Anybody have and experience/comments "Good" or "Bad" on the use of this Refrigerant, it says it is a direct replacment for R12 and 134a.

http://autorefrigerants.com/co00033.htm


Rod
51Ford Fan

 

I would steer clear of this stuff, it is flammable and potentially dangerous. It appears to be the same stuff that an Aussie developed and to prove it was safe, he made a pinhole leak in the evaporator, ran the car on Recirculate for a while, then jumped in with a lit cigar. He blew himself and the car up like a bomb. Most techs refuse to work on a car that's had hydrocarbon fluids added. Use R-134a.

 

The only downside I see is "hydrocarbon" which means it is a propane or butane derived refrigerant and very flammable. When R12 first became difficult to get, many shadetree A/C shops were filling systems with butane and getting away with it. Only real danger would be if you had a evapoator leak inside and decide to light up .

Jeff

 

Take a look into this, I've not used it, but have heard good things about it.

www.freeze12.com

 

[QUOTE=3Mike6]Take a look into this, I've not used it, but have heard good things about it.

www.freeze12.com [/QUOTE]

My son is a mechanic and parts guy and told me that a lot of the mechanics swear by it. AutoZone used to sell it but mysteriously pulled it all off the shelves and sent all stock back. (Other son works there) I suspect similar issues as with any of the "drop in substitutes". Why mess with it? R-134a conversions done properly are just as good as R-12. For $100 or less you can get a system that is safe, maintainable, and puts out enough for all but the really hot and humid days.

 

alot of shop claomed you had to change everything to run 134 more to make money than anything all you have to do is change your o rings and your dryer flush the system and use 134. price of dryer and orings and 134 is aroud a 100 dollors plus your shop labor if you take it some where but you can buy 134 over the counter without a licence and do it at home. ive seen a few people not change the o ring but didnt hold to long. im still trying to find more info on it but they deveolped a adder thats compatable with 134 and r 12

 

Freeze 12 is only 134a mixed with ester oil to make it compatible with the mineral oil used in R12 systems.

Jeff

 

thanks think thats what ive been hearing about

 

Ditto, thanks guys for your input

 

If you have an old R12 system, it is still better to use R12 than any of the replacements. If you can have someone who is certified do it, you will have a better cooling system. I am certified and when I need some R12 I buy it on Ebay, due to it's lack of use it is now about the same price as R134a.

If you are going to convert here are a few things you should know.

The oil in the R12 is different than the oil in R134a, the combination of the 2 can make a corrosive mixture and that mixture can damage the compressor. There is a procedure to convert the system that includes pulling down the system, recovering the R12 and removing as much of the oil as possible before you put the new oil in, this oil removal step is important.

Here is the deal with the rubber hoses and o-ring. The R134a is a smaller molecule than the R12 and rubber that could contain the R12 cannot contain the R134a as well. That is, some (a small amount) actually leaks through the rubber. Most people I know do not replace the rubber, they simply add a little R134a each spring.

The R134a does not have the same cooling capacity as the R12 and the converted system will not cool as well as it did with R12. There is just not enough surface area. In newer cars the system is designed for 134a and they perform better than a converted system.

So back to where I started, if you have a old R12 system, putting R12 back in is the best option as long as the R12 is still available. No R12 has been manufactured in over 10 years, but some is still available, it basically never goes bad. It's stability is the issue that makes it a likely ozone attacker. I agree in not making any more, but IMHO, I think we ought to still use what has already been made and the EPA agrees.

 

try using or check out a product called "HOT SHOT"

 

http://www.icorinternational.com/literature/PDF/HSFS.pdf#search='HOT%20SHOT%20refrigerant'