well a rock nocked a hole in the condencer. have a replacement comming. how many cans of 134 do i add? which is the best brand to use. i dont have the money to get a ac specials to do it as i was hurt at work and have not had work for 2 years. thanks

 

Did you look in your owners manual ?
This is in mine.
For the air conditioning system refrigerant charge
amount, see the refrigerant caution label located
under the hood. See your dealer/retailer for more
information.

 

You really should get a little bottle of air conditioning oil too. When I had to replace the hose on my PT Cruiser after we bought the car I think it took two oz. to replace what had been lost. Just for good measure I put in three oz. of the oil.

That was just over a year ago and the air still blows cold enough you could keep fish fresh in there when its running.


Many years ago I took an automotive air conditioning course at the local community college. I needed a certificate to hang on the wall at the Texaco service station I was working at saying I was certified so I could add Freon to automotive air conditioning systems.

Even tho I took the course and passed I still don't consider myself as being certified in that field. I did buy a manifold gauge set and a few years back I got the R-134A adaptors for it so I can now do modern automotive air conditioning too.

I do not have a Freon recovery machine and don't plan to buy one anytime soon but I can draw a vacuum on a system and see if it leaks down and recharge it once it is empty as in when a hose or something else gets a hole in it and is repaired.

In your case if you lived close enough once you get your condenser installed I could use the tools I have to recharge your system. The manifold gauge set I have has a book that came with it that has all kinds of pretty full color charts for calculating how much Freon you need. The charts take many things into consideration like the ambient temp, barometric pressure, the current phase of the moon and what color under ware you happen to have on that day.

Well that last bit might be a fabrication but it is quite detailed. Mostly what I do it pull a vacuum on the system with my home brew vacuum pump {a compressor from an old freezer} then watch to see if there is a leak for a few hours. Sometimes I will leave the vacuum on over night.

If all looks well I will charge the system with Freon. You can hear when the air conditioning compressor starts to cycle. By watching the gauges on the manifold gauge set you can start to see positive pressure. My gauges has a section of the dial marked in blue 'Safe' then a bit more in green then a section in red marked 'Danger'

So long as you pretty well stay in the blue or green your good to go. Other gauges are marked much differently than mine. You really should consider reading the manual for your gauges if you get a set.

From experience on your HHR it will take at least two cans of R-134A to fill your system enough to start having the air conditioning compressor kick in if its empty. Once you start to feel cool air inside the car I would stop putting Freon in.

I'd go for at least a short ride and see if the air conditioning keeps me cool enough. If not I might add some more Freon. If you buy a hose to put the Freon in your buggy try to get one with a gauge. I have one that can screw on to fresh cans of Freon and it will then attach to the low side of the air conditioning plumbing under the hood.

You should only add Freon through the low side of the system. It will be problematic if you try to mess with the high side.

 

It's always best to look at the under hood tag. My books tell me the system holds 14oz of r134 and an oil capacity of 4oz of pag 46 oil.

The r134 cans you buy at the store in most cases are 12oz cans. So adding one can of r134 and an oil charge can of pag 46 should put you about there.

If you can get your hands on a vacuum pump it would be best to pull a vacuum on the system for at least an hour to help remove moisture from the system seeing how the system is empty because of your leak.

If your using a gauge set with long hoses you should add 2 more ounces of r134 to make up the volume loss of the hoses.

After you pull a vacuum on the system add the oil first then the freon.

 

I think it's a bad idea to advise on home AC repair. So many things can go wrong. No one has mentioned flushing the system since it's been open to the atmosphere. That can create acids that will eventually destroy seals, o rings etc. Plus, that can cause catastrophic failure of the entire system requiring a complete r and r. There's a lot more to it other that just filling it with refrigerant. Many of the chain store refrigerants contain sealers which are also bad for the system. Sometimes it's better in to long run to defer to someone who has the knowledge and proper equipment.

(Just the 2 cents worth from a licensed HVAC/MVAC tech.....)

 

Seeing as the system was broken into there are two things to do. First, replace the dryer, second pull a vacuum before charging. If you don't pull a vacuum where is the R134 going to go? Can't replace the air in the system with R134 because it's a closed system. Use new O rings too.

 

Well, in a rather broad manner, I guess that's true.......people charge them without vacuuming the system all the time. Most people that buy cans of refrigerant from Autozone, OReilly's, Pep Boys, etc. don't have a vacuum pump or any of the other HVAC equipment. Somehow it still works. Doesn't mean it's right.

 

I have wondered why the ac works on some folks cars.

I know they have had problems and usually replaced parts like hoses evaporators or condensers and did not pull a vacuum on the system, just put in a random amount of Freon and had it 'work'

There are folks that know I have worked on automotive air conditioning that have 'fixed' their car then come to me to have me pull a vacuum on the system after they have already put Freon in it.

I tell them I don't have a Freon recovery machine and send them away. If however they bring me their vehicle before they put any Freon in I will gladly pull a vacuum on their system and see if it holds for a few hours.

If it does, I will put their new Freon and any oil they want in the system.

 

I have properly repaired many systems that people have 'fixed' themselves without proper equipment or knowledge. I do have the tools/equipment including two recovery/recycling machines, flush gun, vacuum pump, manifold(s), refrigerant calculator, pressure/temp charts for virtually all vehicles, etc. It's an exact science to get it right. I took HVAC classes in college (many years ago!) and have been licensed since 1982 in HVAC and since 1996 in MVAC.

 

thanks for the info on my a/c i have a vacume pump and a reclaimer it is r-12 system. so i will pull it down for a few hours then put some oil in and start with 1 can and see where it is on guage.