Actually bowman.. you are wrong.. my dad hardly knew anything about it.. It has been a good 20 years since he's did refrigeration.. And he mainly did cars.. like his own car AC and stuff.. took it apart.. rebuilt it.. etc.. So he has pretty much forgot everything.. We are talking about doing the AC in our ford taurus wagon.. which we nick named The Boat.. it's a POS.. ANyway the R-12 leaked out.. so he wants to work with me on getting the system filled with 134a or maybe R-406B if I get my green card..
He even set the hoses up wrong.. like putting the little needle valve push that is in the one end of the hose on the gauge instead of on the shrader valve.. etc.. heh.. He showed me the very basics.. I learned all of it by myself.. I haven't even read 1 refrigeration book heh..
But you are right about the gauges.. I should of clarified that.. THe ones you will buy at auto zone .. etc.. will all be 134a gauges.. Just stay away from 134a completely.. it's horrible... You all remember the problems I was having last night?
Since I have filled with propane today I have had NO problems at all.. I am seeing temps below -34F.. and they fall.. and they stay there.. not like last night.. bobbling back and forth.. propane is a really good refrigerant.. it's a mans refrigerant.. R-134a is for girls...
Be aware though.. PROPANE IS FLAMMABLE AND VERY MUCH SO EXPLOSIVE!
My compressor has been running all day at a good 180F+ with no problems.. same with my high side line.. Propane is perfectly stable at those temps as long as there are no leaks in your system.
When you fill with propane.. do it slowly at first.. You never know what "might" pop up.. R-134a IS PROPANE.. with a ton of shitty additives to make it heavier.. non-flammable.. etc.. but adding all of these other chemicals makes the boiling point of 134a only -15F .. Pure propane isn't an issue when it comes to filling your system.. just use common sense..
Plus propane has a HUGE price to quantity advantage over 134a.. I used a LOT of 134a.. atleast 10 12oz cans.. I've put out well over 25 dollars on that shit.. I took the propane tank off of our grill.. 20lb tank I believe.. Been using it all day.. filled my system now 3 times.. blow a bunch of the propane out.. still got plenty left.. Cost to fill that tank - 10 dollars..
If you are afraid of the propane going bang .. then slip a bit of 134a in your system once you fill it with propane.. The 134a will make the propane less flammable.. You might even get colder temps.. I doubt it though.. You will most likely go up a few degree's F.
Anyway.. I hope I helped some of you along.. I was scared of using propane today for the obvious reason.. But after F'in with it all day long.. I found that it's not so scary after all.. Oh, when you are filling your system.. don't be smoking a cig.. or a joint
