I own a 1989 honda prelude and the air conditioning needs re-charging. I have r-12, a manifold gauge set and a leak detector.

Is there any other tools I need?
Do you put in vapor or liquid?

Thanks

 

my friend bought a kit the other day for like $15 at target to recharge his ac.

chris

 

Correct me if I'm wrong?!? But I'm pretty sure that R-12 refridgerant should have been phased out Jan 1 of this year! I was told that it is ILLEGAL to manufacture, sell, import or even use R-12! And suprisingly, the consequences are pretty hefty if caught!

 

It is not illegal to sell R-12. It is illegal to manufacture R-12 or to drain it out of a system without a reclamation system. You need a license to purchase R-12. To obtain it you have to take an exam and pay your fee (IIRC, $50). You can purchase R-12 readily over Ebay (they'll ask for your license #) and elsewhere.

There are a few alternate refrigerants compatible with R-12, but many are flamable. R-134 is not compatible since the oil used in the 2 systems are incompatible. Also, the head pressure for R-134 is higher, so many people feel the compressor life is adversely affected by converting an R-12 system to R-134.

Ozzie

 

I just took Refridgerant Licensing course earlier this month. I'm 100% sure that it is illegal to use R-12 in Canada. Any cars coming in the shop for a A/C problem and it was equipped with R-12, must be retrofitted (if the customer wants A/C that is). Did the US pull out of the Koyoto Protocol?

 

Going to 134-a is a stupid thing. R-12 cools faster and gets colder. All the EPA is concerned about is the ozone layer. The hole (supposidely) in it is like, 1/10,000 of an inch. How could you find that in the sky. You could barely find that with a microscope here on earth

 

You also have to remember that the R-12/Ozone link hasn't been backed up by science since the ban. Turns out that Chloroflourocarbons don't have too much to do with the Ozone Hole. The hole has existed on and off for thousands of years...
Another environmentalist lie....

(I'm all for conservation, and not wasting resources, but garbage like Kyoto that has almost no scientific backing really gets me going. )

JonasM

 

I totally agree with Jonas!
Joe

 

There is an R-12 replacement that is 100% compatible with both R-12 and R-134.

I'm going to get some to use in my 91 Si. My father-in-law uses it in his R-12 tractor and says it cools much better than R-12. I have no personal experience with the product, though.

http://www.freezonerb276.com/freezone.html

Ozzie