I believe you do not.

Wow, amazing it still holds all the freon in at 25 years old..

Makes sense, R12 is more thermally efficient and no need messing with something that doesn't need it. That having been said, R134 isn't much worse from a thermal standpoint and is plentiful on the shelves . . . for when the time comes. I've converted a bunch over the years and no issues except that "cold" isn't quite as cold as it used to be.

You should do your research before deciding to convert to R-134a.

Mine was converted before I bought it, and I never really have been that thrilled with it. I plan to switch to R-152a the next time the system requires service.

Agree. I was presenting it as an alternative for someday when the R-12 system leaks. In my book, it ends up being a no-brainer as repairs and refills of R-12 is exorbitant at best, and the slight loss of thermal efficiency converting from R-12 to R-134 is nowhere enough to justify the cost of maintaining and repairing an R-12 system.

I agree with this, as soon as I see R152a start to commonly show up on the shelves that'll be where I go too. Very very slightly less thermally efficient than R134a but way better for mother nature and more plentiful ingredients. Should make it less expensive too.

I remember being in awe (back in the 90'*) of my dad spending over $1,000.00 on repairing a leak on his R12 system in his 1981 Bonneville right after I spent ~$45.00 to convert my 1984 LeSabre to R134a . I couldn't convince him otherwise. Both still work and hold pressure fine to this day, but the math still doesn't compute in my head.

R-152a is compressed gas duster, and readily available, although admittedly not for this intended application.

Also, as I understand it, the properties of R-152a are a bit closer to R-12 in the system than that of R-134a.

My complaints are "acceptable" cooling at best, and excessive power draw, which seem to be fairly common complaints.

I remember when we started converting to to 134a..........there were a lot of questions....not all compressors were compatible with 134a, so some conversions needed a compressor.....then there was the question of removing all the mineral oil of R12 systems and installing PAG oil......the first conversions were were horror shows......

Then basically, all that was needed, was suck out the old freon that was left, replace the service valves, drain the oil out of the compressor/replace oil with Pag, and more often than not, that desiccant in the old accumulator was long past it'* useful life, and the accumulator should be replaced(though many weren't)......then suck the life out of the system, to get all the moisture out of it....I would double the normal time......

But if you had R12 in there and did a conversion, there was a difference.....R12 could make you feel like you were in a freezer.......R134a made you feel like you had a low charge of R12......but with the cost of R12 skyrocketting, it was the only sensible thing to do....

Could have sworn Cathedral answered you in the second post.......yeah, we do get chatty at times......thank you for your comments in your last post......you must be fun to work with....

165 minutes, pretty good response time for free advice from folks who kind of know stuff. In my opinion at least.

I suspect this is part of why the bunch of us folks get on here and do this for free.

Ouch. I'm hoping Bandit9976 was just having a bad day, maybe after a long drive without air conditioning. Still:

You're welcome. In fact, I was a bit worried because my schedule was busy and I didn't have time to take out for this for a few days.

I'd have to take issue with this.

Indeed, the question was pretty straightforward, allowing me to answer in just a few minutes after seeing it. I did have to qualify it with "I believe" so as not to accidentally send you on a mission to let all of your freon out because I'm not looking at your exact compressor from decades ago during an era when parts were occasionally changing mid-model year.

Somehow I suspect sarcasm here. The "love to" part. Not the [I have a life] part.

Thanks Bandit! This is our big break! This is a great next step. I spent some time reading but not contributing to the board when it was Bonnevilles only. I was worried that the cool Bonneville kids would stick gum in my hair or something since I'm a Buick nerd. Fortunately, my inaction then kept the Bonneville board'* cool factor high enough to eventually take on other cool brands like Oldsmobile, Saturn, and yes even Buick.

I'm glad now that I can say my actions directly contributed to our big break into an entirely different media format. I hope I get to help name our new show!

Possibly, if they're not too busy making their own competing talk show to try to keep up with us. Knowing those guys you might just get a bunch of folks speaking blasphemy such as "V-10'* RULE!" and "I've got your Ecoboost right here" and "Those headlights aren't upside down!"

If you see this thread on our show, at least kick us a quick email to thank us for that. It will really help our ratings having the Bandit on our show. At least in the Southeast United States region.

Because . . . everybody is watching our show?

I agree, the main question WAS answered in a timely manner. Granted, we did get a little sidetracked from the original question, but it was pertinent to the original topic anyway. It'* not like everyone started talking about cats and dogs. This is why its called a "forum".

If you don't like how we run things here, I will gladly show you the exit permanently.