use for my smoke machine so I’m actually replacing a compressor for a friend and I used the vacuum to test for leaks and it didn’t lose vacuum really fast but the last mechanics that touched the car used some dye and it was seeping out the front of the compressor so the shaft seal was done but I’m going to fix and hope I have no leaks and if I do then I’ll use the smoke machine. In the past I’ve used compressed air and soapy water to spray around and I found the compressor shaft seal on my car had failed and I had just bought it so it helped me find it. I vacuumed the system for over an hour and I have had no issues with moisture and I replaced that compressor two years ago on my beater car and it works well.
When you see the plastic caps missing on the low and high pressure ports, you know a non-certified individual was messing with it. For us to be certified, we are taught that those plastic caps are not just dust caps. They are a line of defense for containing refrigerant.
Hi Refrigerant leak detection is 1/ pressure leak only achieved with trace refrigerant and nitrogen pump ed to first 250psi then 300psi 2a electronic leak detector 2b ultrasonic detector 2c soap bubbles 3/ vacuum Some detectors require constant movement some require resetting in clean air , some have annual replacement tips . Vacuum testing is done with a micron gauge Have you micron tested your gauge set , no mechanic shop does R134a couplers leak badly unless sealed properly at least every 6-12 mths RRR machines Recover Recycle Recharge has it been serviced ? Vacuum pump oil changed and micron tested ? Evacuating a contaminated system thats been open for along time should be at least over night 16 hrs minimum .Drier replaced Due to the hydroscopic oil its always best to flush all parts except compressor and reoil compressor . After parts are flushed always blow through with nitrogen . All this will lower evacuation time by 75%
A micron can be a measurement of vacuum [in very very small increments ] Moisture only boils out of a system at greater than 29.75 in hg vacuum . ok under 1000micron ,, best under 500micron for at least 1hr on a good system thats had refrigerant inside before . A system thats in poor condition 8+hrs on a vac pump . When pump is turned off micron will rise uncontrolled if a leak ,, a system with no leaks but moisture will rise and level off .
@@paulthompson1654 Ah so microns is 'millionths of an inch of mercury' or 0.13 Pa. There are way too many units of pressure :-) Thanks for the explanation. I've realised that I don;t fully understand how this work. Does leaving a vacuum pump on for hours to get the water out of the oil also extract quite a lot of oil? Or does that stay put whilst the more volatile water turns into vapour and the pump slowly extracts those molecules. Or in fact does the water vapour stay in the pipes until they are flushed with nitrogen?
@@xxwookey Oil removal occurs when connection is likely to be where oil is located eg low spot in lines . Water vapour is removed from system with nitrogen sweep [nitro does not absorb moisture ]. Vacuum operation will eventually pull out all moisture even from the compressor oil . Nitro just quickens the vac pump/moisture removal process . U can do a single hose evacuation and there is an option of inline inspection glass tube . This will show if any oil is removed .
leak in that area is one in a million, that's the low pressure area when the A/C is turned on. Just look for a oily area around the connections or condenser, soap bubbles work every time just like your looking for a leak in a tire.
Using the refrigerant leak detector inside the airstream vents would indicate this leak. The smoke test isnt great if you coinsider moisture ingression inside the A/C system and only would indicate big leaks
@@alaingillot4718 Compressed air is wet, les say its humidity is higher When you pressurize the system isnt a big quantity really but remember there is dessicant material there. You do not dehidrate a oiled dessiccant bag with vacuum only, it cannot be dinero. If you unlucky and your compressrd air is too wet leaving water mist it mixes with pag oil which is hygrosvopic. You cant dehidrate water miedo with oil by boiling it, there is no way. Using compressed air is a big nono, if you cant avoid its okay but never say its acceptable
Hi, I need make a consultation with you or hopefully one of your viewers can give me an advice on situation I have with my car. The old condenser was broken from the sides and a line was too. I did order a new one online, everything looks just like the original. The issue is that when I tried to connect the lines to the condenser they don’t fit in. The 2 holes on the ports are a little too tight or narrow, the line tip doesn’t go in all the way. So my question is, should I return and order a new one? Or will it work if I kind drill in the holes in some way to make them a millimeter wider? Or will that cause leaks after? I really appreciate your help and time in advance. Thank you.
@@AutoRepairTips757 okay thank you very much for your help. Just placed a new order hopefully this will be better. Taking advantage of your time and expertise, Im installing the whole ac system in to my 95 civic. I got all the parts from a donor car same year. Of course being a DIYer I didn’t pay attention and spilled a lot of the oil from the compressor, so what I did completely emptied it and all the lines too. How much oil or lubricant do I add to it now? I’ve read somewhere people say 4oz are enough, other say 8oz. And where do I pour it? Just inside the compressor or do I put it in any other components?? Thank you.
I have been working on cars and trucks for over 50 years. owned my own auto repair shop over 30 years. I have been smoking ac systems for a long time. However what I did is replace the oil in the machine with compressor oil instead of what ever comes in it. Saves a whole lot of time and guess work. Works great, never had a problem. Smoke em if ya got em.
You replace the smoke machine oil (baby oil) with compressor oil? (Pag oil)
I'm also curious 🤔
More ac smoke tests like these would be awesome ive been wanting to try something like that
It works great
I may not know you, but that don’t matter- I’m just glad you’re healing up real well.
I have a new use for my smoke machine so I’m actually replacing a compressor for a friend and I used the vacuum to test for leaks and it didn’t lose vacuum really fast but the last mechanics that touched the car used some dye and it was seeping out the front of the compressor so the shaft seal was done but I’m going to fix and hope I have no leaks and if I do then I’ll use the smoke machine. In the past I’ve used compressed air and soapy water to spray around and I found the compressor shaft seal on my car had failed and I had just bought it so it helped me find it. I vacuumed the system for over an hour and I have had no issues with moisture and I replaced that compressor two years ago on my beater car and it works well.
Great Video Boss! I never considered using smoke cause I can usually find it with dye. Thank you!👍 I Want That Smoke!😂
Thanks
Great idea!
When you see the plastic caps missing on the low and high pressure ports, you know a non-certified individual was messing with it. For us to be certified, we are taught that those plastic caps are not just dust caps. They are a line of defense for containing refrigerant.
Hi
Refrigerant leak detection is 1/ pressure leak only achieved with trace refrigerant and nitrogen pump ed to first 250psi then 300psi 2a electronic leak detector 2b ultrasonic detector 2c soap bubbles
3/ vacuum
Some detectors require constant movement some require resetting in clean air , some have annual replacement tips .
Vacuum testing is done with a micron gauge
Have you micron tested your gauge set , no mechanic shop does
R134a couplers leak badly unless sealed properly at least every 6-12 mths
RRR machines Recover Recycle Recharge has it been serviced ?
Vacuum pump oil changed and micron tested ?
Evacuating a contaminated system thats been open for along time should be at least over night 16 hrs minimum .Drier replaced
Due to the hydroscopic oil its always best to flush all parts except compressor and reoil compressor . After parts are flushed always blow through with nitrogen . All this will lower evacuation time by 75%
I've heard a few mentions of micron gauges with aircon. But a micron is a measure of length. So what are they measuring?
A micron can be a measurement of vacuum [in very very small increments ]
Moisture only boils out of a system at greater than 29.75 in hg vacuum .
ok under 1000micron ,, best under 500micron for at least 1hr on a good system thats had refrigerant inside before . A system thats in poor condition 8+hrs on a vac pump . When pump is turned off micron will rise uncontrolled if a leak ,, a system with no leaks but moisture will rise and level off .
@@paulthompson1654 Ah so microns is 'millionths of an inch of mercury' or 0.13 Pa. There are way too many units of pressure :-) Thanks for the explanation.
I've realised that I don;t fully understand how this work. Does leaving a vacuum pump on for hours to get the water out of the oil also extract quite a lot of oil? Or does that stay put whilst the more volatile water turns into vapour and the pump slowly extracts those molecules. Or in fact does the water vapour stay in the pipes until they are flushed with nitrogen?
@@xxwookey Oil removal occurs when connection is likely to be where oil is located eg low spot in lines . Water vapour is removed from system with nitrogen sweep [nitro does not absorb moisture ]. Vacuum operation will eventually pull out all moisture even from the compressor oil . Nitro just quickens the vac pump/moisture removal process . U can do a single hose evacuation and there is an option of inline inspection glass tube . This will show if any oil is removed .
@@paulthompson1654 Thanks again. Very helpful. (I am just doing my first evacuation and leak testing).
Thanks brother it was very helpful. Cheers
Thanks
leak in that area is one in a million, that's the low pressure area when the A/C is turned on. Just look for a oily area around the connections or condenser, soap bubbles work every time just like your looking for a leak in a tire.
Leaks in the evaporator are very common with vehicles.
1 in a million? My experience has been 1 in 1 evaporator leak... probably not uncommon.
Funny guy, great video thanks!
Great video
Thanks
Using the refrigerant leak detector inside the airstream vents would indicate this leak. The smoke test isnt great if you coinsider moisture ingression inside the A/C system and only would indicate big leaks
The moisture will be removed when you evacuate >
i have never had a danm sniffer find a leak
@@alaingillot4718
Compressed air is wet, les say its humidity is higher
When you pressurize the system isnt a big quantity really but remember there is dessicant material there. You do not dehidrate a oiled dessiccant bag with vacuum only, it cannot be dinero.
If you unlucky and your compressrd air is too wet leaving water mist it mixes with pag oil which is hygrosvopic. You cant dehidrate water miedo with oil by boiling it, there is no way.
Using compressed air is a big nono, if you cant avoid its okay but never say its acceptable
Water will always boil higher than oil, sane with cars, its milky but whenbits under vacuum the moisture is removed@@ignatius2230
Thanks!!!
No problem!
Hi, I need make a consultation with you or hopefully one of your viewers can give me an advice on situation I have with my car. The old condenser was broken from the sides and a line was too. I did order a new one online, everything looks just like the original. The issue is that when I tried to connect the lines to the condenser they don’t fit in. The 2 holes on the ports are a little too tight or narrow, the line tip doesn’t go in all the way. So my question is, should I return and order a new one? Or will it work if I kind drill in the holes in some way to make them a millimeter wider? Or will that cause leaks after?
I really appreciate your help and time in advance.
Thank you.
Definitely return it, and get a better quality aftermarket or a new one that fits better we run into this all the time
@@AutoRepairTips757 okay thank you very much for your help. Just placed a new order hopefully this will be better.
Taking advantage of your time and expertise, Im installing the whole ac system in to my 95 civic. I got all the parts from a donor car same year. Of course being a DIYer I didn’t pay attention and spilled a lot of the oil from the compressor, so what I did completely emptied it and all the lines too. How much oil or lubricant do I add to it now? I’ve read somewhere people say 4oz are enough, other say 8oz. And where do I pour it? Just inside the compressor or do I put it in any other components??
Thank you.
5:28 hahah pros and cons working with family I feel you
HELLO ARE YOU BASE OUT OF HOUSTON,TX?
No Va
@@AutoRepairTips757 What part of No VA
Hlw how are you
Dang! Then some OLD mechanics. I heard after like 50-55 you gotta step away
I’m only 38
@@AutoRepairTips757😂
Where did you hear that if I may ask.
4 pounds??????? HOT DAMN THATS A LOT
Great video
Thanks!