Thanks for the words of encouragement.

My system is not leaking to my knowledge. I pressure tested it (before I replaced anything) and it held. In the course of my rnr i replaced every oring. I think it’s pretty tight - I felt good about that aspect.

I charged by weight. And I think I did about 80% of the r12 weight. I had notes at the time and followed the advice on the amount relative to r12.

I put in ester oil - somewhere around 4 ounces in compressor and 4 in the new drier.

I feel like the compressor is making a bit of a moaning noise when engaged (not exactly grinding but perhaps a little ?) - but since I haven’t had an operational system before I don’t know what’s normal. Compressor is also pretty hot to the touch after running for a bit - is that normal?