AirCon change R12 to R134a

[DF_Media]

Hi Everyone

Just seeing what you think about this and have you had experiences with changing your car from R12 to R134a gas and costs ?

I went and saw Red Devil Radiators and Air Conditioning and explained to them that I need are-gas but am on the r12.

They said they would change out the accumulator and all the o-rings and hoses etc that need to be done plus test the system and gas and dye it for $340.

Is this a good price - what are your exeperiences with this situation ?

They said I would have to come back 2 weeks later to let the dye run around the system and see if there are leaks.

[Nikkojoe]

Seems a decent price if they are true to their word and actually change the orings, accumulator etc.

The 2 weeks is usually standard as they can check if any leaks have occured (the dye will show up under uv light).

[1991_Vn2nV]

Doesnt the dye show up under any light Atleast it did on mine. Very clear to see a few days later where the leak was.

[pandaman]

Sounds like a pretty good price. Dad's a refrigeration mechanic, so I've never had to pay for aircon stuff, but considering that they have to change the refrigeration oil from mineral to synthetic as well which can be fiddly, $340 sounds good.

[Shortstuff]

Doesnt the dye show up under any light Atleast it did on mine. Very clear to see a few days later where the leak was.

In many cases it will since there is UV light naturally

[HoZy]

I changed my own & serviced it for $50 then paid $75 to fill it....

I did all o rings & oiled all valves etc...

Cheers
MaT

[pandaman]

I changed my own & serviced it for $50 then paid $75 to fill it....

I did all o rings & oiled all valves etc...

Cheers
MaT

So I'm guessing you just blew the refrigerant off to atmosphere?

[HoZy]

It was empty at the time... An the little excess did blow off...

Cheers
MaT

[pandaman]

It was empty at the time... An the little excess did blow off...

Cheers
MaT

I'm all for doing as much as you can yourself, but releasing refrigerant to atmosphere is one of my pet peeves. There are enough old fridges/AC systems leaking the damn stuff already without dodgy backyarders blowing it off because they can't be stuffed doing it properly. But seeing as it was just about empty anyway, I wont yell at ya, hell a couple of years ago I ditched an entire system full by wrapping the condensor around a kangaroo.

[HoZy]

lol fair enough mate, well it was empty, had probably about a 1foot cloud puff come out, i wouldnt attempt doing it if it was still working/full..... HELL NO!!!!!!!

Probably kill myself

Cheers
MaT

[xcop5l]

you would probably just put your self into a deep freeze. lol
$340 is a great price (i do a/c at work) and we charge about 450-600 depending on the evaporator under the dash

[krawczuk]

340 $ plus to regas ???? you got to be kidding ?????

for a vn commodore a receiver / drier is about $10-$15 max trade .

regas about $120 ....


or u could regas it with normal LPG !!!!! , done it and its colder than your normal car refridgerant gas,...

and no more FLAMMABLE than normal car ref gas.


mark k

[pandaman]

340 $ plus to regas ???? you got to be kidding ?????

for a vn commodore a receiver / drier is about $10-$15 max trade .

regas about $120 ....


or u could regas it with normal LPG !!!!! , done it and its colder than your normal car refridgerant gas,...

and no more FLAMMABLE than normal car ref gas.


mark k

Not quite that simple buddy, from memory LPG has a higher energy density than most refrigerants, it IS more flammable and as you yourself have already noted has a very different pressure/enthalpy diagram to r134a. While the inside of your car is getting colder, the pressure and temperature in the condensor at the front of the vehicle are a fair bit higher than the designer ever intended. I honestly can't be arsed hunting down the numbers, but I will point you to this page, a particularly stupid fellow tried to prove that LPG isn't dangerous, didn't turn out so well for him. Footnote of the article also points out that using LPG in R134a systems is illegal, and for a damned good reason.

http://www.vasa.org.au/pdf/memberlib...aine-cross.pdf

LPG has really taken off as a refrigerant in europe, I've got no problem with the concept really, but running it in conventional systems isn't just a simple matter of dropping in the gas and away ya go. So if you don't know what you're doing, DONT ****ING DO IT!

[1991_Vn2nV]

I only use NON flammable gas in my air conditioner system. It is available and you can easily request any re-gasser to use it in your system... It is much safer.

Also LPG can be very dangerous, and its dangerous when the temperature is hot as it expands so much. LPG expands to 270 times its size when it goes from liquid form to gas form, and this is why you never fill gas cylinders more than 80%.

[pandaman]

I only use NON flammable gas in my air conditioner system. It is available and you can easily request any re-gasser to use it in your system... It is much safer.

Also LPG can be very dangerous, and its dangerous when the temperature is hot as it expands so much. LPG expands to 270 times its size when it goes from liquid form to gas form, and this is why you never fill gas cylinders more than 80%.

Most refrigerants also do the massive expansion thing, it's kinda the point. Most common refrigerants are also flammable to some degree, not particularly easy to light but flammable none the less.

[1991_Vn2nV]

Most refrigerants also do the massive expansion thing, it's kinda the point. Most common refrigerants are also flammable to some degree, not particularly easy to light but flammable none the less.

Yeah but to the same degree as LPG?

[pandaman]

Yeah but to the same degree as LPG?

Yah LPG is a lot more volatile this is true, wouldn't want to contradict myself. The expansion thing I'm not too sure on the magnitude, but it's enough to give you some serious frostbite if you dump a full charge in a hurry.

[DF_Media]

340 $ plus to regas ???? you got to be kidding ?????

for a vn commodore a receiver / drier is about $10-$15 max trade .

regas about $120 ....


or u could regas it with normal LPG !!!!! , done it and its colder than your normal car refridgerant gas,...

and no more FLAMMABLE than normal car ref gas.


mark k

The $340 included gassing.

[DF_Media]

you would probably just put your self into a deep freeze. lol
$340 is a great price (i do a/c at work) and we charge about 450-600 depending on the evaporator under the dash

Whats the go with the evaporator under the dash ??