R12 Air Con coming soon :)
 

Hi all!

I've been retrofitting air-con to my Bluebird. I have all the parts needed, and have had them pressure tested etc. I have the o-rings, all I need are a few screws from another car, and the compressor mounting, then I am good to go!

However... I spoke to the guy at the air-con shop today, and he has noted that my car has one of the first ever variable displacement compressors (not bad for 1989!). This does, unfortunately, mean that if I put R134a into the system, then it will probably kill the pump.

He does, however, have some R12, recovered from other cars, which can go into my system. So I'm going to have Freon in my car :) It lasts 100 years, destroys the ozone layer (no problem since there is almost nothing left over NZ anyway), and is worth about 8100kg of CO2 per kg of R12 in terms of global warming potential (and it lasts 100 years too).

R134a doesn't destroy the ozone layer, but is still worth about 1300kg of CO2 per kg of R134a.

The longer term plans are to give the R12 back, and then replace it with this:

https://www.hychill.com.au/products/
(click on 'HR12').

If anyone needs advice on retrofitting air-con, reply to this thread, and I will share my experiences!

I've converted 3 R12 to R134 ACs and have yet to destroy a compressor.

yea, but his mechanic said he had an unusual compresser. they aren't all created equal.

As long as you don't vent it to the atmosphere R12 is just as harmless as R134 and works a lot better at cooling the car. Just make sure al the connections aren't leaking and don't crack the bolts or hoses loose during regular maintenance. If anyone asks, it came with the car and you've never changed it ;-)

I've converted my R12 system to Duracool, which is another hydrocarbon based refrigerant... Works great.

just remember to keep your a/c system in good shape, something new cars do to help in this is every time you start the car it turns the a/c on for a few minutes to keep the seals lubed, and all the parts moving, it's what is recomended in the owners manual as well, to run the a/c once a month to keep it from getting run down.
so if you are starting with all new seals, then you should be fine.

I was phoning around today.

The R12 won't be in my system for long :) I have found a source of Hychill HR12 gas, and it is pretty cheap. So, this is what will be going into my car. Although I will probably run with R12 for a few weeks to fully test out the aircon!

Matt

I love R12 - it's all I have ever used in my Civic.