roedel

SRK, come on, i thought his is a discussion board. I advise you do some research about the efficiency, dangers and environmental impact of R134a before writing offensive statements. Maybe you start just by comparing it to R12. Further, Propane mixes just fine with all kinds of lubricants, there is plenty of reliable and easy to find prove out there. If you are able to understand the technology behind it you will realize who really lives in "commie-pinko-land". ;) But to be honest, i have been missguided as well, i am a ASE certified master technician, my team and i converted hundreds of Ac's to that 134a junk over the years.

@Smooth1 You can't add R12 to a R134a system because R134a systems use a synthetik oil ,PAG, that would deteriorate in contact with R12. I did not add any propane to my system, untill now:-) Just pure R12 and 134a. That mixture is definately not explosive or flammable, Do not get irritated by Billy's Post above!! But i certainly will add flammable and explosive Propane! In Australia it is a very common thing, especially for taxis due to the fact that 134a cools much worst in the hot australien summers and because R134a is basically a well established ripoff by Du Pond with nothing but technical disadvantages and a high price. http://www.hychill.com.au/tech/facts.htm Of course they keep their propaganda machine going, propane is a to cheap and easy to get replacement. Did you know that basically all fridges and heat pumps in europe run on propane (R290) with a 25-30% higher efficiency? When the first companies started using propane in their friges in germany the refrigerant industrie claimed people would install a bomb in their kitchen by buying that fridge..... LOL Further, the quantity required to replace the original R12 or 134a is about a thrid (by weight) when using propane. Thus the LS400 takes about 1,000 grams of R12, The refill with propane 350 grams. 350 Grams fit into a coke bottle, i can't see how that small ammount of gas could possibly create disaster. Especially if you consider the fact that you have 15 gallons of high flammable gasoline behind your rear seat.

Hello, i am driving a 1990 LS400, in China, i love this car. I bought it one year ago, last year the AC delivered ice cold air at max summer temperatures and humidity. It gets hot and 100% humit here, crazy.... So this year i had to replace the compressor discharge hose and refilled the system with R12. So far so good, the only thing i noticed was that the aircon did not blow as cold as before. Low side and high side pressures were all within specs, strange. Then i remembered that the previous owner told me his shop topped off the system with 134a..... back then i thought what the hack is he talking about. Out of frustration i started to do some research and ohoooooo, found this Article: Soooo, i recovered about one can of R12, dropped in one can of R134a and guess what, the system is back to live. ICCCCCCE cold. The compressor is still fine, even though the system was running with that mixture for years and there was absolutely no residue in the hoses and pipes. I tought this might be interesting for anybody having a R12 system with low refrigerant level. The only problem i see is that the R134a might cause corrosion, i read somewhere that this might be an issue. But again, on my LS it did not cause any problem so far. I have to replace some O-rings soon and will switch to a Hydrocarbon Refrigerant. It seems that the energy savings are amazing. Already bought 5kg of R290 and R600a these two mixed at the correct ratio 80/20 should deliver a nice result. Will post the outcome later :o