propane in the A/C system

[Mac]

just a heads up, i talked to a mechanic about it and he said that himself, and most shops, won't even touch a car if propane has been added into the system. so if you ever decide to try it out, and your system stops working for whatever reason, you'll be stuck without A/C, unless you replace pretty much everything so that if a A/C machine is hooked up, it won't detect the propane in the system, or traces thereof.

[Typrus]

I still don't see why.
You'd think the gasoline in the system, or the toxic pressurized gas in the A/C or one of the other toxic substances like, oh, say, carcinogenic used oil might scare them.
Ever used a propane grill? How about a propane oven or range? Heaven forbid you used a propane torch to detect vacuum leaks.

Maybe its just me.
I'd be more afraid of the lubricating oil catching fire in the event of a blow-out. Seeing as how, oh gee, that almost happened to me. Had that manifold been hotter than just idling, I would not have my Terc I'm fairly convinced.

I'm more afraid of the exhaust leaking from every joint of my system (thus why I refuse to drive it until I get my blower unit back in.... Which I won't do until the expansion valve and hi-press switch arrive)


Sissies. I bet they're too afraid to work on RV's too.


Oh well. Again, personal opinion. Mayhap I'm just subconsciously suicidal. Or don't see so much of a risk. lol.

So remind me how an RV fridge can run on propane without electricity....? Ours does it. I don't remember how that was explained.

[takza]

So remind me how an RV fridge can run on propane without electricity....? Ours does it. I don't remember how that was explained.

http://home.howstuffworks.com/refrigerator5.htm

[Typrus]

Nifty.

But still, RV's have a rather impressive propane set running around. Stove, Oven, Heater, Water Heater, Fridge. Some I believe can power Gen-sets with it.

[Mac]

don't shoot the messenger typrus.

I think his beef was something to do with having a flammable substance in his A/C machine that isn't designed to have a flammable substance in it.

[Typrus]

Meh. Maybe.
I dunno. I'd say go propane because you can do your own work, and its not illegal to vent it.

[red91sit]

It's fine to vent to the atmosphere... but it is illegal to replace refrigerant with... Hmmmmm dumb dumb dumb...

[CathodeRayTube]

I resurrected my 92 corollas AC with propane and it works...satisfactorily...when i first fill it up it works great...but i think i still have a slow leak...still better than converting it to 134a..

[splatterdog]

Augh! Don't put flammables in your ac! R12 can be found on c-list and ebay pretty cheap for small amounts. Why would you try to re-engineer that system?

I would retro it to 134 before any hydrocarbon entered my system. I still wouldn't do that.

RV's are built for propane. And their fridges have some very nasty ammonia for refrigerant.

You could always come see me. I still have plenty of freon. Unless you have already fueled your system.

The new "freon"http://www.xing.com/net/ecosolutions/id ... -28164254/ coming is also flammable and potentially toxic and far more expensive. But I guess that's safe as long as profits are up in the name of global warming.

[CathodeRayTube]

Hydrocarbon refrigerants have been used in europe in automotive applications for decades now with no ill affects. The only reason we dont do it here is the asinine US laws regarding it (actually you can legally convert a 134a system to propane, but not an r12 system). there is simply not enought in the system to cause any significant explosion either. Anybody who is quick to say "ohhhh nooo, flammables in your AC system, booga booga evil blah blah" is either jumping to conclusions or is ignorant and hasn't considered any realistic situation...

I researched this long and hard before i decided to do it with my system. its perfectly safe if you use basic caution when installing it and common sense tells you there is very little risk associated with using it.

[splatterdog]

I wasn't aware of that. I was under the impression they used R12 and R134a like the USA. There's plenty of use of flammable refrigerants. But typically limited to industrial type use where exposure to humans would be minimized. And also used in equipment designed specifically for HC's.

The "freons" are only flammable when aerosolized oil from a sudden leak under high pressure happens. Propane/butane doesn't need that kind of help. As far as performance, there are also concerns on how some of these blends react with the system, as far as previous refrigerant and their oils. Different components of the blend can leak out at different rates also.

It sounds like you just keep dumping it in a leaky system too. Doesn't sound wise to me no matter what you use.

You could always try sealant too, but I wouldn't recommend that either.