So I have been running a mix of R290 & R600a in my A/C system

[BR3]

That reading was taken at fan speed 4,truck speed 70. Actually had no idea that just the little silver scent warning would acid up like 134a. Every side affect of acid I was aware of due to the fact its the same from 134a and the function/build of the sanden compressor.
I'm defiantly going to swap it out now knowing this, I was planning on it anyway because the higher efficiency of isobutane mix,but daytonabill's tidbit is just fuel to the fire. I'm not worried about system failure at all though, the compressor,acc, orifice tube,valves, orings... Are literally brand new, just ran a few times with this set up.
Daytonabill,I noticed you said in an earlier post you are in Nashville, are you still here? Im actually in Mount Juliet

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[BR3]

Oh, and I don't know what cpdenton on used, but I used the foil backed foam tape double layered. Super easy to install on solid parts, and works great. For the lines rubber pipe insulation works great too

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[DaytonaBill]

Daytonabill,I noticed you said in an earlier post you are in Nashville, are you still here? Im actually in Mount Juliet

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Sorry about that, work is really busy...

Um, no. I'm back in FL.

I was in Nashville, just for that summer, to work on the new Music City convention center. Pretty big, eh? Three city blocks and at the time, it was the biggest job site in twenty states. It was actually 7 stories tall, if you count the multiple parking and basements underneath.

I worked 2nd shift on the high exterior ceilings using a boom lift reaching almost 150 feet up in the air...

Whee! I watched the July 4th fireworks from way up there. Pretty cool.

Here's some pictures... Enjoy

Ok, back from the thread drift.

This is where I was working 2nd shift, when it was already 105 when I left the house to start the 3 o'clock shift (that sounded weird). By the time I drove a few miles to the job, my A/C was blowing a chilly 45 degrees from the vents on full blast! That's a 60 degree temp drop! I don't think R-134A can do that! Heh!

 

[cpdenton]

I insulated with this.

http://t.homedepot.com/p/Frost-King...ck-Foam-Foil-Duct-Insulation-FV516/100028603/

Frost king self adhesive duct insulation.

My air blows very cold on 134, but I can't seem to get enough air to blow from the fan. I am on the search for a better blower motor. Already tried a crown Vic fan, with no change. Cleaned all the evaporator and heater core. Checked all the ductwork...etc...

 

[DaytonaBill]

Thanks cpdenton and BR3! I'm going to check it out. I know that would be worth a ten degree drop at least...

 

[sassyrel]

That's why I switched to a propane/isobutane blend in the summer of 2009.

R-290 (European CARE® 40) is Propane and R-600A (European CARE® 10) is Isobutane. Yep, they use the stuff in cars, in Europe AND Australia!!! Long story...

Btw, if you use any hydrocarbon refrigerant like this, you have to tell the A/C service guy or he will kick your ass for letting him ruin his expensive recycling machine!

I once got 45 degrees out of the vents, full fan, with outside temps running 105 degrees in Nashville, TN., July of 2012...

I've been playing with the stuff for a long time, back when R-134A was a buck per can...

Heh, once it was 42 outside and within a minute I had vent temps of 5.6 degrees @ full fan...

There are two things you have to watch for whenever you use refrigerants that were not specified for our systems...

High head pressures in hot weather... (R-134A is notorious for this)

Adequate oil mist circulation throughout the entire system...

Those two reasons are why I picked the propane/isobutane blend. Propane will not carry the oil mist, it just drops out... But with the addition of the isobutane @ 60% Propane/40% Isobutane ratio, it works better than R-12 and my system is designed for R-12.

Btw, this blend I buy does not have the rotten egg (sulfur) smell additive (Mercaptin), it is actually, if you will, a pharmaceutical grade. It is high quality gases and there's nothing in it that would cause corrosive acid to form within the system, which regular propane would do.

So don't get the idea to use just any old propane, it won't carry the oil mist and will corrode your hard lines and the condenser and evaporator, not to mention the compressor...

I'm using the

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Industrial ES-134A Replacement Refrigerant, it used to be called ES-12, but they had to change the name because of a conflict with the EPA Snap rules concerning R-12 drop in replacements. You can get it in 30, 50 and 1000 lb cylinders.

Carry on, fellow experimenter...

whooooeee,, that stuff is way more cost than 134a!!

 

[DaytonaBill]

Not really...

One can with 12 ounces of R-134A from Advance Auto is $12.99.

One can of ES-Industrial R-134A with 6 ozs (the equivalent of 12 ozs of R-134A due to it's superior properties) is $6.00.

If you want to go by just weight alone, the ES-134A is still $1.00 per ounce.

The R-134A from Advance Auto is $1.0825 per ounce.

If you were to make both cans the same weight, 12 ozs, the R-134A would still be $.99 ($1) higher!

Yup, the other stuff is actually cheaper both in terms of weight and performance..

Propane is cheaper!

 

[DaytonaBill]

My air blows very cold on 134, but I can't seem to get enough air to blow from the fan. I am on the search for a better blower motor. Already tried a crown Vic fan, with no change. Cleaned all the evaporator and heater core. Checked all the ductwork...etc...

Have you tried a fused switchable direct circuit from the battery straight to the fan? I betcha you will find a new high setting!

On another note, I got the Frost King Insulation and was wondering if you applied it directly on the "junk" or if you used a little contact spray to 'help' it stick longer?

 

[cpdenton]

I just cleaned the "junk" well to make sure all the dust was off. That stuff is very sticky and shouldn't need any help sticking.

Going to try the high relays to see if I can get all the juice to the blower motor next.

I insulated the ductwork behind the dash with mine as well.

 

[BR3]

Yea that building is a pretty cool sight. Apparently they actually have grass growing and bees on top of it now. Its a regular farm on the rooftop of a building downtown and it's very similar to what I did as far as my insulation goes I used regular pipe insulation( closed cell foam) on every cold pipe and the same stick on tape insulation that CP used. The only difference is that I actually didn't clean hardly anything, just let it stick ong enough for me to be able to use duct work style foil tape to fix the gaps and actually secure everything.it ended up looking super clean, and with the foil tape every individual component almost has his own insulation shell if you will. Although I can't say how much it actually dropped my overall temperature individually because I did my entire conversion at once. Going from mid fifties to almost 30 in one fell swoop

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[BR3]

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[FoolhardyIDI]

On to my next test R152a. I started with the orange .057 orifice tube. Got ok readings. Then Tried the Red .062 orifice tube. Got better reading. 58 at idle and 48 driving. Then moved onto the Blue .067 orifice tube and go the best readings. 50 degrees at idle and 38 degrees while driving around town. I think I will stick with the R152a for a while and do some more test next summer with the ac system.

 

[BR3]

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[sassyrel]

Not really...

One can with 12 ounces of R-134A from Advance Auto is $12.99.

One can of ES-Industrial R-134A with 6 ozs (the equivalent of 12 ozs of R-134A due to it's superior properties) is $6.00.

If you want to go by just weight alone, the ES-134A is still $1.00 per ounce.

The R-134A from Advance Auto is $1.0825 per ounce.

If you were to make both cans the same weight, 12 ozs, the R-134A would still be $.99 ($1) higher!

Yup, the other stuff is actually cheaper both in terms of weight and performance..

Propane is cheaper!

round here,134A, is $90 a 30 lb drum. the one place I looked,, a 30 of es was 164.00!!!

 

[DaytonaBill]

round here,134A, is $90 a 30 lb drum. the one place I looked,, a 30 of es was 164.00!!!

The ES dealer sells ES-134A (blend of R-290 and R-600A) for $140, sells 30# bottles (cylinder) of R-134A for $87.50 and it's new ****** refrigerant, NOT recycled...