pmckechnie,

The $100 difference between R12 and R134 is excessive. R12 can be had for about $15 a can now. Typical R134 is about $5 a can. Three cans, means $20 difference.

I have read LOTS of information about conversion and I don't think I have read or talked to ANYONE with a larger experience base than Steve Brotherton. He is highly educated, highly experienced and highly analytical. I have yet to find anyone with a large enough experience base that can refute any of his findings on this subject.

The only other person with a large experience base that differs posted in this very thread. He, however, has worked strictly with GM cars AND not in a hot climate. Steve is in a VERY hot climate just as I am, and works mostly with European cars which often have marginal a/c systems. The GM cars that I have converted have indeed held up well, but they suffer a little in performance in the 108 degree heat.

The cars originally built with R12 system are hitting the salvage yards in record numbers every day which is heavily decreasing the demand for R12. I am one of the nuts that continues to drive older cars so I watch the R12 price indicators. It is going down.

I am down to about 6 pounds of R12 in my posession, but if something happened to my R12 systems and I ran out, I would spend a few hundred dollars for a 30 pound can and most likely have enough to last the rest of my life. Would it be economical for me to convert my old cars to 134 to save that few hundred dollars in the long run? I don't think so.

That is not even considering the risk of the added pressure trashing a compressor that would then require disconnecting EVERYTHING in the system to THOROUGHLY flush out the debris before the new compressor.

For me saving $300 for a cannister of R12, that risk is just not worth it. And I am about the biggest tightwad, cheapskate you'll ever know. I won't spend $300 unless I have to.

BTW, I have been watching R12 prices this summer and I fully expect that this winter will be a time when you can buy R12 for the lowest cost in SEVERAL years.

Have a great day,