4905 air conditioner

[larryh]

Well even if somebody is out of line and giving wrong information you don't want anybody to correct that information then I guess I was out of line if you want me to remove myself from the board I will certainly do so just let me know but whenever i'm personally attyacked I will respond in fact if you don't like honesty and openess then I made a mistake coming here'

Larry Higuera

[Christyhicks]

Larry, let me be the one to respond to you.  First of all, you have a nice name  , which makes me partial to you.   Obviously, as you saw, I missed some of what went on, as I had to go to work and fight a nightmare of a day, which makes this little issue a very minor one.   

I must have been half asleep this morning, when I made the assumption that you were talking about an R-12 system,    and it would have been better for me to stay out of the discussion and wait and see exactly what you were talking about.  I jumped to a conclusion and if I offended you by insinuating that you didn't know what you were doing, I apologize directly to you.  I simply wanted to make sure that someone didn't get hurt or get themselves into trouble. 

Perhaps things have gotten blown way out of proportion, I don't know, but I bet if we agree to be friends, everyone will be happy and we can all go on our way in peace.  So, here's the olive branch, grab ahold and let's just jump off the cliff together.  (After the day I've had at work, I either need to jump off a cliff or throw someone else off one.  )  We've got a lot of good discussions (arguments) ahead of us and neither of us wants to miss out on them, do we.  Be talking to you soon, Christy Hicks

[Christyhicks]

So, anyway, back to the subject at hand. . .changing an R-22 OTR system to R-134a.

In order to do so, you would, at the very least, need to change the compressor and the metering device, since 22 and 134/12 run different pressures.  You probably wouldn't have to change any coils, but you surely would have to run a good long vacuumn on the system to make sure you evacuated any air and residual freon from the system.

Personally, I think it would be a mistake to change it over, as 22 is much more plentiful and less expensive than 134a.  About the only reason I could see someone doing so,  would be because it's harder to get certified for R-22 refrigerants than for R12/134a freons, so you may have difficulty purchasing R-22 without a card.  The test for the automotive style freons is a simple, open book test and is inexpensive, whereas the test for full certification usually involves a seminar and proctored test, but it still isn't a difficult test IMO. 

If you are thinking about keeping the 22, my advice would be to contact a refrigeration contractor in your area, as they will have experience with practically all types of freon, and might be less frightened of dealing with an OTR system using 22.  As for attempting to convert it, well, that will be very expensive and really will not solve the problem of leaks, unless the leak is from the compressor, which would be changed.  Again, I don't know a lot about the OTR systems, so this is just my opinion based on my limited a/c knowledge of freons and the differences between different ones.   Christy Hicks

[JackConrad]

Larry,
  The first question that comes to mind is "Where did the R-22 go?" You said the system is fine except it needs re-charged. Before recharging, I would try to determine where the R-22 leaked out and correct the leak. Depending on how bad the leak is, you could end up spending a lot of diesel fuel money keeping the AC working.  Hopefully someone that knows about AC systems can give you some pointers on finding the leak.  Jack