R12 Topping Off

How would I know what type my vehicle currently uses? Does it say on the A/C unit? Is there a certain year it switched over? I currently own a 98 s-blazer & 98 K1500. Would these use the R12 or the 134?

Reply to
dcbryan
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All '94-up vehicles in North America use R134a. The refrigerant and oil are called out on the A/C information plate or decal, located near the front of the engine compartment and/or on the compressor body.

-Stern

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

Reply to
dcbryan

Reply to
Mike Levy

There should be a tag on the compressor, if it's still original, showing the factory charge, or possibly on the receiver/dryer. If it has been converted by a shop there should be a label somewhere showing that as well.

Reply to
The Ancient One

I bought a 12oz, (size?), for $18 and change at Checker Auto a while back! Greg

Reply to
Greg O

Show me a legitimate source where I can buy R-12 (in the US) for $10 a can and I'd gladly pay you a nice finders fee. Bob

Reply to
Bob

Most Ebay sellers that sell R12 are legitimate. Just about all of them require you supply a copy of your EPA card before they will ship it this is right in the description. And also these days a lot of brick-and-mortar stores are selling on Ebay and more and more are signing on every day. Where have you been?

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

Just to throw my 2cents in...in Austin at A-Line Auto parts a 12 ounce can goes for $44.95/can. You have to have an IMAC (?) license and a city license as well to purchase it. I'm not a mechanic, I just called to see what the cost and licensing requirements were for fun...OUCH!!! $45 a can? Wow! I think I heard that in Mexico it's a BUNCH cheaper...go figure.

Reply to
Don in Austin Texas

Actually, '93 was the first year some vehicles came from the factory with R134a, and in '94 they all did.

I think you're misremembering your '94 Jimmy.

-Stern

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

Recycled, reclaimed, possibly amonia or who knows what else. I really doubt you are getting virgin R12 south of the border. The last 30# cylinder I purchased was around $700 US, if I remember correctly.

Reply to
pool

Nope, Mike is 100 percent correct. The 94 S series Blazer and Jimmy were R-12, takes 2.5 pounds to charge from empty. However the 94 S Pickups were 134A. The Blazers were still the old body style. This topic came up before and I had to put pictures of the compressor in my wifes 94 online before anyone would believe it.

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and up should all be 134 A though.

Reply to
Steve W.

I am starting to get the feeling I need better security on my shop... I have at last count 4 30 pound and 2 50 pound tanks of R-12 on hand. I also know where I can get a partial (has about 26# in it) for 50 bucks.

Reply to
Steve W.

Don't worry too much since the price of R-12 is slowly dropping. If you can sell/use it to service your customers you better do it soon since the window for maximum profit is closing with all the cheap "drop-ins" and 134A conversions. And, yes, you can get virgin R-12 South of the border for $2.00 a pound.

Rita

Reply to
Rita Ä Berkowitz

They may very well be legitimate but they aren't selling it for $10 a can either. Like I said, if I could find some for that price I'd be all over it. From what I've seen you would be lucky to buy it for twice that. Bob

Reply to
Bob

Not according to my shop. I also distinctly remember the compressor saying R-12 on it. They agreed with the compressor, said that in order to diagnose/repair the system when I had a problem with it it had to be converted so they could ensure it had a full charge, they had no R-12 left. Turns out all I had to replace was a pressure switch, but that's beside the point...

Reply to
Mike Levy

Thank you. I also happen to have a pic of the compressor on that old truck floating around, for the same reason.

Reply to
Mike Levy

You aren't looking very hard then.

Here's a $15 can that didn't get sold:

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Here's a $15 can that did get sold:

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here's another:

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Here's 2 cans that went for $22 for the set:

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Also, if you wait for the wintertime, the stuff gets a lot cheaper on Ebay.

Keep in mind that when the EPA announced they were going to prohibit OTC sales of R12, the stuff was selling for something like $4.95 a can, and a whole lot of people figured the stuff would shoot up to 10-20 times this price, so a whole lot of people ran out and bought cases of the stuff from the local auto parts places and stuck them in the back of the garage, expecting to make a killing.

Then later on when those people had A/C in cars that failed, they tried bringing in their cans to the A/C places and found the A/C shops wouldn't fix their vehicles unless they used their own freon. So the stuff sat.

Now the stuff is almost worthless because the DIY'ers are buying Freeze 12 over the counter and the A/C places want to buy R12 in tanks, and don't give a crap about the cost since they just pass the cost on to their customers. Every summer it's the same thing - as soon as it starts getting hot for a few months then the R12 can sales pick up on Ebay for a while, then after the hot season the market slumps again.

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

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