wanted: someone who can work on a R12 system in College Station area.

raydav

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If you got your propane from, say, a barbecue tank(5 gallon), remember: it's LPG, not propane.
The difference is that LPG is a mixture of propane, butane and a couple other things. Depending on the time of the year you get your tank filled, the mix varies a bit.
Which is why it isn't much different from envirosafe...

It is the typical barbecue/RV tank. I have several. I had it either filled or topped off at Tractor Supply.

Envirosafe has worked well for me. I just ordered two 30#. Might that be a waste of money? What might be my worst case result running my "barbecue gas"?
 

raydav

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Some "snoop" would probably work better. I would bet it has to do with the surface being oily. The soap won't exactly stick to it like it should.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

A leak makes bubbles and they pop. Soap bubbles are constantly popping without a leak. It takes a big leak to be able to see a difference.

A water tank is the ultimate check. But that requires a bunch of matting fittings to be able to pressurize the parts.
 

DrCharles

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I'd be reluctant to use water in an a/c system, unless you are really confident that you can remove ALL the water by purging and long, deep vacuum. The typical dryer can only hold a few cc's of water before it's saturated and useless! A few oz. of refrigerant with a suitable hand-held detector is as sensitive as anyone needs...

Regarding barbecue gas, the problem as already noted is that the propane/butane/other HC ratio is not consistent. Also they are known to contain moisture and other contaminants. The Envirosafe is more expensive than LPG from the corner store, sure, but three cans ($20 shipped) is all you need to charge most vehicles and it's clean, dry and has the same gases every time. It's even cheaper in larger quantities.
 

Thewespaul

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Yea. Someone thought the only fix for an R12 system was to convert to R134. My position is, don't. Just fix and charge with HC.
Haha I know, just funny how threads can go off the train rails. Good info in this thread though.
 

79jasper

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A leak makes bubbles and they pop. Soap bubbles are constantly popping without a leak. It takes a big leak to be able to see a difference.

A water tank is the ultimate check. But that requires a bunch of matting fittings to be able to pressurize the parts.
"Can lead a horse to water, but can't make it drink."

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
 

Booyah45828

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I long ago went to HC.

Will nitrogen show a small leak quicker than air?

How good is nitrogen at distributing dye?

You don't run the system with the nitrogen. You can, I just don't. It's more of a set it to 100 psi, and come back after a while and see what the gauge says. Any leaks will show on the gauges, you then use soap water to find them. Idk what you consider a small leak, but I've found leaks in systems that last months on a charge with soapy water.

Nitrogen is cheaper then constantly charging with refrigerant looking for a leak. Most shops will already have it for their evap emissions equipment, and it's environmentally responsible compared to using refrigerant to find a leak.

The reason nitrogen is used is because most shop air isn't dried, and any moisture will wreck a system with r134a.
 

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