I got this tank of R134a...

[pinballlooking]

This is way out of my wheel house. But when they added Freon to my AC that is exactly how the tech did mine. He weight it and left it on the scale to know how much he put in. Then he confirmed it was working right with gauges and temps and amp meter.

[WyrTwister]

Originally Posted by Daox

I hit up a few rummage sales last week, and while doing that, I found a place giving away some free stuff. Amongst the pile, I found this:




My questions are basically these: Does R134 go bad? Can I hook this up to a heat pump and use it? It still has the plastic on the valve top, but its obviously old. It says 30 lbs on it, but it does not feel like 30 lbs. Any idea what is this worth if I would try to sell it?

I do have one project I can use it on. I have a friends car that I'm repairing the A/C on. I started it last year, but it was in fall and we put it off until this spring. I'll end up replacing the high pressure side hose and adding more refrigerant. However, I think I'll have a ton left over. I also have a bunch of new 12oz cans to do this job. Details here:

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/geothe...-line-car.html

It does not go bad .

Most residential heat pumps use R22 for older units and R410a for newer units . If so , do not try to use R134a .

Yes , you can use it on newer cars that came with R134a systems . You can retrofit older R12 automotive systems with R134a , but that is another discussion .

God bless
Wyr

[jeff5may]

Originally Posted by AC_Hacker

Haven't worked with these tanks you speak of, but I have used the little green camping gas bottles for recovery.

In the propane gas bottle, there is a small spring-loaded ball valve that keeps the gas in.

In a propane torch head, there is another one, that is located at the end of the part of the torch head assembly that inserts into the gas bottle. When you screw the torch head down, the tip pushes against the ball in the bottle and makes possible the release of propane.

So I performed a ball removal, and removed the ball in the torch assembly, which allowed me to have two-way access to the little tank when the torch assembly was screwed in.

I also removed the torch head and brazed on a Schrader valve (remove valve core before brazing), so it would be compatible with the rest of my equipment. I still have the torch needle valve, which is important to 'blank off' the canister before you unscrew the torch head, and has also been very useful when I used the gas bottle for other operations.

After my recovery operation, use the needle valve to blank off the bottle, then I unscrew the modified headless torch assembly, and the ball valve that is in the green bottle makes the seal.

It's actually easier to make and use than it is to describe.

But it works great.

-AC

With the camping gas cylinders, there are usually two valves. One is in the screw-on fitting that you attach a hose or torch head to, the other is in a refill port on top somewhere. These valves are both schraeders, and can be extracted for use in other places. I know for a fact they will work in auto and home air conditioning access valves. Before getting rid of cylinders, I yank the valve cores out of them with an extractor tool that came in a retrofit kit from the zone (r134 to r12).

[WyrTwister]

Originally Posted by Daox

Next question. How do you meter how much refrigerant you've put into a system with a large tank like this? For instance, the Saturn I'm working on calls for 20oz. Could I weigh the tank before/after or is there an easier way?

Weighing in the refrigerant is the best / most accurate method . And it performs better that hit & miss .

God bless
Wyr