 | Home > Puma (Tdci) > Replace ac condenser? |
 
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17731   
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No, there really isn't, although if your condenser is really bad there may be no refrigerant left to evacuate anyway.
The damage that refrigerant causes to the environment depends upon what type it is. The original was Freon, a brand name for dichlorodifluoromethane, generally known as R-12, which was extremely damaging to the Ozone layer. This has been banned for a long time and you are unlikely to find any on a vehicle later than the mid-1990s. Next came R-134a (or HFC-134a), or tetrafluoroethane, which was intended as a non-Ozone depleting replacement for R-12. It does negligible damage to the Ozone layer but has a higher 100-year global warming potential or GWP than is desirable. For this reason it too is being phased out and replaced by tetrafluoropropene, known as R-1234yf, which is similarly benign to the Ozone layer but has a much lower GWP. The type of gas in your system should (by law) be displayed on a notice on the bonnet slam panel. I would expect a 2012 vehicle to be filled with R-134a, in which case releasing it to atmosphere will not kill us all but might cause our great grandchildren to experience worse global warming effects, and is illegal. I reckon that loads must be accidentally released after car crashes, accidentally, etc., however. Don't forget that you can use a fluorescent dye to detect leaks, the stuff is available from the likes of Amazon and is not especially expensive. The equipment to inject it into the system is not expensive either, and you'll need a UV light source to see where any leak is. It is however an easy DIY job now (but be careful not to spill any on yourself because you'll glow under UV light for months afterwards). |
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28th Apr 2025 3:06pm |
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| Ianh Member Since: 17 Sep 2018 Location: Essex Posts: 2287
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A local aircon business can drain your gas for you, and if after you change your condenser you go back to them for a refill they will likely not charge you for draining the gas and give you a credit for it on refill.
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28th Apr 2025 3:47pm |
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| jbcollier Member Since: 29 Apr 2024 Location: Edmonton AB Posts: 225  
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blackwood: Apropos of nothing at all, in Texas somewhere there is a refinery with an R12 leak, a &%#$ massive R12 leak. Like all the R12 in the world combined leaks annually from that one leak. It would be expensive to fix and costs nothing to leave it be so they have a federal exemption. Maybe it is fixed now but it wasn't the last time I checked five or so years ago.
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28th Apr 2025 6:10pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17731
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They say everything is bigger in Texas!
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28th Apr 2025 6:34pm |
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