Small Nitrogen Tank for AC leak test - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

lorainfurniture · #16 07-20-2013, 12:17 PM

go to a place like AIRGAS or your local welding supply. They will rent you the tank for 10 ish dollars a month, plus about 15ish bucks to fill it.

I bought my 20cf tank for $80. You cna pressure test your system 3-4 times with one tank.

JHZR2 · #17 07-20-2013, 01:15 PM

Good to know. $25 and then no money caught up for years is best for me - I have two pressure tests to do over about a month or so, and then who knows if/when Id do another. While I like buying tools, dont necessarily want to get caught up in capital cost for stuff like gas bottles if I can avoid it.

Thanks!

Equestrian · #18 07-21-2013, 08:27 AM

Try Craigslist my welding store will swap almost any cylinder for another. I just swapped an extra acetylene for a nitrogen. They used that cylinder as a credit cost $15 difference in cylinder value and $15 for gas. Heck two weeks ago i picked up a T size cylinder for $20.

eatont9999 · #19 07-21-2013, 09:08 PM

I use propane for testing. Get one of the small propane torches and you can find fittings to adapt it to fit an R12 connector on your manifold set. The great part about propane is that you will see the system start cooling as you reach the correct fill amount. It is up to you if you leave the propane in there permanently but I just used it for testing on my 300SD. I went with R12 so I could accurately fill the system by weight. I run R216 in my F250.

vstech · #20 07-21-2013, 09:11 PM

propane is a very wet chemical, using it for pressure testing can damage your dryer.

eatont9999 · #21 07-21-2013, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech

propane is a very wet chemical, using it for pressure testing can damage your dryer.

It is wetter than some gasses but I have not had a problem in either my truck or my car. I suppose you could use one of those alternate R216 solutions. I don't think propane is wet enough to cause a problem, though.

JHZR2 · #22 07-21-2013, 09:43 PM

While I'm not an anti-propane in HVAC guy, blending refrigerants is illegal in this country, and no shop would touch a system that is blended.

If you're going to permanently DIY, it may not be an issue, but not everyone will want to do that.

Propane from a burn bottle is wet, but if the system is r-12 with mineral oil, pulling a good vacuum after checking with propane should work ok since the mineral oil won't have miscibility or side reactions to degrade it.

JHZR2 · #23 07-22-2013, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eatont9999

I run R216 in my F250.

I've never heard of R-216 being used anywhere. What is its typical application??

Is it an alternative R-12 replacement?

Info on this refrigerant is sparse.

eatont9999 · #24 07-22-2013, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHZR2

I've never heard of R-216 being used anywhere. What is its typical application??

Is it an alternative R-12 replacement?

Info on this refrigerant is sparse.

I may have gotten my numbers mixed up. I think it may be R219. It is the same as propane, essentially.