Go out tonight and check it.  I've noticed that the sun baking the van, heats
it up for a long time.  When you check it tonight, you should get to around 45
by just sitting at idle for about 10 minutes.  I've noticed a big difference
when I bring the van out of my garage and turn the a/c on as opposed to
turning it on after sitting in the sun.  Also, you'll get a colder reading on
low fan as opposed to high because the air is hanging around the cooling
element longer.

Hotch
Philly
86 Vanagon GL
89 Jetta GL

Mike Finkbiner wrote:

> After re-charging my R-12 system, I only have mid 50s air coming out of the
> vents.  That doesn't seem right.
>
> Here's what happened.  A few days a list user pointed out that an R-12
> system shouldn't have a lot of bubbles in the site glass.
>
> I went out to look at the one on my '87 Westfalia, and there were quite a
> few.  The AC has been cooling OK, but we haven't had any really warm temps
> out here, so I figured I would have a buddy of mine who is a refrigeration
> tech top it off before I leave on vacation (tomorrow).
>
> He did this in his spare time, so didn't really go through the system, but
> now the site glass is clear, no bubbles.
>
> We were hoping to get ~45 degrees out of the center vents, which is what I
> was getting last time I had it charged, about 18 months ago.
>
> He lent me a thermometer to check while driving around, but the best I got
> was 54.  It feels pretty cool coming out of the vents, but the van, which
> had been sitting out in the hot sun all day, hadn't cooled off after about
> half an hour of running.
>
> Any suggestions for things to check?
>
> Thanks
>
> - Mike Finkbiner
> '87 Westy
> Moscow, Idaho
>
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--
Richard Hotchkiss
http://www.hotstrings-inc.com