R134a to R123yf

[Steve and Denise]

Our air cab con on our Carthago is not cooling as it should 2018 I gather from the age it will have the later twice the price R123yf gas in the system can this be replaced with the standard R134a ? Silkcut1105

 

[EuroTrotters]

what does it say under the bonnet ? R134a?.

Whilst it was registered 2018, may have been manufactured earlier .

 

[tonka]

Just for info... I recently purchased a kit online and did a regas on my car.. Seems to be ok..
Took a gamble that i didnt have a leak anywhere..
Kit £60 (R1234YF) local garages all wanted around £120.

Thompsons Ltd | Car Aircon R1234yf Compatible Refrigerant x1 + Filling Hose & Gauge Kit

www.thompsonsltd.co.uk

 

[Steve and Denise]

what does it say under the bonnet ? R134a?.

Whilst it was registered 2018, may have been manufactured earlier .

I can’t find any labels at all being an a class not much of the original front left

 

[Guigsy]

I think the gases are slightly different in the temperatures they evaporate at, the pressure to compress, the amount of heat they can carry and the viscosity. They are roughly compatible, but it'll probably shorten the life of your compressor.

The other thing is that the older stuff is about 1000 times worse for the environment. Hence the reason for the switch. I'm not sure about the legality of switching. Probably similar to removing diesel emissions kit.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[EuroTrotters]

Can you see the gauge connector taps ? . If so, remove the caps and post a photo. I can tell from that

 

[Steve and Denise]

But there is another valve up on the bulk head that is 16mm but difficult to get to but I have checked with Iveco and they say it should be R134a from what they can tell
Can you see the gauge connector taps ? . If so, remove the caps and post a photo. I can tell from that

This is the valve on the front of the van

 

[Guigsy]

This is the valve on the front of the van

If it is completely empty and you do re-gas yourself, I suggest you change the valve core (schrader?) inside the high and low fill ports as that's often where it's leaking from and they are only a couple of quid to change.

 

[EuroTrotters]

This is the valve on the front of the van

Looks to be R134a

That’s this type of tap

 

[EuroTrotters]

You are looking at the low pressure side valve. The image I attached has the two low side connectors shown .

Top one is R1234yf 15mm

The lower one is R134a 13mm

If their is slightly positive pressure. You can use a kit. Zero back pressure could mean a big leak (condenser etc).

You should really vacuum the system down and maybe add oil.

If it’s the first time, a top up should be okay.

Google your chassis for quantity

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Steve and Denise]

Quick update found a air con engineer in our local town he turned up with plenty of pipes and gauges and some clever little unit that all the pipes connected to also scales and a bottle of gas after checking pressures and adding some gas found a pressure switch to be faulty cost £42
he said buy a switch and he will come and remove the gas fit the switch and replace the gas for free as I have already paid for a re ga, good value I would say

 

[gus-lopez]

The other thing is that the older stuff is about 1000 times worse for the environment. H

But 134a is also one million times better than what it replaced ,r12.

 

[Steve and Denise]

But 134a is also one million times better than what it replaced ,r12.

Yes so I understand

 

[Richard n Ann]

R502 was 5 times worse than R12 for ozone depletion
It was the common commercial freezer gas up until the late 90s. Was replaced by the temporary 'drop in' oil compatible R408a.
Now the commercial freezers use R404a

I'm a mine of useful information just lately

 

[Steve and Denise]

R502 was 5 times worse than R12 for ozone depletion
It was the common commercial freezer gas up until the late 90s. Was replaced by the temporary 'drop in' oil compatible R408a.
Now the commercial freezers use R404a

I'm a mine of useful information just lately

Way out of my knowledge but I do know more today than I did yesterday

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Richard n Ann]

The other thing is that the older stuff is about 1000 times worse for the environment.

R134a isn't too bad. It has an ozone depletion potential of zero, as said above it replaced R12 which had an ODP of 1 and was in use since the 1930s.

R12 was hailed as a wonder refrigerant when it was first made, it didn't kill you like the previous used nasty stuff (probably ammonia) and could even be used to deliver medicines aurally as it evaporated harmlessly away after being inhaled. Was phased out around the same time as R502, the temporary mineral oil compatible 'drop in' was R409a or R49.
The long term replacement is R134a which uses synthetic oil.

Back to the Op's question... The only thing I would be concerned about is whether the new 1234 refrigerant uses the same synthetic oil as 134a. If it does happy days the pressures will be similar enough not to bother the compressor and I bet the expansion valve is the same with just a different label on it.

 

[Richard n Ann]