New spark plugs on the market.

Which brings us around to the original question again: how would a reputable servicer handle this, i.e. evacuate the system? It could ruin a recovery station, and it can't be vented to atmosphere.

I know, a slightly less reputable servicer might, ah, find a slow leak around an O-ring or fitting somewhere and tell the customer to come back in a week. But the question is about a reputable servicer.

My teenagers never ever asked me about driving, never wanted to borrow the car, etc.

Their successors are only teenagers in adjusted cat years.

A shop doing AC service can install a device called a "Removinator" on the hoses to their recovery machine. The Removinator will catch the sealer before it can damage the machine.

I bet some people will think you are joking due to the silly name of the product, but it does exist. Removinator is one brand of sealer trap but there are others.

Of course, anyone who uses A/C sealer is likely prone to using alternate refrigerants which will dilute and contaminate your recovery cylinder during the recovery process. I guess you can technically release hydrocarbon products to atmosphere legally, so it's no big deal.

Toyota MDT in MO

Yup, "Removinator" was the name that came to mind..

Should have been caught by the refrigerant identifier.

Actually, no. Once any refrigerant is installed in a motor vehicle, it falls under section 609 and has to be recovered. If you used peanut butter and jelly, it would have to be recovered by law...

Right, I'm just saying -- what do you do if you can't *use* the A/C machine to recover the alternate product for fear of contamination? Do you have a spare "waste" cylinder for such purposes? I have not run across the situation as of yet.

That's good to know... nice example, too. I need to look into some refresher reading to update that recovery class so many moons ago.

Toyota MDT in MO

Nor have I. We had been fortunate in Wisconsin having some of the most restrictive laws in the country. Regulation at the level comparable to doctors dispensing pain medication... keeps things nice and clean. I know from my readings on i-ATN that there are AC techs that do have separate recovery cylinders for contaminated refrigerant, I also know that there are facilities (even around here) that are equipped to dispose of contaminated refrigerant in a safe and legal manner. Naturally, this is a market niche that commands a premium price which is passed on to the consumer and hopefully negates any "savings" that my have attempted to achieve.

Last summer the state experimented with allowing small quantities of refrigerants to be sold over the counter (since sun setted) this -act- prompted me to purchase the necessary defenses to protect my equipment, extra steps, extra costs, all born by the consumer.

I should have also noted that pure Nitrogen used for leak testing is exempt from the recovery requirement.

The above does point out the fallacy of HC refrigerants though...

Thanks for the wisdom. Now to bring the original topic back on track: I get 45 mpg better performance on average with Bosch 5 electrode septuple-platinum plugs that with OE. HTH,

Toyota MDT in MO

There are filter gadgets that you can stick in the line that will scavenge heavy gunk (like sealers and bad oil).

--scott

Right- laws aren't always particularly intelligently written. That's why you HAVE to recover R-134a that is in a car air conditioner, but you can go to Office Depot and buy 200 bottles of "Dust Off" to clean your computer fans, or go to an electronics shop and buy 200 bottles of "Freeze-It" used to chill semiconductors to find ones that quit working when hot and vent them into your office all day. Both of those (especially the freeze sprays) are usually R-134a, the same chemical used in car air conditioners.

Its enough to make a rational person think the EPA is full of loonies.

loonies,,,, Fragile Warrior in the alt.gossip.celebrities newsgroup coined a word for loonies, F' loons. cuhulin

I've seen that a lot, but my can of Falcon Dust-Off contains

1,1-Difluoroethane, CAS #75-37-4, which is R-152a. Not that it doesn't make a fine refrigerant in its own light, with a boiling point of -27C. Not that it isn't chemically similar to R-134a, it is. Just a data point.

I'd heard that claim about the duster cans a number of times, the ones I've seen at Office Max and Office Depot were not R-134a.

I quit fighting the rules decades ago, too much risk...

Back in the 70s and 80s when we used to just let the R-12 fly, I remember thinking what a waste it was.

I've more or less quit too, but they'll be kicking dirt over me when I stop calling the stoopid rules stoopid rules.

and these folks want $24.95 per plug ...

for my Z28, that's only $200 for a set :)

Dusters are a mixed bag- R-134a, R-152a, some even have CO2 blends IIRC, but usually there's something that liquifies easily so that you can pack more into a spray can. Isobutane is tempting, but flammable so I doubt its ever used in dusters.

All the "freeze-it" type sprays I've seen lately, though, are R-134a.

I have taken my little WebTV battery powered wireless Philips Magnavox keyboard apart numerous times before to clean the crud out and doggy's dog hairs out of there.I use an old Sears electric blower to blow the crud out and I put a few drops of Armor All in a dish and I use a tooth pick to lube the little tabs under my keyboard's keys before I stick them back on there.It works great. cuhulin ........................... As seen on WebTV ...........................