[AT] R134a

[bloomis at charter.net]

OK, we're talking apples and tomatoes here. Automotive vs. refrigeration. Apparently 134 also works well in large chillers, but they have different oiling systems over a hermetic compressor.  
I used to by R12 for less than 75¢ a pound. The last 30 pound jug I bought while still working, so it would have been 2002, it was over $27 per lb. 

-----Original Message-----
From: AT <at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com> On Behalf Of Cecil Bearden
Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2019 3:55 PM
To: at at lists.antique-tractor.com
Subject: Re: [AT] R134a

I have recharged a lot of r-12 systems with Red Tek 12A.  They have changed it somewhat to another name, but another brand is Freeze-12. works good in r-12 systems better than R134A.  It has propane and n-iso butane in it.  Pure propane will also work, but the possibility of fire limits its use to stationary refrigeration systems.   Once I bought some replacement refrigerant that was supposed to be the same thing as Red Tek and spent $300 on parts and 3 days to make a van blow cold air. Got rid of the new stuff and went back to R134a and it worked fine.  Had a leak later and filled it with Red-Tek and it would frost the windshield.  Feds imposed a floor tax of $25/lb on R-12.  If you have a jug of it, Uncle Sam wants his floor tax..... I wish I had bought a pallet load of R-12 back when it was $20.lb Cecil

On 1/12/2019 5:12 PM, Steve Offiler wrote:
> R134a is crap?  Really?  My ‘97 F250 had an R134a system that would still make icicles in the cab when I sold it 19 years later.  Zero work ever done on that system.  2003 Focus, system worked fine when sold in 2014.  Zero work on it.   Wife’s ‘01 Honda CR-V, 210,000 miles, ditto. Blew cold air until the day we sold it, never worked on.
>
> Now, i would not be surprised to learn that the conversions from R12 were somehow lacking, if that’s what you mean.
>
> SO
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Jan 12, 2019, at 2:46 PM, <bloomis at charter.net> <bloomis at charter.net> wrote:
>>
>> In the early 90s. Part of the reason I left the commercial 
>> refrigeration trade. The transition from fluorocarbons to all the 
>> alphabet soup of refrigerants today was a real pain. Went to Ammonia 
>> refrigeration. Much easier. I still have a 30# of R-12. Well I guess 
>> it's a 29.5 since I recharged my daughter's Saab long ago. 134a is 
>> crap. Contractors made a lot of money replacing compressors. Auto A/C 
>> worked way worse. But autos were the chief culprit of refrigerant 
>> into the atmosphere. Not the ice machine with 1000lb charges, but the how ever many hundred million leaky autos.
>> Bradford
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> Is R134a the refrigerant currently used in the air conditioning of ag 
>> equipment. When was R12 fhased out.