R134a container leak

[JHZR2]

Rather annoyed....

Have a 30# container of r134a, used maybe half for various AC jobs over the last 15 years or so.

Recently was moving it out in the garage, and realized it felt light. Valve was tight, couldn't make it tighter. Gas was gone.

So it's like $50 lost and all that gas emitted into the atmosphere.

Is there something I should know about these cans? I have a full R12 container and I sure don't want the same thing happening to it!

Thanks!

 

[bdcardinal]

I can't attest to anything about the longevity of the tank, but we go through 3-4 a month at my work and they are so cheaply made that I wouldn't trust one more than a year or 2 old.

 

[rubberchicken]

I had 4-5 12oz cans of R-12 in my garage, and no vehicle that can use it. I took it to work as somebody there was going to give me a chunk of money. But I let them sit in the car until we had time during lunch to do the exchange. Yes, it was a 95 F day. All but one of the cans burst.

 

[Lubener]

Just a bad valve. I still have a 3/4 full cylinder of R12 which I had for nearly 30 years and no leaks.

 

[Kruse]

Go to a HVAC dealer and scrounge through their piles of old central air relics. Take the metal caps off of the fittings to screw on your container of r134a. These metal caps have o-rings on them that allow you to tighten them up enough that that the refrigerant can't leak out even if the valve does leak. Oh, wait! Your refrigerant is already gone!

 

[demarpaint]

I have about 25 lbs. of R12, sitting in the basement for about 10 years now. No problems to report. The cylinder is very well made and I don't anticipate any problems. I will keep an eye on it though.

 

[Shannow]

15lb of 134 ?

WOW, that's like 11 years GHG production from my Colorado...

 

[Shannow]

Sorry, 2.2 years...

 

[EA82]

Same exact thing happened to me with the 30 lb cylinder a few years ago, turned out you have to tighten the valve on those cylinders real good which I never forget to do on the new one I got.