seeking Air Conditioning advice

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Bryan P
Posts: 319
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2002 2:59 pm

seeking Air Conditioning advice

Post by Bryan P »

I've been avoiding it for years, but it is time I got my AC working in the queen so that at least my right knee stays cool. The PO had run it w/ no oil in the compressor . . .

So I have a new compressor but don't know anything about the relative health of the rest of the system. I know, at a minimum, I need to get a new dryer.

I have a lot of questions - Is the legal freon replacement, R134a, the only alternative?
If I go with R134a, does the expansion valve need to be replaced before the system is re-charged and pressurized?
Do all the seals in the system need to be changed out if the last cooling agent was freon?
I have read that R134a is hard on compressors because it requires higher pressure, and that some folks swear by someting called Duracool. Is the part about the compressors true? Is Duracool the panacea or just snake-oil?

Does the group have any other advice/suggestions re: getting a defunct AC system running again? I understand that these systems in 1960s Ferraris are not very good even when they are running properly - that there is inadequate cfm. I'll address that problem another day - for now I just need to get some cool air blowing since we're on the verge of our mid-atlantic/VietNam weather.

thanks in advance
Ruedi
Posts: 50
Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2003 4:02 am

Post by Ruedi »

An interesting topic.

Although I have no direct advice or experience, I suggest the following reading (if you have not already done so):

Automotive conversion to R134a:
http://teamchicago.com/imperial/imp-ac.htm

A search on http://www.epa.gov/ for "HFC-134a" revealed quite a few results, including one that refers to the legal status of Duracool:
http://www.epa.gov/ozone/snap/refrigerants/hc-12a.html

I get the impressin that you've done soem reserach but I hope this helps in any way.

Cheers,

Ruedi
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