GriffX
Senior Member
Hello,
last year I refilled the A/C system with a DIY refill bottle. Due to clImaTe cHange or whatever, my EUdSSR forbid to buy R134a for private use and made special taxes for R134a import, so a refill at the shop is expensive now.
At an ambient temperature of 86F I only got 50F at the vent, so I bought a DIY kit with isobutane/propane mix (R600a/R290), equivalent to 620g R134a.
The initial pressure was 20 psi and the goal pressure was 45 psi, the bottle I had was enough to achieve 40 psi, so not fully recharged.
The last week it was up to 100F outside and the A/C took approximately 1 minute to get to cold temperature. Before I buy a new bottle, my questions are:
1. Is it normal that the system is so low after 18 years? I guess yes, but my other even older car is not low on refrigerant.
2. When I remember, it took always a bit of time until the air at the vent was really cold from the beginning?
3. If I have a leak, it is very small, so probably an hardened O-ring. Does someone has experience with leak stop additives?
4. I think I buy another bottle without the leak stop. The leak-stop bottle contains also compressor oil and there is no oil leak to see, I'm afraid to overfill with oil.
The price of these R600a/R290 bottles are a ripoff, but a refill is done in a few minutes and I think fluorinated compounds shouldn't be escape in the environment at all. The persistence of the new R1234yf is 100 years (it degrades to trifluoracetic acid which rains down. TFA is not biodegradable and must be burned to get destroyed, so it will accumulate in your lawn, no way to avoid this, but DuPont and Honywell are happy). Sorry for my rant
Thanks
last year I refilled the A/C system with a DIY refill bottle. Due to clImaTe cHange or whatever, my EUdSSR forbid to buy R134a for private use and made special taxes for R134a import, so a refill at the shop is expensive now.
At an ambient temperature of 86F I only got 50F at the vent, so I bought a DIY kit with isobutane/propane mix (R600a/R290), equivalent to 620g R134a.
The initial pressure was 20 psi and the goal pressure was 45 psi, the bottle I had was enough to achieve 40 psi, so not fully recharged.
The last week it was up to 100F outside and the A/C took approximately 1 minute to get to cold temperature. Before I buy a new bottle, my questions are:
1. Is it normal that the system is so low after 18 years? I guess yes, but my other even older car is not low on refrigerant.
2. When I remember, it took always a bit of time until the air at the vent was really cold from the beginning?
3. If I have a leak, it is very small, so probably an hardened O-ring. Does someone has experience with leak stop additives?
4. I think I buy another bottle without the leak stop. The leak-stop bottle contains also compressor oil and there is no oil leak to see, I'm afraid to overfill with oil.
The price of these R600a/R290 bottles are a ripoff, but a refill is done in a few minutes and I think fluorinated compounds shouldn't be escape in the environment at all. The persistence of the new R1234yf is 100 years (it degrades to trifluoracetic acid which rains down. TFA is not biodegradable and must be burned to get destroyed, so it will accumulate in your lawn, no way to avoid this, but DuPont and Honywell are happy). Sorry for my rant
Thanks
