Air Conditioning Tech Thread.

[CrUZida]

Sorry, should have clarified that, its not worth worrying about when deciding which way to go (HC12 or R134A) in regards to your system, the pressure switches, etc.

If you are regassing it yourself, then yes it will make a huge difference.

[matty12]

It shouldn't freeze if you thermostat is working correctly but you dont wont liquid going to your comp, she'll knock for a bit then shit itself. Actuall suction pressure will ultimately depend on evap efficiency, low eff will need lower suction pressure comparded to something that is realy efficent.


Ther should be a charge capacity around somewhere for most vehilces, charge to that less what ever they recommend if using different gas than factory and you should keep it safe.

[Tocchi]

hey guys, i got a '74 crown ... went to get it re-gassed today (as it didnt have any gas it in since i bought it) ... it has already had a R134 gas conversion before ... but during the pressure test we found a pinhole leak in my condenser ... is this repairable (like a radiator) or do i need a new one?

if a new one is required, does anybody have the part number for it from a place like Natrad or similar?

[2jzhilux]

Also while this is bumped up i need to find somewhere that supplies A/C hose to make custom lines as like Mick08 i need A/C in my hilux so will try to run the condensor down the back of the car and dont feel like being raped by an ac guy when i have my own ARC licence.

Tocchi probably the best thing to do would be to rip it out and try to match it up with something similar because i doubt they will still have a listing

[pandaah]

Cheap easy an great stuff to use is that cloth electrical tape, apparently it stands up to about 100 degrees, wrap a few layers should work wonders, I bought mine from worth

[CrUZida]

I get all my custom lines made at my local Enzed

[Rhyno]

Hi guys

@ Tocchi, you could fix it but if the condensor is as old as the car which it proberly is I would reccomend replacing it, as it will more than likely develop another leak down the track once you put some gas in it as it has the highest pressure's running through it in the system. Did a bit of Googling but couldn't find any part numbers sorry - try contacting your local Toymoter dealer, maybe they can help. As 2JZ said you could just get a univeral condensor with the pipes in the right spot and you should be good to go

@ 2JZ Hilux, as Cruzida said the best way is to get the tape measure out and measure how much hose you need (make sure you buy a little extra), they head to Enzed, buy the hose and get them to fit one end of the pipes with the fittings you need in the engine bay. Then you can work your way from the engine bay down towards your condensor. When you have worked it all out head back and get them to cut and put the fittings on. You don't have to do it this way but I find it ends up cheaper, as you don't stuff up. Depends on how close your Enzed is???
2 things to look out for, (which you proberly already know if you have an ARC licence) is make sure the lines are secure and don't vibrate, otherwise leaky leaky, and 2 be careful not to put to many bends, turns and fittings, the more you have the more you restrict the flow of the refrigerant and its cooling effect.

@ Pandah what are you talking about? Are you joking?

[Tocchi]

cheers 2jzhilux and rhyno, ive sorted out a new condenser - a universal one for $130, have to modify 1 aircon line as both condensor fittings are one side, but the fittings are the same, so thats easy

[Rhyno]

Good to hear Tocchi, sorry for the late reply just got back from Holidays.

P.S. If it is a hard line you can use a little heat (provided there is no gas in there) to anneal the pipe to make it bendable. Just be careful using a naked flame near the end of a refrigerant line, they tend to want to ignite. Nothing dangerous though.

[dnegative]

Guys, why do ARC treat r134a like its a dolphin murdering chemical warfare agent? Seriously, if they catch you cracking a line on your AC and venting the shit to the atmosphere they will do their best to either fine you 50 odd grand or lock you up yet I can go and buy cans of air duster (100% tetrafluoroethane aka r134 according to the one I have on my desk atm) and merrily spray them till the cows come home?

[matty12]

R134a leads to global warming hence the strict terms of use, never heard of this air duster u talk of but there is always two set of rules for most things.

Some stuff here about it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane

[dnegative]

Air Duster Pressure Cleaner

1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane           811-97-2          100

At $5 a can maybe I should figure out a fitting to top up cars

[matty12]

Any one with a HVAC unit lying around that they could measure at all. Im after something thats about 200 mm high to fit into my HQ.

[Rhyno]

This comes up as a joke every once is a while in my work place

On a serious note the gas in the airduster bottles is of a much lower quality than what is used in ac systems due to its design intent. Add to this it would suck having to swap over bottles constantly... suck the line dry, change bottles, purge, then repeat etc etc... and then if the car stuffs up, Californa have actually banned the sale of dustbuster for this use, as mentioned in the wiki link.

Now I just want to point out I am no tree hugging hippy but I can see where both party's are coming from. The main differnce is the AMOUNT of refrigerant being released in any one use. On one side of the fence you have the OH&S crew and on the other you have Refrigeration personel, both trying to protect theirselves and there livelyhood's. As with any gas in a large quantity it can cause asphyxiation if not dealt with safely, and as a refrigerant it can cause substantial damage to the atmosphere (so the pro's teach us ). Just think at how hard it is to get a modifed vehicle past the emissions test at present - then think how much worse they could be if every person who worked with refrigerant just dumped it to atmostphere??? Plus the gas shortage it would make, pushing prices up???

Dnegative have you heard of the "reclaim and reward" or the "cash for gas" scheme? Everytime you need to let gas out of a system to undertake works, if you reclaim the refrigerant you can get money for it. So every time you let gas out to atmo you are letting money getting away...

Every bit of pollution that can be prevented can be used else where (eg. at the drift/drag/race tack) and every dollar saved is a dollar that can be spent else where...

Kind regards,

Ryan

[dnegative]

Dnegative have you heard of the "reclaim and reward" or the "cash for gas" scheme? Everytime you need to let gas out of a system to undertake works, if you reclaim the refrigerant you can get money for it. So every time you let gas out to atmo you are letting money getting away...

When its cash for the boss sometimes people forget