R-12 Refrigerant

Evening all.

I am looking for 2 or 3 cans of R-12 Refrigerant. There are a lot of brands floating around online/ebay/etc. ie. Interdynamics, Weitron, Ig-Lo…

Before I pick one out of the blue, do you have any recommendations on brands that are best for an original AC in a 69. Can you refer me to a reputable dealers/suppliers in US or Canada?

Thanks

R-12 is banned in Canada for automotive use, so you will not find it there.

You may (or may not) already know that you have to have certification in R-12 recycling and service procedures in order to buy R-12. Having said that, not all sellers (at least on ebay) will actually make you produce this certification (although most have wording in their auctions about this requirement). I have bought from vendors with policies (for completing the transaction) of both types.

As for what brand to buy, I’d say any kind is fine, just make sure you aren’t buying the cans with mostly dye or oil charge (unless you want that), buy the just Freon ones. Oh, and I would not buy the any of the R-12 substitutes either.

Thanks…just got 2 cans of IG-LO R-12. +COOL+

That’s a fine brand. I don’t think two cans are enough for an empty system though - but close. The compressor tag says 1-3/4 lbs. which is 28 oz.

The IG-LO cans are 14 oz each. Assuming there have been no leaks, I am hoping I can fill it! Cheers!

Oh yeah, forgot some are 14 oz. Perfect!

If you vacuum the system for several hours before filling it you should be able to get by with just two cans. In the old days we used to flush the system with Freon before charging to remove all the air. You would use a half can just doing that. That was wasteful, but when Freon was 99 cents a can it did not seem TOO wasteful.

For the cost of a new dryer, why not convert? Cools the same, I speak from experience.

Best of luck,
rcode

R12 is much more efficient at transferring heat. So performance wise it is far better.


Point taken Royce. R-12 is about $40 for 14oz, vs $90 for a 30lb can of 134 in these parts. 12 defintely disapates heat quicker but a properly operating 134 system catches up in minutes. Not worth the expense inmo. I even have the factory caps on mine.

Couldn’t you overcome the difference with a larger condenser?

I converted Pole Cat this year with a new drier after I rebuilt the York compressor over the winter. Works great, except, I have a leak somewhere that I’m trying to find as I loose the charge. When I looked into getting R12 around here they wanted an arm and a leg so I just said screw it and converted.

I believe

Yes.

Sadly, my compressor is leaking so it will need to be rebuilt. This one is beyond my scope of knowledge…any advice on this rebuild? Does the Cougar community have someone who does this exclusively?

Scott,
If you don’t find someone local. Classic Auto Air can rebuild it. He is also a Cougar owner.
http://www.classicautoair.com/index.html

Hey Scott, rebuilt my compressor over the winter and it actually is quite easy. Now I say that with reservations because I am used to rebuilding things as I am in the machine tool business. Just so you know and can make a informed decision, there are very few moving parts, one crank shaft, two pistons with one square ring each, two bearings and that’s it. The valves are basically thin metal flex plates held together by bolts and that is all there is to them. So I’m not trying to talk you into doing anything you don’t want to do, I just wanted to let you know what rebuilding involves.

I was at Caterpillar Aurora yesterday helping with their spline roller and know you need your AC. Classic auto air has been very good with my questions as well, I talked to them last week in regard to my leak problem and they are swamped as you can imagine. It looks like I have found my leak which was actually one of my hoses letting the charge permeate through the hose casing. Good luck.

I bought all my R12 back in the late 1980’s. It cost me something like $3 per 14 oz can and the cylinders that I bought were $30 per 20 pound cylinder. I won’t ever need to buy any R12 or R134 which is also going up in price and will eventually be illegal.


Thanks Gary.

I spoke with Classic Auto Air yesterday and we both agreed that I will swap out mine with a York compressor from them, which will give me some time to rebuild my original. No sense waiting weeks for them to rebuild it when it’s 92 degrees in Chicago and I am sweating in my Black Cat. :open_mouth:

I’ll be sure to add some pics when the work is done…