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Centre vent temp is now at 35-36F (I spent a half hour on the phone with the CEO learning pretty well ALL that he was willing to share :-) Duracool is slightly more efficient (arguable) than R12 which is in itself 40% more efficient than R134A. A fairly easy conversion. Released the R134A (yes My Bad :-)-- very slooowly , so as to not blow out any of the oem oil along with it. Added most of a can of Duraciool to the system, engine Not running, waited 10 mins for everything to thaw, then with engine running added the rest of the can, next a can of Dura-dry to remove any and all traces of moisture in my system, then added a can of System Seal (Sealant is moisture activated so the system MUST be dry or it may activate in the compressor, turning it into Junk ).. to counteract the ravages of the ..Corrosive.. R134a on my Evaporator (plugging the pinhole leaks typical of no longer new R134A systems) Drove the car with AC on max for 20 mins..to completely distribute the sealant. Subsequently added the last can of Duracool refrigerant..AC and engine running.
Costs: 2 cans refrigerant $16, I can dryer $20, one can Sealant $30.
Hose and gauge, Elder son already owned.
Time ? about a 1/2 - 3/4 hour
Certainly not free but given that the local AC shop pricings start at $100 for basic service labour only.. still bargain priced.
Yesss I was concerned in filling my AC with Butane(?) Not keen on the flammable part, but then Gasoline at 60 psi circulating about ain't all that great either :-) But then if R134A eventually eats it's way out of the evaporator it can can kill.
These Mod Cons seemingly ..all.. carry significant risk.
Pick your poison :-)
In retrospect.. one could just take a pressure reading of the existing R134A charge to check it's level, then add the makeup amount of Duracool and not worry about pinhole leakage.. Simply adding more refrigerant as required next spring.
A full Duracool charge does produce AC capacity far greater than that of the R134A design setup. Remember that R134A is 40% less efficient than R12 was, so the Condensor / Evaporator (compressor ??) were 'sized up' to cope.
Have fun.
posted by 64.180.6...
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