How to recognize an overcharged AC system

[50yr Street Mech]

Hmmm....Good to know. The problem still remains though. There's not gonna be any R134A to use. Like I've been sqawking about all along. R134A is going bye bye. Keep a sharp eye on the price of 134. That's when you know the powers that be stopped producing it. You CANNOT stuff 1234yf into an R134A system. Not compatible. Then the gold rush begins on what's left of 134 in stock. Been there in the late 70's-80's. SAME situation. Then the car manufactures force you to buy a car using 1234yz. It's the same old scam with the chemical companies and the bean counters. They don't care about any ozone layer. They already admitted switching to R134A made no improvement to the ozone layer. Complete scam,,,again....And the poor schmuck driver gets it dry...,,again

 

[FordP3]

Hmmm....Good to know. The problem still remains though. There's not gonna be any R134A to use. Like I've been sqawking about all along. R134A is going bye bye. Keep a sharp eye on the price of 134. That's when you know the powers that be stopped producing it. You CANNOT stuff 1234yf into an R134A system. Not compatible. Then the gold rush begins on what's left of 134 in stock. Been there in the late 70's-80's. SAME situation. Then the car manufactures force you to buy a car using 1234yz. It's the same old scam with the chemical companies and the bean counters. They don't care about any ozone layer. They already admitted switching to R134A made no improvement to the ozone layer. Complete scam,,,again....And the poor schmuck driver gets it dry...,,again

According to those making r134a, as long as there is a demand for it, the suppliers will continue making it, so not to worry, it will be a decade or two before that demand declines enough to possibly have production cease.

 

[50yr Street Mech]

Sorry, I don't believe the makers of R134A. There was still a demand for R12, and they came out with a " conversion kit" to switch you're car from R12 to R134A. ( They were compatible, rubber seals needed to be replaced in the R12 cars, and there were plenty of R12 cars on still on the road) It was a total flop. Just received my stash of R134A today, along with some compressor oil. I'm good. Once burned, twice learned.

 

[clinebarger]

Hmmm....Good to know. The problem still remains though. There's not gonna be any R134A to use. Like I've been sqawking about all along. R134A is going bye bye. Keep a sharp eye on the price of 134. That's when you know the powers that be stopped producing it. You CANNOT stuff 1234yf into an R134A system. Not compatible. Then the gold rush begins on what's left of 134 in stock. Been there in the late 70's-80's. SAME situation. Then the car manufactures force you to buy a car using 1234yz. It's the same old scam with the chemical companies and the bean counters. They don't care about any ozone layer. They already admitted switching to R134A made no improvement to the ozone layer. Complete scam,,,again....And the poor schmuck driver gets it dry...,,again

I buy 120 pounds of R134a a year, Small potato's here in Texas. A busy general repair shop can though 500+ pounds easy. I buy in the off-season when refrigerant prices are lowest with a added discount.

134a prices have been pretty stable unlike R12 6+ years into the 134a change over. Even then cheap R12 was available via Mexico.

 

[FordP3]

I buy 120 pounds of R134a a year, Small potato's here in Texas. A busy general repair shop can though 500+ pounds easy. I buy in the off-season when refrigerant prices are lowest with a added discount.

134a prices have been pretty stable unlike R12 6+ years into the 134a change over. Even then cheap R12 was available via Mexico.

Exactly.

The big difference was R12 was banned from being installed in new cars after 1994 and production was banned after the end of 1995 by the govt. This is not the case with r134a.

Totally different situations.

 

[50yr Street Mech]

For the regular Joe Schmo, like me, it was a nightmare. We all relied on our local parts stores for freon, in those little 1 lb cans. They disappeared 1st. The 20lb cans were still around. Doesn't matter, I got my supply of small 1lb cans now. Thank you BITOG for tipping me off. I won't have to go thru that again. Just need to be concerned about my 3 cars. Not buying anything new, anytime soon. Thanks again

 

[wtd]

For the regular Joe Schmo, like me, it was a nightmare. We all relied on our local parts stores for freon, in those little 1 lb cans. They disappeared 1st. The 20lb cans were still around. Doesn't matter, I got my supply of small 1lb cans now. Thank you BITOG for tipping me off. I won't have to go thru that again. Just need to be concerned about my 3 cars. Not buying anything new, anytime soon. Thanks again

Our local Walmart and parts stores still have the small cans of R134a. Years ago, I bought three 30 lb. tanks of R134 and still have two full ones. I should be good for a long time. I also still have a mostly full 50 lb. tank of R12 that I still use for my 92 Cavalier.

 

[Jetronic]

Never heard of 1234yf ???? What does that apply to ???

It's what replaced R134a in newer systems. Less damaging to the ozone layer.

 

[50yr Street Mech]

Don't you believe that Jetronic. They said the same thing about R12 vs R134A. It made no difference in the ozone layer. This is about chemical companies and the bean counters. The only way to shrink the hole in the ozone layer is not to release the freon into the atmosphere. They have done a good job with that. Especially with those re-usable cans,,, the ones where you just hit the trigger and the freon comes out, then stops. Unlike the old cans. You punch a hole it it, don't use it all, and let the remaining fly so you can take you're fill hose back. Ultimately, the correct way is a shop. But, not everybody has the $$$$ for a shop evacuate/ refill, including myself. When you put a fridge out for trash in New York, you have to pay $ 75 for a company to suck the freon out of it, and pay extra for the town to pick it up. About $ 100 bucks to throw a fridge out in New York.

 

[super20dan]

NO COOL...NO A/C in you're car !!!!!!..If you have cars that use R134A, you better scoop some up before it's all gone ( unless you plan on buying new cars ). It's like R12 all over again. I have PTSD from that disaster. I think a 1 lb can of R12 shot up to like $ 60 bucks when the stock was just about depleted. I just bought 4 lbs of R134A to keep in stock. Prices are on the rise already. Do you remember the R12 disaster of the 80's ???? Same thing. They switched car freons from R12 to R134A and kept it all hush hush. Same thing all over again. Except now it's R134A to 1234yf. It's all a scam by the chemical companies and bean counters.

it was 1993 and it was a disaster for me as i couldnt afford a new 1994 car

 

[50yr Street Mech]

THANK YOU !!!!!! SOMEBODY REMEMBERS !!!! We didn't have the shop "connections" to get the R12. Just Joe Schmo's with hot A/C trying to find a 1 lb can of R12. Remember the cost of the " retrofit to 134A" for you're R12 car. It was insane !!!!!!! That was a shop job. Change 0 rings...and it didn't work anyway. It was a scam !!!!!!! I'm glad there are some po folks out there like me ( I don't know if you're still poor/ lower middle class anymore ). Some of these guys are too rich for my blood in this forum.

 

[steve40th]

I just did the conversion in my 93 Corvette. A shop did it. Runs very cool, but has to go back as the line has frost on it, at 85 degrees outside. Its melting, but I think its overcharged.
I may check the pressure with a R134 gauge you buy with the cans to refill. Just to see where its at.
But, It will go back to shop to adjust the freon, as I think its too much.

 

[Chris142]

I just did the conversion in my 93 Corvette. A shop did it. Runs very cool, but has to go back as the line has frost on it, at 85 degrees outside. Its melting, but I think its overcharged.
I may check the pressure with a R134 gauge you buy with the cans to refill. Just to see where its at.
But, It will go back to shop to adjust the freon, as I think its too much.

Leave it alone. It's fine and will frost under certain conditions.

 

[Joba27n]

I just did the conversion in my 93 Corvette. A shop did it. Runs very cool, but has to go back as the line has frost on it, at 85 degrees outside. Its melting, but I think its overcharged.
I may check the pressure with a R134 gauge you buy with the cans to refill. Just to see where its at.
But, It will go back to shop to adjust the freon, as I think its too much.

Frost on the lines isn't necessarily a problem. Especially if it has an orifice tube. The suction line will be quite cold and with higher humidity in the air, the moisture will condense on that cold line.

I retrofit my 92 Camry from r12 (a/c was flat when I got the car) but using the hydrocarbon cans. It's always frosted the suction line. Even my 2021 Tacoma with hydrocarbon in it will frost the suction line. Neither one will freeze the evaporator though no matter how long I run the A/c. Both have vent temps that ride between 2*C-5*C even.

Unless you have an actual problem with your A/c, I wouldn't touch it. Just putting gauges on it can introduce air to the system and/or conveniently cause a schrader valve leak

 

[Chris142]

Frost on the lines isn't necessarily a problem. Especially if it has an orifice tube. The suction line will be quite cold and with higher humidity in the air, the moisture will condense on that cold line.

I retrofit my 92 Camry from r12 (a/c was flat when I got the car) but using the hydrocarbon cans. It's always frosted the suction line. Even my 2021 Tacoma with hydrocarbon in it will frost the suction line. Neither one will freeze the evaporator though no matter how long I run the A/c. Both have vent temps that ride between 2*C-5*C even.

Unless you have an actual problem with your A/c, I wouldn't touch it. Just putting gauges on it can introduce air to the system and/or conveniently cause a schrader valve leak

X2

 

[mrvmax]

This is a lot like a oil analysis. If you don't have a baseline to go by then it's just data. If you don't have a known accurate pressure to compare against then you can't just go out and hang a set of gauges on a system and know whether it's overcharged by a lb. of refrigerant or not.

I have tried to use those temperature/humidity charts to compare against pressure gauge readings and that information is also all over the place. It seems to vary by system and moon phase.

Bottom line, evacuate the system and recharge to a precise and accurate quantity and let it go. Anything else is simply guessing. If you have no A/C and it's 95ºF outside then any sane human would drop $10 on a 12 oz. can of R134a and see if they can improve their situation.

Very few have a machine that will properly evacuate and give a proper weight for oil that was removed. Even if you have your own vacuum pump, you are guessing how much oil needs to go back in - too much or too little both cause their own problems. I have done it before converting r12 to 134a and charging up numerous 134a vehicles with good success though.

 

[zzyzzx]

It's what replaced R134a in newer systems. Less damaging to the ozone layer.

Allegedly. The patent ran out and they wanted to make something slightly different and a lot more expensive and profitable.