OMG...I just want to top of my AC
 

(If this needs to be in another topic like OD, I apologize, please move it if it needs to be) I've been searching and reading all night and every thread I come across about recharging AC systems ends in a fight about one refrigerant being illegal or flammable or corrosive...geez. Its worse than the fights over VO.
I was on the verge of ordering a kit from freeze-12.com, then I read about envirosafe, and they have a kit and it sounds like it would work, and then there's duracool that some people like. Of course there's the crowd who frown on anything but R12 for an R12-system. But everyone says its illegal to mix refrigerants, so that leaves me, joe shmoe, with going to an AC guy to suck all the r12 out of my system so I can properly convert to one of these alternative systems that I can actually work on myself. I guess you can't really come out in public and say you're going to just top off your system with another refrigerant, because the big bad AC police will come get you, but please..I'll put the friggin sticker and the fittings on my car so no one's supply will become contaminated.
If a person were to go out and maliciously and pre-meditatively break the law and top of his R12 system with another refrigerant (like freeze 12 or duracool) will hell freeze over (I'd be fine if just my car did)? Is there a thread that actually talks about this? I can't read anymore, my eyes hurt. I'll check back tomorrow and probably wish I hadn't posted this.
Thanks guys.

Just starting off a thread with "OMG" is reason enough for a delete.........;)

Here's the simple answer: Go to ebay, buy a can of R-12, put it in. First though, check pressures to find out if you really need it.

Not sure why the big deal about what non-R-12 refrigerant to put in it, R-12 is available and works.

Or: Go online and spend 20 dollars and get your 609 cert and then you can but R-12 at about 38 bucks a can at Oreilleys and do it yourself like I did.

yeah! if you have R12 and it's just going to need a top off, get some and put it in... I don't see the problem.

X2.

Or, if you can't get any..........find someone who still works with R-12. Sure, they are rare.........but, they do exist.


............you don't want the R-12 police coming down upon your head..........do you.........???:eek::eek:

Mixing refrigerants and their oils will corrode the system and lead to premature failure. Freeze 12 is mostly R134 with some other additives. I have used it without purging an already empty system. Why not just top off with R12?

I have been doing the same research, and have found that people with w123's (for the most part) have not been satisfied with the cooling abilities of refrigerant's that weren't r-12. W126's seem to work ok with it, apparently they have a larger expansion valve.

Of course you can do what you want, I decided to suck it up and pay (a lot more) to rebuild the system with the r-12, but I live in disgusting heat half the year though.

It is the condenser that is too small on a W123 for it to function well (or even acceptably) with anything other than R12.

Keep your R12 system using R12 - trust me that you will NOT be happy with the performance of any other refrigerant. The minor aggravation / extra cost involved in obtaining R12 is worth it, no question.

In addition to those great reasons to stick with R-12, keep in mind that R-134a (or similar) refrigerants will often significantly accelerate the demise of an old compressor, due to higher operating pressures.

Unless it directly says R-12 on the can, anything like Freeze-12, FR-12, OZ-12, HC-12a, WC-R12, etc. is not R-12 but a mixture of R-134a, R-22, HCFC-124x and/or butane.

We say stick with R-12 not because it originally came with it but the system does not cool as well with newer, less efficient alternatives. R-134a will work but its worth the effort not to use it.

Go ahead. Put a can of freon in. Overcharge the system. Let it blow warm air after the system is overcharged. Take the risk of a hose exploding in your face. Be a hack.

Or you could learn how to fix it properly. Start by telling us the model and year of your car.

Alan

Seems to me that the OP is in a bind because he doesn't have a can of Freon. Nor can he get any. Suppose that's why he's looking into Freon alternatives?

Before I got my 609 cert I posted a "wanted" ad on this board looking to buy a couple of cans of R12 and several people who had them but no longer had a need for them responded. The price was reasonable and the prices are cheaper now than they were then.

I'd recommend the OP just take a couple of hours, get his 609 cert and buy a few cans of R12 from ebay and fix the thing right. Every one of my classics still run R12 and they are all so cold they will freeze your fingertips. Forget R134a unless your system was designed for it, period.

Also... getting the 609 certificate will not only let you legally purchase r12, but studying just a couple of hours to get the certificate will arm you with a lot of very useful information in diagnosing and solving any issues that arise with your AC.