DIY - Red Tek conversion

[dhaavers]

[Terry Kay]

Use the Red Tek.
It'll put out the same or better as the R-12 without the load on the compressor & other operating components.

Jump back to the start of this thread or do an AC search on this question--there is a cornicopia of information here covering this very subject.
_________________
T.K.

[Californio]

I'm running Duracool, same good results as the Redtek.

Starting to wonder...could you just run propane? AFAIK these hydrocarbon refrigerants are mostly propane anyway. Chemists out there who've looked into this?

[Terry Kay]

" Mostly"

Interesting word.

How or where did you come up with this Eurika, or is this just an assumption you have determined all on your own that your publishing.

FYI.

There is less than 50% propane in the Red-Tek.
And that is only being used to extend the life of the Alkaine components in the refridgerant.

You ought to bookmark this valuable information & retain it for future use--
OBTW-- This info is straight from Red-Teks mouth.

I know of no 100% propane refridgerant.
_________________
T.K.

[dhaavers]

[freshintulsa]

OK... I've re-read this entire thread again, an a/c manual a mechanic friend had, asked him some questions, and am no longer a/c ignorant. I understand now that the lines have oil in them, and the compressor crankcase has its own oil. I will drain the oil from the compressor, fill it up, and put an oil charge in the low pressure side after cleaning and vacuum.

For those interested, after talking with the people at red-tek, I now know that the oil in the red tek oil charge is ESTER oil. So, after draining and cleaning all oil out of my system, I will put in fresh ester oil in the compressor and with this oil charge.

Thanks for the concerns from others and the helpful tips to learn what should be done to be safe and right. I've got all the tools to get this done, just need to wait on the red tek to get here and find someone with a a/c fitting crimper that I can borrow, or I might have to break down and pay someone to do it for me.

Will post the results next week when I get it running and have it all figured out.


Doug.
_________________
"go slower, go lower!!!"

85 westy svx
Fresh front end rebuild
Front cab changed from brown to black with new homemade door panels, etc.
Soon to remove fridge/sink/cabinet and make custom bench seat!!!



89 wolfsburg/ bluestar.... finished the stick to automatic conversion,
tiico motor
Daily driver, 20mpgs and has enough hair in it to make a few dogs.

[Tomudell]

Terry question for you.
Ok I received my new expansion valve, replaced and double checked my evap while I had it down, I blew it out and was clean. Closed up the system pulled a vacuum on the system - held then added 2 cans of red tek, at this point my compressor was kicking in and I am getting the following pressures

idle (650rpm) - 35-42 low pressure and 145 high
1500 - 25-28 low and 155 high,
I stopped at this point because my low pressures were already at or above what you are recommending. Any thoughts??? what are the signs when your compressor are going out? And this is a 2.2l subaru EJ22 motor. Also what kind of pressure should I have when the system is not running, I am about 70psi

[presslab]

According to RedTek it takes 2.6 cans to equal the stock charge. What is your ambient temperature for those measurements?

The resting pressure, assuming the system has enough refrigerant, will directly correlate to ambient temperature according to this chart:
http://www.redtek.com/win_12a_vaporpress.html

So that looks like your ambient temp is 68 F. Therefore your high pressure is maybe a bit on the low side but not unreasonable at all. You could add a little more refrigerant but honestly I don't see a problem.

What are your vent temps, on the freeway, fan on high?
_________________
1986 Vanagon Westfalia EJ25
1988 Subaru GL-10 EJ20G --- 2000 Honda XR650L
2010 Titus El Guapo --- 2011 On-One 456 Ti

[Tomudell]

91f is temp today, when driving the temp blowing out of the vent is about 79f while driving non freeway

[Terry Kay]

In my opinion you didn't pull the system down long enough & didn't eliminate of all of moisture

You have to remember this;

A pretty much rule of thumb standard automotive suck down time is approximatly 2-3 hours minimum.
And them lines are only 2-3 ft long.
I take 2-3 hours on any semi, and the lines are 5-6 ft, and there sure isn't a big gap between the evaportaor & the condensor as the Vanagon has.

I really am not concerened what our manifold gauges said--you have to take into consideration how long the components are from each other, and how long the lines are.

Any time your seeing the low side reaching it's max pressure without the high side getting close to it's max--you haven't sucked ths system down into a vacuum long enough.

And just to demonstrate that--look at your vent temps.

One thing is for sure --you can't be in a big hurry to get results here.
The hurrier you get the behinder you'll get.

I don't know your pumps rate of suction either--
if your usng a small CFM pump or a air powered pump, leave it on all day.

Time for another evacuation and refill to get you where you wanna be.

Suck it back down
_________________
T.K.

[Tomudell]

Well here is some facts. My dad is the one with all the equip, he works residential a/c systems when there are any problems with any of his units. He normally blows nitrogen through the line, not sure if that would make a difference on the suck down time. I called him up and asked what his pump is rated at, he will let me know. It is a new pump made for sucking the freon into a canister. When we hooked it up to my line it went to a -29 psi within about 10 min. So with it pulling the - vacuum so quickly should we still leave it on for 2 - 3 hrs and will that burn out the pump? Thanks Terry for all your help, you are the expert so I take your advice as being gold.

Ok Terry, found out that his pump is not make to pull vacuum for hours like that, it is make to evac the system and be lubricated by what you are pulling out, so looks like a trip to Harbor Freight will be in order, any opinion as to which pump I should buy???

[LynnsABCs]

Don't buy this one, it won't pull a low-enough vacumn:

This is the one you need at Harbor Freight and looks like it's on sale 1/2 price:

_________________
LynnsABCs
Knoxville, Tn
1990 Vanagon Westy
1961 Porsche 356 B Notchback Coupe

[Terry Kay]

A s long as it's at least 5 cfm, and a 2 stage pump, you'll be good to go.

Anything less than this & you'll be just spinning your wheels.

Most of these style pumps are 1/6th to 1/3rd of a horse.
Not designed for the long haul, but in the two stage form will get the job done.

My evac pump is 5 horse 10 cfm--built to make a long job short.

A decent Robinair 11 cfm, two stage pump will cost you about $800.00.
And don't assume that by side stepping the first most important operation-POOF!--Your AC is going to work properly.

It isn't,it won't
_________________
T.K.

[freshintulsa]

Hey everyone, Doug again, still waiting for the a/c crimper to arive ( will be here tuesday). I've got a few more questions for the smart ones here. Red tek's website says to charge at a 0 atmospheric pressure, meaning no vacuum. Does this really need to be done? Can one charge it after pulling a vacuum of 30 and letting it sit, or do you really NEED to let the vacuum out?

How many of you have charged your system with red-tek with a vacuum?


Other question, how many of you have used a side can tap, not the kind that screws on the top of the can? It just clamps on the can and pierces the side of the can. Do these work good? I've got access to one of these, but should I just get one that screws on the top of the cans?

Last question, everything ive read and heard says not to turn the can upside down, leave the tap to the top. Red tek's website says to turn the can upside down, is this just a red-tek thing, does it need to be turned upside down?


Thanks again for the help. Doug. (Sweating his ass off in OK.)
_________________
"go slower, go lower!!!"

85 westy svx
Fresh front end rebuild
Front cab changed from brown to black with new homemade door panels, etc.
Soon to remove fridge/sink/cabinet and make custom bench seat!!!



89 wolfsburg/ bluestar.... finished the stick to automatic conversion,
tiico motor
Daily driver, 20mpgs and has enough hair in it to make a few dogs.

[pinealservo]

[bobbyac]

Hey Guys,

I'm new to the forum. I had a question about the RED TEK conversions. I used to be a mechanic for 12 years and have done lots of A/C, but never with RED TEK. It mentions in the instalation instructions to never charge a system with RED TEK while under vacuum (link below). I don't quite get that. What's the risk? Has anyone charged their A/C system while under vacuum?

http://www.redtek.ca/win_12a_chargeinstall.html

Thanks!

[marcusdarling]

now that this thread is revived, I've got a quick question:

does anybody know of a shop or independent mechanic in southern california who could do the conversion?

I contacted a reputable shop around here but they said that they couldn't touch the stuff because of contamination and legal issues.

Would love to have AC in my westy again. I could do the job myself but just don't know if I'm gonna have the time before the summer hits. Any help appreciated. I'm in the los angeles area

cheers
-m

[Terry Kay]

<<I contacted a reputable shop around here but they said that they couldn't touch the stuff because of contamination and legal issues.>>

This is pretty much why this thread started.

The Red-Tek is a type DIY product and can't & won't be installed by a bonified AC shop.

It was desgined for Agricultural & Industrial use where the folks using it are capable of getting the job done themselves.

If your interested in using the product your going to have to do the same thing--
_________________
T.K.

[r39o]

[freshintulsa]

To bobbyac, I charged mine under vaccum, and had no problems. As far as I know, thats how you charge an a/c system, and how it gets sucked into the system. I still dont know why it says not to charge under vaccum.
_________________
"go slower, go lower!!!"

85 westy svx
Fresh front end rebuild
Front cab changed from brown to black with new homemade door panels, etc.
Soon to remove fridge/sink/cabinet and make custom bench seat!!!



89 wolfsburg/ bluestar.... finished the stick to automatic conversion,
tiico motor
Daily driver, 20mpgs and has enough hair in it to make a few dogs.