Anyone else use propane for charging A/C

[press 1 for english]

Has anyone ever thought of using Nitromethane for a refrigerant....those kind of explosions are fun to watch.

 

[press 1 for english]

Not really sure what the Hindenburg disaster have to do with using propane in a automotive air conditioning system especially since the the actual cause of that fire remains unknown but, safe to say, propane was not involved. There are propane based R12 replacements such as Redtek 12 and Duracool. I've not used them but I've spoken to other technicians who have and I've never heard of them being the cause of any type of automotive explosion or fire.

The cause of the Hindenburg fire is unknown????????? The blimp was filled with hydrogen and everyone, almost, knows that hydrogen burns FAST. This thread is a laugh sensation at work!!!!

 

[DFWBII]

Ok. Here is my usage and explanation. I have had 2 vehicles I maintained with propane. Both have functioned excellently.. for my beater of vehicles where when ppurchased it is assumed the a/c wont work, I refuse to pay someone to check it or fill em. I also feel the coleman fuel propane for camping is good enough for these systems as if it doesn't work I am not out anything. The plan all along is to eventually dual fuel the bronco on propane so I will already will have propane on board. So why not. If it leaks slow over winter so what. A quick fill and$ 2.50 later and I have ice cold a/c. I don't see the one pounder bottles going anywhere, but I could fill it out of bbq tank or my 500 gal lp tank for my house. I plan to refill the drive tanks as well so no big deal. I don't recommend anyone doing this, but it can be done regardless of what anyone else says. For me it is a simple decision.

thanks for the good explanation on propane. Im thinking bout converting myself. there's a nat. gas well close to me, 1/4 mile, I can syphon from..got a 100yr lease agreement with Axia/Chesapeak.

 

[Jason]

1978 is way safer than 1203. And 1203 is already in almost every car on the road today.


People that have knowledge of hazardous materials will understand. Those who don't, will spew conjecture and false opinions.

 

[sblake01]

The cause of the Hindenburg fire is unknown????????? The blimp was filled with hydrogen and everyone, almost, knows that hydrogen burns FAST. This thread is a laugh sensation at work!!!!

Okay, I said it wrong. We all know why it burned once it started. What they don't really know is what ignited it. Really a moot point I guess.

 

[press 1 for english]

Okay, I said it wrong. We all know why it burned once it started. What they don't really know is what ignited it. Really a moot point I guess.

This is a little known fact......someone knew the blimp had a hydrogen leak somewhere and went looking for it with a lighter. They found the leak!

 

[tempforce]

the Hindenburg was covered with: powdered aluminum in a mixture along with cellulose butyrate acetate and iron oxide. This mixture burns EXTREMELY easily. one little spark of static electricity and it flashes. after the fire starts, the hydrogen bags burned through, the gas mixed with air and you know the rest of the story...

 

[aspevacek]

People do relize that swapping from R12 to R134 is not just a swap pressure valves and send the car down the road with new refridgerant. You should swap all rubber lines to a barrier type hose. Then all metal lines, condensor, and Evap core should be flashed to ensure all old oil contamination is removed from the system. The compressor also has to be redone in order to make sur eold oil i sremoved.

The other thing to consider is the operating pressures of R12 are a fair amount less then those of R134. I was looking at that new refridgerant to see if we will once again see a jump in operating pressures on the AC systems.

The Freeze 12 type products that are on the market are a propane base. Alot have leak sealer and other things added to them. When I was working in the automotive industry I saw a higher failure rate on compressors in vehicles that had that stuff put into the system versus cars that had never used it. Putting the fire saftey factors to the side for a moment you really need to look at the operating pressures for a given tempature range compared to the original refridgerant.

Just because you saved a few bucks now it could end up costing you alot more down the road.

 

[Northern]

First great tread for a good laugh.

Use propane if you want, just keep you ticking time bomb away from me and off any roads anyone might be driving on.

If you don't have a 608 (TYPE 1,2,3 AND UNI) or a 609 (AUTOMOTIVE) license then leave the HVAC/refrigeration work to the people that do it for a living and know what they are doing.

 

[AllanD]

R290 is a type of propane used as a refrigerant. It is not the same type of propane found in common outdoor grilles...If you want to use R290, make sure you obtain it from the correct sources, not your local gas grille on the back deck
SVT

R290 is simply Propane WITHOUT the odorant added to it.

Propane's explosive limits and flash point are much safer than say... gasoline....

Propane isn't all that easy to ignite intentionally and even harder to ignite accidentally.

"Same kind of propane"?

Propane is a simple alphitic hydrocarbon with three carbons in the chain

Anyone care to guess what substance "R-12 freon" was chosen as a substitute for?

PROPANE.

AD

 

[88ranger2.3]

I still stand by my original posts about using propane in the A/C system as a R12 substitute. I have had good luck with it so far (3 seasons) with a slow leak in the system. I can make it through the summer on one charge of propane. I do understand the risk of having propane in the system, but for me it is not a big deal. I am pretty far along on the V8 swap currently so I am planning on vacuuming the system down and recharging up with propane to seal and pressurize the system for the winter, but will probably vacuum it down next summer again when it gets hot enough to boil out the excess moisture in the system to get it back into the more effective range.

I have been hesitant so far to post any pictures or writeup about it as there has been such a big resistance about using propane.

But for me it is my go to choice. It is kind of nice to have the odorant in the small disposable containers of propane that I use for charging the system. If you have a leak that is enough to be concerned you will know quick.