quality of add-on A/C units - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

WANT '71 280SEL · #1 07-13-2006, 06:57 PM

Of you ladies and gentlemen who own fintails, or any other old MB, how would you guys rate the cooling capability of your old Behr add-on A/C unit?

Thanks
David

Larry Delor · #2 07-13-2006, 08:10 PM

Barely adequate in Fla. (tinted windows would make a vast improvement)

WANT '71 280SEL · #3 07-13-2006, 10:10 PM

I assume you are speaking about your 280SE? Is the A/C on the car stock or an add on Behr unit?

Thanks
David

#4 07-15-2006, 12:09 AM

They work pretty well, as long as you don't convert from R-12. I found that it really helps if you crack the door window about an inch. That helps the air move past you and you feel much cooler as the hot air exits the car.

Mark DiSilvestro · #5 07-15-2006, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WANT '71 280SEL

Of you ladies and gentlemen who own fintails, or any other old MB, how would you guys rate the cooling capability of your old Behr add-on A/C unit?

Thanks
David

I assume you're asking about the AC unit in your 'new' Fintail. It's probably a Kuhlmeister, made in the US for Mercedes by Thermo-King. Back in 1981, I had a black '66 Fintail 230 with a Kuhlmeister. On very hot, sunny days my AC had a hard time cooling off that black sedan's interior but it could cool me off OK as long as it was blowing right on me. Otherwise, on cloudy days or by early evening, that AC could freeze me out of the car. Your white Fintail should be easier to cool, if the AC can be made to work as well as mine did.
Of course 25 years ago my AC still used R12, though I recently worked on a similar unit, in a '66 250S, that had been converted to R134a and it seemed to cool adequately (at least while it was out of direct sunlight).
The old 2-cylinder York compressors tend to be rough and noisy, especially if the reinforcing brace from the bottom of the compressor to the engine mount is loose or missing. There is a kit availible to replace the old York with a modern, efficient Japanese Sanden compressor.

Happy Motoring, Mark

nhdoc · #6 07-15-2006, 10:06 AM

My '64 has a york compressor and a no-name Kool-Meister clone evaporator unit which was put together by the former owner who owned an AC shop and said he put the largest capacity evaporator and condensor he could find in it when he installed the unit in '66. The result is that when it is 95+ out you can store meat inside that car when it is cranked up (this is an R12 original set and is still R12). The car even has a black interior and I bet I could get more than 40 degrees F of temperature differential out of it on even the hottest day (meaning I could get it to below 60 degrees F in the car if it was 100F out).

This is, by far, the most powerful AC set I have ever seen in any automobile. The irony is that he lived in northern California, in a very temperate climate and probably didn't need half the capacity of this set...for that matter neither do I in NH, but yesterday it topped 90 out and the finster was ice cold inside when I took it for a spin.

cbdo · #7 07-18-2006, 07:44 AM

The '69 280SEL (silver on black) we had from new had the usual "OEM" addon. It was pretty adequate most of the time, but definitely not up to a Chicago freeway jam in 95 degrees. The US OEM systems were much better, even in 1969. That said, everything else about the car was way better than the US offered at the time!

Larry Delor · #8 07-19-2006, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WANT '71 280SEL

I assume you are speaking about your 280SE? Is the A/C on the car stock or an add on Behr unit?

Thanks
David

Yup...the 280SE... I am assuming it's stock...although it looks more like an add-on. Separate blower for the A/C by the passenger's feet.
Once mine has a fresh coat of paint, it is getting its windows tinted.

-Larry