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#1
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A/C converting to R134?? What is it?
Ive been hearing about this alot from my benz buddys and they stopped making some A/c something not sure, need info please, the 83 needs A/c and i need to see if i can still do it how i use to.
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#2
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You're thinking of R12, a CFC refrigerant. While it is no longer being (legally) imported or produced here, there is a ready supply.
Don't convert the thing unless it's absolutely necessary. |
#3
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I converted my A/C to R134 over 5 years ago, it is still running fine.
David _______________ 1985 300D Turbo |
#4
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Done right, a 134a conversion will work for a long time. But if you don't replace the condenser, it won't work nearly as well.
Considering that 134a isn't free and the conversion isn't quite trivial, you're much better off sticking with R12. Especially now that a whole lot of people have retired or converted their R12 systems; more exists for the people that want it than was ever imagined. |
#5
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Stick with R12, it cools much more efficiently in the W123's system than R134a.
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#6
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Quote:
Not putting down the others. But!! dc88168--San Francisco--they really don't know what HOT is. Matt L don't know where he is from. And yes if done correctly it will last a long time. But the W123 will work better with R12 than R134A. My daughters 240D is R12 and it cooled better than the 300TD converted to R134A ( converted correctly). After 1.5 years the brand new compressor failed and I converted back to R12. It cools much better. Western PA. You might get away with R134a without much of a problem. Dave
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1970 220D, owned 1980-1990 1980 240D, owned 1990-1992 1982 300TD, owned 1992-1993 1986 300SDL, owned 1993-2004 1999 E300, owned 1999-2003 1982 300TD, 213,880mi, owned since Nov 18, 1991- Aug 4, 2010 SOLD 1988 560SL, 100,000mi, owned since 1995 1965 Mustang Fastback Mileage Unknown(My sons) 1983 240D, 176,000mi (My daughers) owned since 2004 2007 Honda Accord EX-L I4 auto, the new daily driver 1985 300D 264,000mi Son's new daily driver.(sold) 2008 Hyundai Tiberon. Daughters new car |
#7
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I'm near St. Louis. It gets plenty hot here in the summer.
But considering the hassle of converting and the fact that R12 isn't scarce, there's really no reason to convert a system. Both of our cars are factory 134a, so I don't have a dog in this fight. But if I do get an older car, I would pay extra if the AC worked and I knew for sure that it was still on R12. |
#8
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Just somewhat confused from what i hear these days
My buddy has a 300d like my black one and he said they stopped making somthing i dont know and we would have to convert our benzes to 134 which i still is a blur to me. Thanks for the posts so far on helping
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#9
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They stopped domestic production or importing of R12 (Freon) refrigerant.
The R12 that you can buy now is all reclaimed, but there's so much of it and the prices is close enough to 134a that it's not a huge deal. The downside is that to buy it at a parts house, you have to take an easy online (open book) test that costs about $15. |
#10
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From http://www.american.edu/TED/cfctrade.htm
CFC Smuggling (CFCTRADE Case)
About TED Categories and Clusters CASE NUMBER: 313 CASE MNEMONIC: CFCTRADE CASE NAME: CFC Smuggling A. Identification 1. The Issue The United States banned the production of dichloro-difluoromethane (CFC-12) in 1996. In advance of this a heavy excise tax of $5.35 was placed on CFC-12 to encourage the transition to other alternative refrigerants. Producers of CFCs were also required to reduce production amounts leading up to the 1996 deadline. While the production of CFCs has been restricted and is now banned, the use of CFCs is not banned. This is to accommodate a transition period to substitutes. This has lead to a large black market for illegally imported CFCs. Contraband CFC-12 can be sold for around $2 per pound while legally obtained CFC-12 will sell for $20 or more. Behind the regulations is an international treaty called the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer signed by more than 130 countries. 2. Description For the first time in Miami, Florida, a court is considering the case of a large scale cloroflourocarbon (CFC) refrigerant smuggling case (1). Homi Patel plead guilty in a federal court to smuggling dichloro-difluoromethane (CFC-12 or Freon). Two cargo containers of CFC-12 were falsely reported to have been shipped on to Mexico but were instead left in Miami were Mr. Patel was planing to resell the CFC-12 without paying the federally imposed excise tax (2). The excise tax would have totaled nearly $1.1 million (3). Miami and other port cities have increasingly drawn the attention of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and federal enforcement agencies. In Miami, especially the hot new controlled substance is CFC-12. Drugs are still much bigger but an estimated 10,000 tons of CFC-12 was smuggled into the United States in 1995 (4). The immediate cause of the profitability of smuggling CFC-12 is the $5.35 per pound excise tax (5). To put that in perspective, in 1989 a pound of CFC-12 cost about a dollar (6). Black marketers are making large profits by illegally importing the chemical and selling it for as little as $2 a pound (7). At the end of 1995 a ban went into effect in the United States on the production of CFCs. The ban only affected production and not use of CFCs in order for a transitional period where the air conditioners and other devices that use the CFCs will be able to convert to other chemicals. Smuggling will continue to be a problem, though, because other countries have not agreed to discontinue production until the year 2005 (8). The supply of black market CFC-12 is believed to come from Russia, China, India, eastern Europe and other countries that do not yet have a ban. The CFC is smuggled into the United States using a number of different methods. Sometimes the containers are falsely labeled as another chemical which is similar to CFC-12, or it is claimed as recycled CFC, or it is hidden among a larger shipment of legal chemicals (9) While the case of reducing the use of substances that deplete the ozone in one of agreement by nature of the Montreal Protocol treaty, the issue of smuggling CFCs is a legal proceeding where the people illegally importing CFCs are breaking an existing law and thus subject to prosecution by the Federal Government. The status of the case is in progress until their is no longer a demand for lower priced CFCs. This could come about relatively soon depending on how long it takes to completely replace any devices that use CFCs. Most important to this process will be the development of an alternative to CFCs which is widely accepted and performs at least as well as CFCs. The push to eliminate the use of CFCs came out of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. In 1987 more than 130 countries signed this treaty to stop the production of CFCs (10). In July 1992, the EPA issued a rule to enact the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. The rule set limits on the production and consumption of chemicals known to deplete the ozone layer. It required that producers of CFCs, halons, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform to gradually reduce their production in order to completely stop producing them by January 1, 2000. Imports of these products was also to be reduced. On February 11, 1992 the EPA announced that it would move up its date to phase out production of these substances by December 31, 1995 (11). 3. Related Cases Montreal Protocol Case SST and Air Polution Case 4. Draft Author: Eric Witte (May, 1996) B. Legal Cluster 5. Discourse and Status: DISagree and INPROGress 6. Forum and Scope: Multinational and National As in the discourse, the law governing the import of CFCs is a national law enacting a multinational treaty. 7. Decision Breadth: 1 (USA) The legal impact of excise tax and subsequent ban on CFCs falls only on one country, the United States. The United States has not sought to punish other countries supplying the CFCs such as Russia and China as it has in enforcing the ban on cocaine and other illegal drugs. 8. Legal Standing: Law C. Geographic Filters 9. Geography a. Continental Domain: North America b. Geographic Site: All c. Geographic Impact: USA 10. Sub-National Factors: NO 11. Type of Habitat: Temperate The environmental concern of the depletion of the ozone is that it will let in harmful ultra-violet radiation which will affect all areas of the world. D. Trade Filters 12. Type of Measure: IMBAN 13. Direct vs. Indirect Impacts: DIR 14. Relation of Measure to Impact a. Directly Related to Product: YES, CFC b. Indirectly Related to Product: NO c. Not related to Product: NO d. Related to Process: YES, POLA 15. Trade Product Identification: CFC 16. Economic Data The illegal import of CFCs may total as much as 20 million pounds per year, costing the government $100 million a year in lost excise taxes (12). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has estimated the cost of cleansing the United States of CFCs through 2075 at $45 billion. But the EPA claims that expense will be offset many times by the $32 trillion in savings in the form of reduced rates of skin cancer, crop damage and other problems (13). EPA estimates of the cost of converting a CFC-12 car air-conditioner to an approved refrigerant is between $100 and $800 (14). The market for recharching older air-conditioners is estimated at $280 (15). 17. Degree of Competitive Impact: MEDIUM 18. Industry Sector CHEMical 19. Exporter and Importer: MANY and USA E. Environment Clusters 20. Environmental Problem Type: OZONE 21. Species Information 22. Impact and Effect: LOW and STRCTure 23. Urgency and Lifetime: HIGH and 1-2 years 24. Substitutes: SYNTHETIC There are may possible substitutes to CFC-12. In the United States, the substitute of choice is HFC-134a. This is a hydrofluorocarbon which while it does not deplete the ozone, it is a contributor to global warming. Another substitute is HCFC-141b, a hydrochlorofluorocarbon, which still depletes the ozone but at a rate much lower than CFCs. Other organizations, like Greenpeace, advocate a less environmentally damaging substitute, hydrocarbons. The problem with hydrocarbons has been its high flammability and questions about its performance (16). F. Other Factors 25. Culture: NO 26. Human Rights: NO 27. Trans-Boundary Issues: YES 28. Relevant Literature (See below.) References (1) Noah, Timothy. Miami Jury Charges 2 Men in Smuggling Of CFC Refrigerant. The Wall Street Journal, 19 January 1995. (2) http://www.citation.com/n_ep61.html (3) Noah, Timothy. Miami Jury Charges 2 Men in Smuggling Of CFC Refrigerant. The Wall Street Journal, 19 January 1995. (4) Decker, Jonathan P. Miami Ice: Freon Smuggling Rivals Contraband in Drugs. The Christian Science Monitor, 23 October 1995. (5) Sawyers, Arlena. U.S. cracks down on Freon smugglers. Automotive News, 1 May 1995. (6) Edelson Halpert, Julie. Freon Smugglers Find Big Market. The New York Times National, 30 April 1995. (7) Ibid. (8) http://www.enn.com/enb/11enb94/cover.htm (9) Ibid. (10) Cheevers, Jack. Deep-Sixing CFCs. Los Angeles Times, 8 November 1994. (11) http://www.route66.com/new.html (12) Decker, Jonathan P. Miami Ice: Freon Smuggling Rivals Contraband in Drugs. The Christian Science Monitor, 23 October 1995. (13) Cheevers, Jack. Deep-Sixing CFCs. Los Angeles Times, 8 November 1994. (14) http://www.route66.com/new.html (15) Edelson Halpert, Julie. Refrigerants for a Long Hot Summer. The New York Times, 13 June 1995. (16) http://www.greenpeace.org/ozone/greenfreeze/index.html Other Sources: Also see: http://www.ari.org/issues/icarma_hcfc95.html Melloan, George. "Waterworld, Bootleg Freon and a Berlin Plot." The Wall Street Journal, 3 April 1995. "New England Retailers Are Facing EPA Fines For Illegal Freon Sales." The Wall Street Journal, 28 January 1993. |
#11
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Quote:
OK so how the hell do I find this stuff?? So far no luck. Thanks!!
__________________
NC Benz Fuquay-Varina, NC 1979 300D 1983 300D Turbo 260,000 Miles 1984 300D Turbo 345,000 Miles (sons car) OBK #31 1998 Ford Expedition 5.4l (fer Haulin'!) 145,000 1973 19' SeaRay with 115 Mercury TOWER OF POWER! Club Car Golf Cart 36V Ex toys: 1967 Mustang 289 (First Car) Fiat 124TC 1975 Honda CVCC 1980 Audi 5000 Turbo |
#12
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Kragen carries it behind the counter. If you have your EPA license you can buy it.
-nB
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'83 300D Turbo Current: ???K mi - 19.2mpg -> 17.4mpg -> 22.9mpg ---> ODO Died bought at: 233.8K mi - 10MPG For $1.00 3.5 cylinders work: 320 320 100 340 280 Got insurance? FarmersReallySucks.Com |
#13
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Quote:
Am I going to have to pay someone to do this for me?? LOL
__________________
NC Benz Fuquay-Varina, NC 1979 300D 1983 300D Turbo 260,000 Miles 1984 300D Turbo 345,000 Miles (sons car) OBK #31 1998 Ford Expedition 5.4l (fer Haulin'!) 145,000 1973 19' SeaRay with 115 Mercury TOWER OF POWER! Club Car Golf Cart 36V Ex toys: 1967 Mustang 289 (First Car) Fiat 124TC 1975 Honda CVCC 1980 Audi 5000 Turbo |
#14
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Yup, if you don't want to play around with all this, just bring it to a shop and let them do it.
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#15
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__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread "as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do! My drivers: 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!! 1987 300TD 1987 300TD 1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere! |
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