Putting freon in the road air system

digesterman · June 24, 2015, 05:10:56 PM

I've seen them take it out of old refrigerators before

luvrbus · June 24, 2015, 05:28:01 PM

That would be a old fridge they have used R134A for the last 20+ years

moosemanusa · June 24, 2015, 06:40:06 PM

RV units (those roof ones) use R22 (saw a 2007 with them) - but those units are also pretty much throw away from what I can see..

We have a 2001 with R22 also (Thermoking) and our carrier is R22 also..

And after seeing this thread, I decided to start our unit today which has been sitting for a few weeks.. 120f inside.. cooling only down to 96.. hmmm.. and all my AC gear is 1200 miles away..

luvrbus · June 24, 2015, 07:14:34 PM

Newer roof tops use the R410 now 2007 was R22

Dietrichfarms · June 24, 2015, 07:26:51 PM

Lucky for me a friend had the freon in his barn, has had it for years never had anything to put it in so let me have for a steal. My bus was factory shell that went straight to conversion only 192k miles on it. Compressor is a carrier. Gotta go out of town for the week but plan on putting the gauges on it and see if it has pressures then filling it up see if she gets cold. Thanks for all the help I'll keep y'all posted.

oltrunt · June 24, 2015, 07:28:35 PM

I keep saying to myself " just go ahead and charge up the over the road a/c with R 134, all the retro fit has already been done". But then I remember that I've been playing with a/c since I was 10 yrs old and remembering that I've won a few and lost a bunch. Sure , I've got all the a/c certs and licenses, but that never kept me from trying the impossible. I remember back in the early "60's wanting to be the only kid on the block with a/c. I tore up a couple of old refrigerators in the dump and tried to adapt them to a '54 Chevy. I nearly poisoned myself with the sulfur dioxide refrigerant they contained.

I'm kicking myself for even saying it. If I don't charge up the a/c on my MCI 9, how will I be able to find the leak and fix it? I've got the bus disease bad--real bad. jack

luvrbus · June 24, 2015, 07:54:32 PM

My friends at Arrow Stage Line use Nitrogen with a blend of Hydrogen and Helium with a detector to find leaks on their buses, the blend they buy from a welding shop it's easy to pickup a low pressure leak with blend also

muldoonman · June 25, 2015, 04:18:14 AM

Quote from: oltrunt on June 24, 2015, 07:28:35 PM
I keep saying to myself " just go ahead and charge up the over the road a/c with R 134, all the retro fit has already been done". But then I remember that I've been playing with a/c since I was 10 yrs old and remembering that I've won a few and lost a bunch.

Yeah Jack, I keep saying that to myself as My Freeze 12 in bus for over 4 years is probably getting low and thought about topping it off with 134 but they (Experts like yourself say) the oil is different between 12 and 134 are different and one won't carry the oil though system. Don't know as I pumped 134 in a 12 GM pickup years ago and it ran for years before I sold it. No problem.

bigred · June 25, 2015, 11:13:14 AM

Guy's A 50/50 mix of propane and butane will out cool R12 or R134 either and won't leak as bad as R134 ,plus this can be ordered for about five bucks a can and a can of it is eqiv to a can and a half of R134!!!A lot of the older BB owners use this stuff.

azdieselman · June 25, 2015, 11:38:22 AM

REALLY!!!!!!

You think adding explosive gasses to a system they were never intended for is a good idea?

You and those others are the reason I had buy a refrigerant identifier.

What's wrong with using the refrigerants they were designed for?

bigred · June 25, 2015, 12:45:43 PM

So you think R 134 is not an explosive gas?

moosemanusa · June 25, 2015, 12:48:43 PM

Not as much as straight Propane (thats being sold as a refrigerant)

Found this article:

http://www.acr-news.com/fake-refrigerants-we-should-be-very-concerned

azdieselman · June 25, 2015, 01:54:14 PM

So you think R 134 is not an explosive gas?

No, I don't.
When used as designed, I've never had any issues.

luvrbus · June 25, 2015, 03:30:55 PM

I missing something here 134A is not combustible is it ? I thought only the oil in all freons was the only thing that would cause combustion.

I know R134 will have combustion at very high temperatures above 1500 degrees if I remember but about anything will with the right temperature

bigred · June 25, 2015, 05:59:54 PM

Two things just for the record First,In certain countries propane/butane mix is an acceptable refrigerant , second,I have never personally used it my self,all tho I would if I was sure the leak wasn't in the engine compartment. Now if you had a 20lb system and had a catastrophic failure where it let it all go at the same time ,it would make a pretty nice little bang .I am not advocating using this stuff.But I do think that it is worth knowing about.