| Author |
Message |
Wolfram
Samba Member
Joined: June 23, 2005
Posts: 184
Location: Waiheke Island/On The Road USA
|
 Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 8:46 pm Post subject: Blew AC Hose While Stopped |
 |
|
Drove up from Terrebonne, OR to The Dalles and was having lunch at a city park. Boom!. Really loud sound from LR of van. Oh shit moment as I thought; propane, coolant, tire...
It was the high pressure AC line retiring after 29 years and spewing R134 and fluorescent dye allover the engine compartment.
Phew.
_________________
88 Westy, '07 EJ25 Vanaru.
Either van-less on Waiheke Island in New Zealand where we spend the Southern summer, or Wolfram is in Seattle/Olympia in storage. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Guybrush
Samba Member
Joined: August 08, 2015
Posts: 453
Location: Arizona
|
| Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 8:57 pm Post subject: Re: Blew AC Hose While Stopped |
|
|
| Perhaps a failed pressure switch? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Abscate
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 22645
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
|
| Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 2:45 am Post subject: Re: Blew AC Hose While Stopped |
|
|
One of the few failures that is fixed by rolling a joint and opening a window....your shoulder, opening the window...what did you think I meant?
_________________
.ssS! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32592
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
greebly
Samba Member
Joined: August 27, 2009
Posts: 966
Location: Here and now
|
| Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:16 am Post subject: Re: Blew AC Hose While Stopped |
|
|
| djkeev wrote: |
Yet another argument for modernizing your entire A/C with new hoses and such.
Dave |
| wolfram wrote: |
| spewing R134 and fluorescent dye |
Especially if you are going to convert to the higher system pressure R134 requires. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Wolfram
Samba Member
Joined: June 23, 2005
Posts: 184
Location: Waiheke Island/On The Road USA
|
| Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 9:08 am Post subject: Re: Blew AC Hose While Stopped |
|
|
Note the AC wasn't even operating when it blew.
_________________
88 Westy, '07 EJ25 Vanaru.
Either van-less on Waiheke Island in New Zealand where we spend the Southern summer, or Wolfram is in Seattle/Olympia in storage. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Westified
Samba Member
Joined: May 01, 2012
Posts: 402
Location: Miami, FL
|
| Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 11:36 am Post subject: Re: Blew AC Hose While Stopped |
|
|
You were lucky it didn't blow the hose on the interior of your vanagon. What a mess that would be. I had a similar incident. I converted to 134a and had my van idling in the driveway to see how good the AC was with the new 134a. I was about 15 feet from the van and all of a sudden there was a huge boom. Sounded like a gun shot. Scared the crap out of me. The hose above my new propane tank blew. Then a cloud of the gas enveloped the the van. I thought it was on fire. I ran over and shut it off. Made a mess all over the tank. I have now replaced my entire AC system except for the Evaporator inside. I mean everything with new barrier hoses, fittings, 709 Sanden compressor, dryer, parallel flow condenser and blower fan. The old hoses and higher pressure of the 134a did it.
_________________
1984 Westy Wolfsburg, owned since 1987. FAS 2.0 NA engine conversion in 2022. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
greebly
Samba Member
Joined: August 27, 2009
Posts: 966
Location: Here and now
|
| Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 11:54 am Post subject: Re: Blew AC Hose While Stopped |
|
|
| Wolfram wrote: |
| Note the AC wasn't even operating when it blew. |
Generally AC pressure will stabilize across the system unless there is a major restriction and static pressure will vary with external temperature. A properly charged R134 system will show 70 psi on both high and low side at 70°F at stasis. If the hose blew under static pressure it is a wonder it did not explode under system pressure. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
