When Big Yellow was finished with restoration in 2004, we charged up the system with R-134 (we did not change the fittings). We have had no problems over 6+ years in the hot CA summer. At the beginning of the season, I have added a little bit of refrigerant, purchased at Wal-Mart, under $10.00/can, and the air blows cold and the car stays cool. No paperwork, no license or test, no major investment. Louis M. Barrie West Hills, CA Home of Big Yellow From: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Keith Boonstra Sent: Monday, June 20, 2011 7:19 PM To: Warren Anderson Cc: chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; Jonnie Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] R12A I agree. At the risk of sounding like a salesman for R-12 I will say that the bottom line is that nothing will be gained, but various negatives will likely crop up, when you make a switch from R-12 to anything else in an old system. Especially R-134A. If you don't go through the entire system and at least change to a higher efficiency condenser and barrier hose and seals - along with the proper oil - you're going to have problems and poor cooling. With R-12 readily available at $350 there's really no point in changing. It's still the best one they have ever come up with. So just make sure all the components of your old setup are in good repair and charge it up with the R-12. Keith Boonstra 6/20/2011 9:19 PM, Warren Anderson wrote: > > > Johnnie, > > Refrigerant blends have a reported negative effect characteristic of > separating in service. So, the system ends up with some unknown > mixture of chemicals. For some old clunker the resultant mixture might > be just fine but for something worth keeping, where the AC system is > expected to really work, original fill R-12 was and still is an > excellent refrigerant. People that test and evaluate refrigerants find > that the old R-12 was an excellent refrigerant with nothing developed > so far that performance wise for mobile systems works as well. > > Second choice I think is R-134A.. As this is original equipment right > now and, with proper system components, does provide acceptable > performance, I think it makes sense to use it for retrofits. But, > things like expansion valves, receiver driers, hoses and the condenser > need to be upgraded along with the compressor and the system > lubricant. This I have done anf it works well. > > New refrigerant are on the way to replace R-134A. Last I heard, the > new refrigerants will not be backwards compatible. > > Warren Anderson > Sedona,AZ > > it seems there are several products out there like R12A----but none of > them are an exact substitute for R12---we are buying a 30 pound tank > of R12---should be around $550---I already bought a 30 pounder that > was susposed to have been around half full---it contained around 2 > pounds-----thankfully I never paid that much for it--------Johnnie Slayton > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To send a message to this group, send an email to: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to bob@xxxxxxxxxxxxx or go to http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Chrysler300/join and select the "Leave Group" button For list server instructions, go to http://www.chrysler300club.com/yahoolist/inst.htm For archives go to http://www.forwardlook.net/300-archive/search.htm#querylangYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chrysler300/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chrysler300/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: Chrysler300-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Chrysler300-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Chrysler300-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/