>Unless I'm mistaken it is no longer 'legal' to do your own A/C freon work 
>in the US anymore - guessing that you are in the US by the address.  It 
>is good for the environment by reducing the ozone depletion but an 
>annoying intrusion.  Glad the Non-freon A/Cs are out now though I don't 
>know what retrofitting can be done.

It is still legal to do your own a/c work in the U.S., but you have to have 
a license to purchase freon R-12 in the small cans (16oz).  Ironically, you 
don't need a license to purchase the big 30 lb tanks.  While I don't think 
we should allow all those bad CFCs to get away  (I know a guy who used to 
shoot R-12 cans "cause they explode neat"), there have been some recent 
legal movements toward the reality of all the existing R-12 systems and 
maintaining them.  The gov't has also realized how attractive it is when a 1 
lb can of R-12 costs $1 to make, and with taxes it is sold for $8 to $9.

New cars are being sold with the new R-134, and originally all of the R-12 
systems were supposed to be converted to this - at the cost of a new 
compressor, dryers, system flush, oils, labor, etc - somewhere around 
$500-$800 per car.  There is now a movement to allow conversion to another 
R-12 like formulation that requires no hardware changeout, but reduces CFCs 
by 95%, and is just as efficient.

Although I still do most of my own car a/c work, I have finally realized 
that, especially with the recovery systems in use, it really isn't so bad 
every couple of years for someone to pull all the old out, clean it, add oil 
if necessary, and put it back in at proper volumes and pressures.  Cost of 
this usually runs between $50 and $100.

Dean Aukes
'68 crew cab pickup
'73 Campmobile