Coverting my classic car A/C from R12 to R134 freon. Almost destroyed my compressor in the process!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ต.ค. 2024
- I always warn against turning the freon can upside down which charges the system with liquid instead of gas. In this video, you will get to see why. During editing I saw how long I was holding it upside down and marveled at my own stupidity. There were several factors that caused this including a faulty plug and the lack of the fan coming on, but the main reason was me getting in a rush and adding liquid freon. The good thing for you is it gives you a first-hand look at why you should take your time and add freon as a gas. Sure, turning the can upside down and adding Freon as a liquid, speeds things up but as you will see it can go badly very fast. I added UV dye so I could see where any leaks were, but my ears ended up being my divining rod in this project. A quick visit to my parts car and a change of the High-pressure line and I was back in business. You will see me install adapters on the R12 fitting so that I could convert to R134. R12 was the bomb for cooling but some bureaucrat decided it was hurting the ozone. To me that is like saying that peeing in a public pool is poisoning the water. Sure, its gross but in the grand scheme of things, the impact is minimal. Nonetheless, it is what it is and R12 is now unobtanium. In spite of my mistakes, mishaps, and substandard product, I still managed to get a 27-degree difference in discharge air. Not bad for an antiquated system and basically wrong freon for that system.
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I have to say, doing ANY AC work without safety glasses or a face shield is taking a chance of losing an eye or two. No gloves and you might have some burns on the hands, I've had that several times myself. The bad thing about not having a set of gauges with a high side reading is that if you have a blockage of a non working fan that causes the head pressure to spike, you usually don't know it until you have a blown hose or locked up compressor. You were right on about the INOP fan causing high head pressure. I've put liquid in systems 100's of times and it does speed things up. I have to admit I have locked up an R4 doing just that. Good luck with the AC stuff man!
Glasses and gloves are great advice. I am glad I am not alone in locking up a compressor. I felt like an idiot because I know better. My father used to say, "you may not have time to do it right the first time, but you will surely have time to do it right the second time". Words to live by.
@@essigspeed if u like learning about ac watch tom lech, love2hvac, jim bergman. the last 2 does residential but thats where u get the best knowledge about ac ,they teach even thou theirs are residential it applies to all ac. u wont learn the proper way on u tube guys doin ac. they are killing compressors, its just a very slow death. check these guys out if u realy want to do ac the right way. hope this helps
If you're charging vapor, you're not doing it right and hopefully not getting paid to do the work.
You should be weighing in the charge, this involves liquid into the high side.
Any questions, I'll be happy to answer.
While your advice is correct, this channel is all about DIY and budget builds. Thus, my comment on using just a low side hose for vacuuming. I have never had a sealer work yet, but I can always hope. Most DIY kits have a low side hose and a can of freon, so This is what I show. Sure, a professional shop should do all that you mentioned but this is about DIY. Thank you for offering to help anyone with questions. That was very nice of you.
Should have stayed with R12. There's enough of it available if you know where to look.
Been charging ac systems for 45 years, never had a problem dumping liquid in the low side.
$75.00 a can is too rich for my blood. I've been doing it 40-plus years myself. This is the first time it bit me. I think I just rushed it. Probably due to other factors as well, like improper freon mixed with mineral oil in a compressor built for R12. We live, we learn. Thanks for the comment.
my comments were just to give more info on ac and was not meaning any harm. i understand what u are doing for diy. but for 20 yrs i was butchering compressors because of what we were taught. now that ive learned more and what we should be doing its changed my ac work 360. and now that i no i just like passing that info to people who want the correct knowledge only trying to help. but please check them out its an eye opener. i love learning and over the years i still love learning even if its not my trade. i have that curious mind and put everything to a test to prove what anyone says.
Good advice is always welcome, and no harm was done. The right way is always the best way but when funds are low, the cheaper the better. I have way too many cars and way too little money to support that habit. I try to find ways to do it on the cheap but still have reliability. I very much appreciate any input that professionals may offer. I show mistakes on my videos, so others don't make them. My father used to say, "if it works for a short time, it is a redneck rig. If it works for a long time, it's an invention." Words to live by. Thanks for the comments, please subscribe.
the only time i would think about using stop leak would be i had no money and it was a last resort. either it works or i go without ac. once u put stop leak in and u geet a leak and lose the charge or dont vacuum properly its gona do a number inside that system
It's kind of like putting slime/fix-a-flat in a tire. Tire guys hate it, but it works. However, to be honest, A/C sealer has never worked for me, I just keep hoping. Snake oil cures are just that, but so far, porta seal for Radiators and Slime for tires are the only snake oils that have worked for me. Maybe I will do a video on snake oil car fixes and see which ones work and which ones don't. So far, you are correct, A/C sealers haven't worked but I have never had it hurt the system either.
I may have missed it, but did you flush the system and replace the oil, as R12 oil is very different than the oil for the 134A ? 134 A also takes a different orifice tubs.
I did replace the orifice tube but honestly it looked identical. I did not flush the oil. I could be wrong, but I have always thought the oil matched the compressor, not the freon. I do have an R134 dryer but again it looked almost identical except for the R-134 fitting, so I left it. I guess I will find out if the oil is an issue. Thanks for the comment.
Don't use leak sealer in your ac, find the leak by using refrigerant dye
134a isn't a drop-in replacement for r12 because the compressor oil circulating through the system is mineral oil. You can add a couple ounces of PAE compressor oil to make it work or thoroughly flush the mineral oil out and replace it with PAG compressor oil. Also the dryer will need to be replaced.
You are not wrong; however, I have been running my 76 with exactly what I showed in this video, for the last 15-years without issue, so it works. Maybe not the best or the right way, but it works.
@@essigspeed I agree from the perspective there's a big difference between a diy solution and a professional repair that someone's paying good money for. I too have done as you show here, but there's a difference.
No doubt, there should be a difference. If you follow the build on this car, I did it with almost all used parts, right down to the high-side line I replaced in this video. I am trying to keep that theme as much as possible. It is nice to know that there are some very knowledgeable guys out there willing to do the job right. I quit turning wrenches professionally back in 1988. I just do it for myself and an occasional friend. Thanks for the comments. I hope you are a subscriber and will hear from you more in the future.
@@thisisyourcaptainspeaking2259 im sure if we talked ac we would disagree on things. everybody has different views of course. i see that in some ways like me that sometimes bad practices are being passed down for diy guys and u feel the need to speak out. i see that as well to many times. u ,like me feel the need to say something because it is not helping the diyer only making it worse for those diyers i feel sometimes i would like to help the diy person to. like me i am not trying to start arguments. just trying to help the best we can. but sometimes trying to help we offend people but we are not trying to do this. thats not what im about. i left him some channels to watch for his on enlightenment. maybe if he watches it he can help diy guys even better with the knowledge he will gain. this may offend him ,but that is not what i want to do . i think u are trying to accomplish the same with out hurting feelings. scanner danner and a few other utubers and me have very different views about ac. but nothing i say is meant to criticize just raise awareness of a different approach.
@@RATCHETMAN1001 The 1st thing I look for to decide if the material comes in the vicinity of professional is a digital vacuum gauge. The moment I see a compound vacuum gauge being used, this tells me the system likely won't be properly dessicated. Beyond this, no equipment or mention of weighing refrigerant is the 2nd indicator.
DIY to me is fine and I'll invest my time toward helping them but I will not invest my time towards someone presenting themselves as professional who obviously isn't. Instead, I'm compelled to call them out so maybe they'll make an effort to perform the work correctly.
Go to office max get air duster r152a.
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Should have gone with the HC12a
Where do I get it and what does it cost? Does it come in DIY cans or is it professional gauges only? Thanks
@@essigspeed Small cans of duracool 12a should be available. Works good with the mineral oil not like r134a