A/C refridgerant question...

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Does refridgerant always contain oil for the compressor? At Wal-Mart I had tons of choices, but none that I felt comfortable buying. They all either contained stop-leak chemicals or made no mention of oil for the compressor. They had cans of oil too, but there were different kinds and I would prefer to just buy one can of refridgerant/oil. I have heard bad things about stop-leak additives, so I didn't want to buy something with it. Does anyone know of a brand that contains just refridgerant and oil and where I can buy it?
 
BTW, it's refrigerant
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No, refrigerant shouldn't, nor does it need to contain oil. The compressor is charged with the correct amount from the factory. No extra is needed for a refrigerant top up. Only a light mist of oil is circulated with the refrigerant. The only time a lot of oil is lost from the compressor is sometimes with a chronic undercharege the oil can foam and be lifted out of the sump, or in the event of a TX Valve/expansion device malfunction where liquid refrigerant can mix with and foam the oil, in which case you have more to worry about than the oil level
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and FWIW, it blows me away that Joe Public can buy refrigerant in the US. Here you have to be Federally licensed to buy and another license to use any refrigerant. The fines for illegal use are massive
 
quote:

Originally posted by tdi-rick:
BTW, it's refrigerant
wink.gif
... The only time a lot of oil is lost from the compressor is sometimes with a chronic undercharege...


By the way, it's "undercharge".
wink.gif


(Be kind - not everbody spelz gud lak yu.)
 
quote:

Originally posted by tdi-rick:
BTW, it's refrigerant
wink.gif

No, refrigerant shouldn't, nor does it need to contain oil. The compressor is charged with the correct amount from the factory. No extra is needed for a refrigerant top up. Only a light mist of oil is circulated with the refrigerant. The only time a lot of oil is lost from the compressor is sometimes with a chronic undercharege the oil can foam and be lifted out of the sump, or in the event of a TX Valve/expansion device malfunction where liquid refrigerant can mix with and foam the oil, in which case you have more to worry about than the oil level
wink.gif


and FWIW, it blows me away that Joe Public can buy refrigerant in the US. Here you have to be Federally licensed to buy and another license to use any refrigerant. The fines for illegal use are massive


What is used as automotive refrigerant in Austrailia? In the US, R-134a is now the only kind you can buy, and from what I have read, it is fairly harmless to the environment. Apparently it only really poses a risk if you inhale a large amount of it because it contains no oxygen.

R-12 is a completely different matter.
 
R134a, along with all the new refrigerants used in commercial and industrial refrigeration (eg R404A, R410A, etc. as well as existing ones such as R22) are classified as 'synthetic greenhouse gas refrigerants' and as such are considered harmful to the environment.
 
As opposed to all the CO2 and sulphur those awful polluting volcanos spew forth in quantities many times greater in a single belch than all the industrial output since 1850.

We humans flatter ourselves that we affect the planet long term. Sure, we can keep the rivers and harbors clean locally, that's nice, and it's nice if the air doesn't have too much smog and the cars are cleaner.

But global warming? Ozone holes???

Please..
lol.gif

The global-warming and ozone-layer environmental concerns are just one more way to hassle and tax industry. Period. We've only been measuring for thirty years an environmental process that's been in-work for a billion years. Clean rivers and air are nice, but the others are so pie-in-the-sky as defy logic.
lol.gif
 
quote:

Originally posted by toocrazy2yoo:
As opposed to all the CO2 and sulphur those awful polluting volcanos spew forth in quantities many times greater in a single belch than all the industrial output since 1850.

We humans flatter ourselves that we affect the planet long term. Sure, we can keep the rivers and harbors clean locally, that's nice, and it's nice if the air doesn't have too much smog and the cars are cleaner.

But global warming? Ozone holes???

Please..
lol.gif

The global-warming and ozone-layer environmental concerns are just one more way to hassle and tax industry. Period. We've only been measuring for thirty years an environmental process that's been in-work for a billion years. Clean rivers and air are nice, but the others are so pie-in-the-sky as defy logic.
lol.gif


preaching to the choir here toocrazy2yoo, I'm just one of the poor multitude that has to cough up for extra licenses and be audited by the feds.
 
quote:

Originally posted by tdi-rick:
BTW, it's refrigerant
wink.gif

No, refrigerant shouldn't, nor does it need to contain oil. The compressor is charged with the correct amount from the factory. No extra is needed for a refrigerant top up. Only a light mist of oil is circulated with the refrigerant. The only time a lot of oil is lost from the compressor is sometimes with a chronic undercharege the oil can foam and be lifted out of the sump, or in the event of a TX Valve/expansion device malfunction where liquid refrigerant can mix with and foam the oil, in which case you have more to worry about than the oil level
wink.gif


and FWIW, it blows me away that Joe Public can buy refrigerant in the US. Here you have to be Federally licensed to buy and another license to use any refrigerant. The fines for illegal use are massive


duck rick
your are going to get beaucoup flak from some of the diy-ers who know better than a time served guy
lol.gif
 
I have two cars that use about 12oz a year. Not a big deal, but if I go to the local garage it's a big deal, $45 to $50 to have 12oz put in. I can do it myself in 20 minutes, save a day of driving back and forth to the garage (if they do it on time)and it costs about $4. Its not even worth the diagnosis cost to save $4 a year, much less the repair cost, which could easily exceed the value of one of the cars, and half of the other.

I'm sorry if I offend anyone by doing this myself, but I have four kids to rear.

I wonder how many AC sytems in Australia are full of propane because only a licensed tech can refill a system?

This isn't a flame, gentlemen, I fully respect your knowledge and the time and money you've invested in acquiring it, but I don't hire a carpenter to hang a picture, either.
 
as i understand things, it is illegal in some countries to add refrigerant to a system without attempting to locate and repair a leak. the reasoning behind that is that refrigerant has an ODP (ozone depleting potential) ie contributes to the breaking down of the ozone and global warming, with different gases doing different damage per lb. released into the atmosphere.
legislation means that the work is theoreticaly performed by a tech who is trained in the trade of leak detection and repair. he should be able to quickly diagnose the problem, repair it, and recharge it with the correct cooling fluid.
now a lot of the arguements i hear for self service revolve around an annual "top-up". most of these can be avoided by running the system for a couple of miles a week to lube and rotate the shaft seal.
and if it's too cold to run the air where you live, turn the heater on too. this works on most cars, same effect as a home dehumidifier.
 
There are cans that have refrigerant only.
Most are 'dummied up' , with many additives we don't really want, however.
BTW, I'm still trying to figure how those very heavy 'R whatever' molecules get up high in the upper atmosphere to cause damage.
 
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