Skip to main content
Gerry | Vanagon
Checking account...
← vanagon.com home · Continue the discussion in the forum
Subject:Re: Air Conditioning
From:Raimund Feussner
Date:Mon, 27 Sep 2021 08:42:09 +0200

I was offered some replacements refrigerants as well.
Most were a propan/butan combination, so highly flammable.
Even if it cools, I don´t know if I want this leaking around my engine...

I don´t know what your refrigerant is made of, just wanted to say "be
aware".

Raimund

Am 27.09.2021 um 05:47 schrieb John Rodgers:
> The summer is most gone and so is the need for AC but it sure was nice to
> have earlier. Back when I had my '88 van, I dutifully switched my system
> over to R-134a because R12 was going out and what little was available was
> astronomical in cosy.  I changed the service fittings, purged the system,
> then vacuumed the system, and added the appropriate amount of 134a. This
> was in spring. By mid summer the refrigerant pressure had dropped and was
> no longer cooling properly. I added 134a and brought it back up to speed.
> By fall of the first year the pressure was back down. This was a
> puzzlement. there was no sign of leakage any where. I didn't refill it as
> cooler weather had set in but I knew the problem had to be solved by spring
> when I had to service it again.
>
> During the winter I stumbled across a discussion about molecule size of
> various refrigerants and how their sized was affected by hose design. It
> would seem that 134a has much smaller molecule size than R12, and
> consequently the stuff over time would leak right through the old original
> hoses. And the original hoses is what I had. While pondering this
> situation I stumbled on a video of Dustaway keyboard and computer cleaner
> being used as a refrigerant to service the AC SYSTEM. Supposedly the specs
> were similar to R-12 at least in molecule size so there should be only
> minimum leakage. It works great as a refrigerant cooling with the best of
> them. and I haven't changed or added to the system for a couple of years.
> You can find videos on Youtube about this. And if you decided to try it,
> make sure your can says on it somewhere CAS 75-37-6