I've been researching how to recharge my AC system and I ran across this on You Tube. Too funny! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl4qOySVru0
Very interesting! So what are the drawbacks? The good thing is that it is available on every third cross street Down Towne "Somewhere America". Pressures seem nominal, performs well cooling. I'm guessing it is compatible with mineral type refrigerant oils. Two other high points to ponder is the gas permeability of the hoses with said refrigerant, and chemical comparability of the dryer buffers. Meaning will they work?
I've also seen where people substitute propane for freon. It works, but I bet it really sucks to get a leak or have an accident.
Most refrigerant refill cans have some lubricant in them also. This stuff obviously does not. If you've had a slow leak and know that you haven't lost any lubricant it could be OK, but if you've lost all the refrigerant and aren't sure if you burst a line and lost a lot of lubricant you need to make sure that you have lubricant in the system or you won't have much compressor life.
Well, since your car is already carrying around 10 or 20 gallons of a highly combustible liquid, a little bit of propane is not really a big deal. If the accident is big enough to worry about the AC system being compromised, you likely have a more important system compromise to worry about.
Actually I did a little research and the stuff is R152 which is an approved refrigerant in some non-US jurisdictions. Not sure about he bitterant on the system though. My favorite part is where they fight over the last PBR.
It's actually R152 which requires non-mineral oil. Apparently if you are set up for R134 it's an easy switch. Just evacuate the R134 and drop in the correct amount of Dust off (R152).
My understanding from their product info is that they have additives which increase the flash temperature to above that of 134a, which is not well know that 134a is nicely flammable. So I tend to think that the fire risk with R12a is lower than that of 134a based on the flash temps of the two refrigerants. .
That brings up an interesting point anyone remember WHY they outlawed R12 other then the fact it worked so well ...especially if it is just a combination of butane and propane which are not outlawed???
R12 refrigernant is Freon based, HC12a is butane and propane based. They are entirely different but the inclusion of "12" in the names leads to confusion and the assumption they are the same. M
Urban legend? Because the patent on R12 owned by the large and influential DuPont corporation was due to expire and they needed a new revenue stream so the lobbyist did their thing and the lawmakers complied. That is the story I was always told, not sure if it is true or not. Alden
