ps2cho,

Thanks for the kudo's. I've dealt with so much hate mail lately, I really needed them.

I'm glad it's working out for you.

What you did makes WAY more sense than using a blend or a flammable. Probably saved you long term money to boot.

As for Duracool, well everybody has to sell something I guess.

Don't do it. Use propane. Used in Europe and Asia. Not legal here but, if you're doing it yourself.........It's cheap and better than R12. Flammability is about the same. If you go with R134a you need more than just a "kit".
Which is usually nothing more than fitting adaptors. You need a larger evaporator core, larger condensor, different pressure switches, orifice, to get the same heat transfer rate. You also need to completly evacuate the system and replace the compressor oil. That's why most people are not happy with the results. It's like burning Kerosene instead of Gasoline.
You might be happy up north but, in the south..fagetaboutit!

There are plenty of people on craigslist selling R12 (You can legally purchase it with the intent to resell...to someone in your household for 0.01 of course)....I bet you could get away with buying it without even having the license. The whole CFC's making holes in the Ozone layer are about as scientifically supported as global warming has with the use of cars It is all media and almost zero credible science.

Explosions due to improper refridgerant such as propane can and do happen:
http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/928-forum/145159-the-joy-of-ocic-and-one-sad-note.html


Only reason I would use propane would be for diagnosis only if you have a leak since it is so cheap and you can smell it. That is what I did for my leak so I didn't have to keep throwing $6 16oz cans of r134a in...After that my evaporator was pulled out, I flushed all lines fully, drained the A/C compressor. 100% r12 fresh system.

My dad's 190D shows paperwork of 6+ A/C compressor replacements. It it an r134a switchover....Makes you wonder....

__________________
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Great post!

Biggest mistake I have made is changing my 88 300E to 134 .It does not work in a system designed for R12. It really does not work here at all in Vegas or anywhere in the southwest. I got my license and will be switching back to R12 soon.
Getting my hvac license enables me to conveniently purchase R12 anywhere,well almost anywhere not many auto parts stores carry it any more.
autozone and checkers dont have it ,but the napa branded stores do.

__________________
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