R12 vs. R134a (2010, air conditioning, truck, buy)
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From what I've read, R12 is colder.
The A/C on my '69 Cadillac blows very cold. According to the shop manual, the air at the outlet vents is 45 degrees when set at maximum cool. R134 is more like 50-53 degrees.
However, the A/C on my '95 Lincoln Town Car, which has R112, is quite cold, too.
Yes I am aware of the fact R-12 hasn't been made since 1994, and people with unused cans of R-12 are highly capitalizing off of it.
Which is a bummer because I have a 1987 Regal which came factory with R-12. I would like to fix the a/c for this summer but will have to stick with R-134a because I do not have the proper license (required to handle R-12) plus as you mentioned, a can of the stuff is ungodly expensive.
I had another Regal (a 1984 model) once where I did the R-134a conversion and it didn't blow all that cold. Well it did after awhile after it got done cooling down the already heat soaked interior. Someone i talked with informed me the reason why was because the system was set up for R-12 and not R-134a. I originally thought maybe I could upgrade the condenser but not so much the case. Someone else told me something about how R-134a just isn't as efficient as R-12 in terms of cooling capabilities. He even used an example when he was a kid
But I did once own a 1997 S-10 and it seemed like the R-134a system in it was more efficient than the retrofitted R-134a system in the Buick.
Yes I am aware of the fact R-12 hasn't been made since 1994, and people with unused cans of R-12 are highly capitalizing off of it.
Which is a bummer because I have a 1987 Regal which came factory with R-12. I would like to fix the a/c for this summer but will have to stick with R-134a because I do not have the proper license (required to handle R-12) plus as you mentioned, a can of the stuff is ungodly expensive.
I had another Regal (a 1984 model) once where I did the R-134a conversion and it didn't blow all that cold. Well it did after awhile after it got done cooling down the already heat soaked interior. Someone i talked with informed me the reason why was because the system was set up for R-12 and not R-134a. I originally thought maybe I could upgrade the condenser but not so much the case. Someone else told me something about how R-134a just isn't as efficient as R-12 in terms of cooling capabilities. He even used an example when he was a kid
But I did once own a 1997 S-10 and it seemed like the R-134a system in it was more efficient than the retrofitted R-134a system in the Buick.
Did you convert everything required to run R134A? Green o-rings, cleaning out the lines, changed the compressor oil to PAG or Ester oil? Old mineral oil does not pair up good with R134A. Also, doing a conversion half-assed will greatly hamper the system. R134A will work better once you have stripped any trace of usage in the old system. But then it's not as good as R12 still. R12 was just better, period. You just can't win at some things.
Naturally the newer systems designed to run R134A will be better...that's the point.
Yo ,you do know that you cant use 134 in a car made to use r12 dont you? The ac will need to be converted first.
Yo, ya I knew that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lariat
Did you convert everything required to run R134A? Green o-rings, cleaning out the lines, changed the compressor oil to PAG or Ester oil? Old mineral oil does not pair up good with R134A. Also, doing a conversion half-assed will greatly hamper the system. R134A will work better once you have stripped any trace of usage in the old system. But then it's not as good as R12 still. R12 was just better, period. You just can't win at some things.
Yes all of this was done. The R-134a cooled well at night or if the car had been garage/out of sunlight. Otherwise it took quite a while but it eventually would cool down to a sufficient level.
Did you convert everything required to run R134A? Green o-rings, cleaning out the lines, changed the compressor oil to PAG or Ester oil? Old mineral oil does not pair up good with R134A. Also, doing a conversion half-assed will greatly hamper the system. R134A will work better once you have stripped any trace of usage in the old system. But then it's not as good as R12 still. R12 was just better, period..
The most important part of conversion is changing the orifice tubes and expansion valves. Mismatching these components with the different refrigerants means that they are not properly atomizing in the evaporator, as a result heat transfer is hindered and ultimately the system will not operate at it's highest potential.
I have owned cars with ac dating back to 1965 and i can honestly say that 12 or 134 is compatible. I have seen some COLD R12 and own a new Chevy truck that gets down to mid to low 40's outlet temps. Some ac systems just work better then others. I have owned some cars where the ac was never quite right, others where its like ice.. R12 or 134, it did not matter.
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