R134a a/c fill up

[Hemidare]

Hey guys i need to know how much of this stuff to put into my system. Winging it is not good and i want to know how much i need to put in my system. If someone has a 89 shadow that is equiped with a/c there is a tag on your hood that tells how much the system should be filled with.

I think they all should be the same so if someone knows thats great i would be grateful if you could let me know thanx.

[DeckSetter]

You should be able to get a reusable filler nozzle that has a gauge on it. They're not expensive, a lot of the time they just come with the freon. The good thing about this is, you can use the gauge without having a can connected. That way, if you have your other nozzle already on a can, you don't have to waste it trying to change the nozzle. Just fill with that one, pop it off the port, and pop on the gauge filler. Just don't pull the trigger if there's no can on it, you'll let freon back out.

[Tony Hanna]

'88 Plymouth Sundance should be the same right? If so, then the maximum charge is 38 oz of r12. That's straight from the sticker on my car. I'm pretty sure the charge weight won't match exactly for r134a, but the conversion #'s should be floating around somewhere. I'll do some digging and see if I can find it.

[Tony Hanna]

Ok, the #'s I'm finding are saying between 75% and 90%. I'd start with 75% and you can add a little if needed. So, providing I can still do math, that would be 28.5 oz of r134a from empty.
HTH,

[Hemidare]

Thanx alot that helps and was exactly what i wanted to know. Thanx tonyz2897

[Tony Hanna]

You're welcome. Glad I could help.

[JDAWG]

yea if I had to guess I would say 1 3/4 pounds just from experience

[Omnious]

recently I bought a recharge kit for the gaytona, it came with a gauge and 3 cans of 134/oil, the gauge that came with mine showed the level of charge with low/full and overcharged, at first I put in all 3 of the cans so it was barley touching the overcharged mark. after seeing the results and reading up on it I decided to let some pressure out and it made it alot cooler. it still does not work as well as the old R12 did, but it was well worth the 30 bucks for the kit. the 134 is cheap enough so I suggest get one of those kits, go by the gauge and then adjust more/less pressure until you are satisfied

[Tony Hanna]

For those of you that aren't satisfied with the performance of 134a, there are other referigerants out there that work much better, don't hurt the environment, don't turn into acid if there's moisture in the system, are compatible with oil left in the system, don't cost much, and don't require a liscense to buy. The downside is that most of them are flammable. But when you consider that r134a is flammable (at over 5 psi) then it really doesn't make much difference.
If you're interested, google envirosafe es12.

[Hemidare]

Yeah r134a in our cars is very finicky, luckily i have a friend who works in the ac industry and has a very fancy set of gauges that tells him exactly what is going on. It took a little time to get it perfect but it blows at 42 degrees on max and is really nice when it is hot. I can't see how being any colder would be better.

All i know is that a ford probe is way easier to charge with 134a. :)

[Tony Hanna]

Yeah r134a in our cars is very finicky, luckily i have a friend who works in the ac industry and has a very fancy set of gauges that tells him exactly what is going on. It took a little time to get it perfect but it blows at 42 degrees on max and is really nice when it is hot. I can't see how being any colder would be better.

All i know is that a ford probe is way easier to charge with 134a. :)

Doesn't say much without knowing the outside temperature. You can get r12 or a real r12 replacement to blow that cold when it's triple digits outside.
R134a is at best a stopgap measure. It isn't as efficient, eats up more horsepower to turn the compressor due to higher pressure, isn't compatable with the oil in alot of r12 systems, and is still bad for the environment.
I think I'm done with the stuff except in cases where a car has a factory 134a system. For r12 systems, I'll stick with HC refrigerants from now on.
My .02

[Una]

Ditto.. Got "Envirosafe" in my GLHS. Blows wicked cold.. :) And I can't even feel the AC compressor cycle on/off on the freeway anymore. It used to feel like a misfire it'd kick so hard. Whole lot easier on the AC clutch..

[WickedShelby88]

Isnt there a ratio you can use when you convert to 134a. I used to know it back when I was working on cars, but most of the specfic numbers have eluded me. Wheres a good source for a/c system seals? I want to replace all of them when I put my a/c together.

[Hemidare]

i think the easiest way is to get a retro kit and it has all of the seals in there. Atleast that is what i did.

[Una]

Isnt there a ratio you can use when you convert to 134a. I used to know it back when I was working on cars, but most of the specfic numbers have eluded me. Wheres a good source for a/c system seals? I want to replace all of them when I put my a/c together.
Yeah, most kits recommend 80-85% the charge of 12.. I usually do 80%.. Many of our cars took 28 ounces originally, so 80% of that is 22.4, so 22 or 23 ounces would do ya..
Now the Envirosafe hydrocarbon blend that I run says to use 1/3rd.. So that'd be about 9ounces.. :)

[WickedShelby88]

envirosafe is available where Brian? Ive just never heard of it. Has it been available in the last few years? Whats it cost?

[Tony Hanna]

envirosafe is available where Brian? Ive just never heard of it. Has it been available in the last few years? Whats it cost?

Brian might know where to get a better deal, but if you want to do some reading about it, here's a place to start.
http://www.es-refrigerants.com/products/w/id/3/default.asp

It's also available through other sites and on ebay. Prices and shipping cost vary depending on where you get it. The last I bought was shipped free but I can't remember what site I ordered from.
HTH,

[Una]

ouch.. That site charges a wicked hazardous materials fee..
http://autorefrigerants.com/co00033.htm This site doesn't... I ordered from them just about 3 weeks ago. :)

[Tony Hanna]

ouch.. That site charges a wicked hazardous materials fee..
http://autorefrigerants.com/co00033.htm This site doesn't... I ordered from them just about 3 weeks ago. :)

Yeah, I wasn't advocating buying from them, just posting the link for information purposes. The link you posted looks really familiar. That might be the same place I ordered from. Did they run a free shipping deal on their individual cans earlier this summer?

[Una]

If they did, I missed it. They have free shipping on larger orders.. I'd love to do a larger order and not have to worry about my supply anymore.. :)

[Tony Hanna]

If they did, I missed it. They have free shipping on larger orders.. I'd love to do a larger order and not have to worry about my supply anymore.. :)

Me too. A big cylinder would be nice, but when you get into buying the stuff in large ammounts, I can't help but wonder if you'd be ahead to make your own? Propane is relatively cheap, it's the isobutane I wonder about. I called a local industrial gas supplier and they assured me that they could get the stuff in small bottles but it was closing time, and the guy I talked to didn't know exactly what size and how much it would cost. He told me to call back the next day which I never got around to doing. Too much other stuff going on right now.