What happens if i put r134a into an r12 air conditioning system?

[AznMaverick]

My car had a leak about 1 year ago, my dad just put r134a into the system, it worked great. now the slow leak caused the system to lose the r134a again. I'm debating weather or not i should add more 134a into the system. What is the worst that could happen if i mixed some remnants of the r12 with the r134a?

 

[Pepsi90919]

the universe implodes

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
the universe implodes

Followed by a tremendous explosion of galactic proportions.

 

[Kalvin00]

This is what happens. I would suggest not trying it.

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: Kalvin00
This is what happens. I would suggest not trying it.

Wow.

 

[m2kewl]

the chimpanzees will rise to power, rule the humans on this planet

 

[Kalvin00]

Originally posted by: jadinolf

Originally posted by: Kalvin00
This is what happens. I would suggest not trying it.

Wow.

I saw an old mechanic try it once. Blew his whole hand right off.

 

[BoomerD]

http://www.aa1car.com/library/retrofit.htm

http://www.allpar.com/eek/ac.html

http://searchwarp.com/swa15436.htm

 

[puffff]

i thought this was 'leet' talk at first... and was like 'put a rieaa into an riz? what does that mean?'

 

[Ronstang]

I'm confused. Your car was originally r12. Your dad put r134a in it at one time. Did he flush the system? The oils are different and not compatible and can cause an explosion. R134a is also a smaller molecule than r12 so if you HAD a small leak with r12 that you did not fix you have an even bigger leak now. R134a is so much smaller than r12 that it will leak right through the older hoses used for r12. They had to develop BARRIER hoses to contain r134a. Even if you have an r12 system with no leaks, flush the system properly, then recharce with r134a and the proper oil but it still has the older style hoses.....the r134a will leak out.

There is a reason only experts should touch an automotive AC system. You need to learn how the system works and how to service it and you need to buy the correct tools....or you should take it to a professional.

 

[AgentJean]

No, you will not cause a hiroshima.

Mixing R134a with R12 will do something even wose.












IT WILL DEPLETE THE OZONE LAYER FASTER!!!!!!!! :Q
Killl yourself now instead of skin cancer 50 years from now!!!!! Save yourself the horror!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[AznMaverick]

Originally posted by: Ronstang
I'm confused. Your car was originally r12. Your dad put r134a in it at one time. Did he flush the system? The oils are different and not compatible and can cause an explosion. R134a is also a smaller molecule than r12 so if you HAD a small leak with r12 that you did not fix you have an even bigger leak now. R134a is so much smaller than r12 that it will leak right through the older hoses used for r12. They had to develop BARRIER hoses to contain r134a. Even if you have an r12 system with no leaks, flush the system properly, then recharce with r134a and the proper oil but it still has the older style hoses.....the r134a will leak out.

There is a reason only experts should touch an automotive AC system. You need to learn how the system works and how to service it and you need to buy the correct tools....or you should take it to a professional.

Yep, it was originally r12 (i have a '93 corolla). about 1.5 years ago he put in the 134a after my air didn't work for a long time. he did not flush the system. the air seemed to work fine for about the 1.5 years i'm planning on refilling again with r134a. too risky even though it was done before?

 

[Ronstang]

If it leaked out you are going to have to find the leak or you are wasting your time. The oils used differ between r134a and r12. If your dad did not flush out and change the oils you have probably done damage to the system and it needs to be gone through by a professional. I'm surprised it even worked as the oils are not compatible. I think you may not have all the information here. Automotive AC is nothing to mess with if you do not know what you are doing and no offense...but your dad sounds like he does not know what he is doing.

 

[Crucial]

If shops didn't charge an arm and a leg and a left nut and your right ear to repair A/C people wouldn't try doing it on their own.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: Crucial
If shops didn't charge an arm and a leg and a left nut and your right ear to repair A/C people wouldn't try doing it on their own.

If it wasn't a bitch and a half and require more knowledge than the average person has, they wouldn't charge so much.

I'm MACS certified and I refuse to do A/C work for less than $100 per hour... which means I don't do any A/C work.

 

[Quasmo]

I believe that a mouse will pop out of it eventually. I suggest you not try it. It happened to someone here before.

 

[Ronstang]

Originally posted by: Crucial
If shops didn't charge an arm and a leg and a left nut and your right ear to repair A/C people wouldn't try doing it on their own.

Doing it on your own is fine, if you take the time to educate yourself and acquire the proper tools. ATOT is not the right place to try and educate yourself and most people who are too cheap to pay to have it done right are also to lazy to learn how to do it properly and are too cheap to buy the equipment....thus they end up with a big mess and a larger repair bill on the backside.

I do my own, have for nearly 30 years....but I took the time to educate myself and I own all the right equipment including a vacuum pump.

 

[Crucial]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: Crucial
If shops didn't charge an arm and a leg and a left nut and your right ear to repair A/C people wouldn't try doing it on their own.

If it wasn't a bitch and a half and require more knowledge than the average person has, they wouldn't charge so much.

It's not rocket science. Really what's so hard about it?

 

[Crucial]

Originally posted by: Ronstang

Originally posted by: Crucial
If shops didn't charge an arm and a leg and a left nut and your right ear to repair A/C people wouldn't try doing it on their own.

Doing it on your own is fine, if you take the time to educate yourself and acquire the proper tools. ATOT is not the right place to try and educate yourself and most people who are too cheap to pay to have it done right are also to lazy to learn how to do it properly and are too cheap to buy the equipment....thus they end up with a big mess and a larger repair bill on the backside.

I do my own, have for nearly 30 years....but I took the time to educate myself and I own all the right equipment including a vacuum pump.

I guess I assume that anyone attempting to work on it has the right tools. At least a set of gauges and a pump. A bad assumpition in retrospect. I am just glad between me and my old man I have most any tools I could need.

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: Crucial
If shops didn't charge an arm and a leg and a left nut and your right ear to repair A/C people wouldn't try doing it on their own.

If it wasn't a bitch and a half and require more knowledge than the average person has, they wouldn't charge so much.

Experience, training, and equipment. All add up to being able to charge for their services. It all costs to obtain, so they have to recoup their expenses by charging an arm & a leg.

Most people feel IT services are WAY overpriced...After all, it's JUST a computer... How much education, training and equipment do you need to work on one of them??? :roll:

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: Crucial

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: Crucial
If shops didn't charge an arm and a leg and a left nut and your right ear to repair A/C people wouldn't try doing it on their own.

If it wasn't a bitch and a half and require more knowledge than the average person has, they wouldn't charge so much.

It's not rocket science. Really what's so hard about it?

Aside from the legal issues around being certified and working on A/C, there are safety issues, and hours of pain in the ass labor to do something like replace an evaporator. You'd be surprised what you find in some A/C systems other than R12 or R143a... propane is probably the most common "substitute."

 

[Ronstang]

Originally posted by: Crucial

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: Crucial
If shops didn't charge an arm and a leg and a left nut and your right ear to repair A/C people wouldn't try doing it on their own.

If it wasn't a bitch and a half and require more knowledge than the average person has, they wouldn't charge so much.

It's not rocket science. Really what's so hard about it?

It is not hard if you have the right knowledge, unfortunately most people are not as smart as they thinik they are and end up making cars worse when they attempt to work on them to save some money....kind of ironic, huh? The proper tools are also not cheap. Have you priced a good vacuum pump lately? Even a decent used one from a pawn shop will run you over $100 and it is my experience that most "do it yourselfers" who are too cheap to pay to have proper repairs are also too cheap to get the righ tools too so all the knowledge in the world still results in a mess.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: Ronstang
If it leaked out you are going to have to find the leak or you are wasting your time. The oils used differ between r134a and r12. If your dad did not flush out and change the oils you have probably done damage to the system and it needs to be gone through by a professional. I'm surprised it even worked as the oils are not compatible. I think you may not have all the information here. Automotive AC is nothing to mess with if you do not know what you are doing and no offense...but your dad sounds like he does not know what he is doing.

Maybe his dad *did* know what he was doing... after all, it worked for 1 1/2 years. You said yourself - if there was a leak, it would leak even quicker with R134a. Here's a thought... maybe when his father who knew nothing about repairing the air conditioning went to the store, he happened to notice - right next to the R134a on the shelf - a box that says "conversion kit for R12 to R134a.. contains everything you need. (which is doesn't - tools...)

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: Ronstang
If it leaked out you are going to have to find the leak or you are wasting your time. The oils used differ between r134a and r12. If your dad did not flush out and change the oils you have probably done damage to the system and it needs to be gone through by a professional. I'm surprised it even worked as the oils are not compatible. I think you may not have all the information here. Automotive AC is nothing to mess with if you do not know what you are doing and no offense...but your dad sounds like he does not know what he is doing.

Maybe his dad *did* know what he was doing... after all, it worked for 1 1/2 years. You said yourself - if there was a leak, it would leak even quicker with R134a. Here's a thought... maybe when his father who knew nothing about repairing the air conditioning went to the store, he happened to notice - right next to the R134a on the shelf - a box that says "conversion kit for R12 to R134a.. contains everything you need. (which is doesn't - tools...)

Even so, without the proper equipment, you can't do the job properly. Proper equipment includes a vacuum pump at the very least. The process of converting an R12 system to R134a isn't always as simple as a box on a shelf. Seals and hoses may have to be replaced. The oil has to be replaced, and to do that you often need to remove the compressor from the car to properly drain it, and possibly disassemble it to replace seals in it.

 

[jarl]

usually the only reason you can or need to add 134a is that the r12 is gone; no explosion expected...
-'course I'm not a licensed mechanic, nor chemist

I added 134a to an r12 and it worked perfectly for years...

if you are low; just get a retro-fit kit...

if adding 134a doesn't work(with a retrofit kit) you already need repairs and replacement (system) anyhow....!!!!!

try the $10-20 kit