Air-con refill adaptors

[Andy_J]

I have been trying to get the aircon on my red Elan recharged, but all the local places don't seem to have the correct fittings to connect to my aircon.

It seems that the Elan aircon is set-up for R12 refrigerant which is now illegal. However I have been informed that you can use R134a refrigerant, which is not illegal.

It seems i need to fit some adaptors to the recharge points on the aircon, before i can refill with R134a as the connections are different.

Can anyone advise what fittings i need and where I can get them from?

Thanks

Andy

[smilerbaker]

http://www.carairconditioningsupplies.c ... t=6&page=1

[rip]

I seem to recall reading that R134a is not a very efficient refridgerant compared to R12 so be prepared for a drop in aircon performance.

[tweetdriver63]

There is also something called "Freeze 12" that is a legal R12 substitute, with no modifications needed. I don't know how well it works compared to the original R12 or R134a. Has anybody tried the stuff? You can get it at multiple online sources, and it comes in a kit that includes the necessary lines to connect to your R12 system.

[GeoffSmith]

There is also something called "Freeze 12" that is a legal R12 substitute, with no modifications needed. I don't know how well it works compared to the original R12 or R134a. Has anybody tried the stuff? You can get it at multiple online sources, and it comes in a kit that includes the necessary lines to connect to your R12 system.

You might run into someone who wants to replace your R12 with "FR-12" or "Freeze-12" or "Frigc." These three (and several others) are simply 134a with an additive that makes it slightly less violently incompatible with mineral oil. RUN.

You might also get someone who wants to put OZ-12 or HC-12 into the system. These two are blends of isobutane and isopropane. They work very well in R-12 systems, and have no oil incompatibility problems. BUT, they are flammable. To what degree this concerns you is an individual matter.

[Andy_J]

I have been warned off using anything but R134a in an r12 system by the guys on autobahnstormers when I was looking to get that refilled. (NB I can't swipe the carlton adaptors).

I am not wanting to go the DIY route as the system has been opened when I pulled the turbo off earlier this year, so i will need a vacume pulled on the system as well as a regass

[smilerbaker]

I seem to recall reading that R134a is not a very efficient refridgerant compared to R12 so be prepared for a drop in aircon performance.

thats very true, one on my previous cars had r12 and the air that came out was literally freezing, then it was replaced with r134a and is was more a cool breeze

[tweetdriver63]

Sometimes I've felt that way about the 134a, too (not as cold), but I went to an SCCA Nationals event in Blytheville Arkansas about a month ago to see an old friend who was racing. It was very hot and humid (enough that I got a killer headache from being in the Sun so much, despite constantly drinking water or Gatorade). During the 10 minute drive from the airfield, where the event was, to the hotel they were all staying in, my AC got so cold I almost turned it off.

[knoxmotorsports]

most older R12 systems require adapters so that the newer R134a equipment can connect to the pipes. the newer equipment uses quick connects very similar to those found on shop air tools. it is possible to get these adapters cheaply ($5-10 at the parts store) from places such as Napa or Autozone here in the US. in the UK, i'm not sure where to find them.

I have used freeze 12 with great success in my miata, blows darn near as cold as R12 did. I also have roughly 20 cans of R12 sitting in a box in case someone doesn't want to go to the trouble of converting to a newer r134a setup, but the freeze 12 is so cheap that i don't even bother using R12 anymore.

one thing you must be careful of is that R12 and R134a molecules are not the same size, and therefore, in addition to using a different system lubricant (be it pag or ester or whatever, haven't opened the Lotus system up yet), and requiring a complete system flush out, you will need to switch to R134a o-rings at each pipe joint (being sure to lube them well), otherwise the R134a freon will just seep out of all the joints. most a/c shops do this as routine procedures, so while the cost may be high initially, subsequent refills and maintenance will be lower in the long run.

[Andy_J]

There are places in the UK where I can get the adaptors, but at the moment I don't know what size adaptors to get. so any advice on the size of adaptors would be much apreciated