[Vwdiesel] AC with propane

[William J Toensing]

Don't recall exactly the time frame but I think it was about 20 years ago that they started phase out R-12 freon because the experts said it was causing a growing hole in the ozone over Antarctica & Australia. Eventually the USA government prohibited the manufacture of R-12 but it was permitted to capture & recycle the R-12 that existed. Some of us could see the handwriting on the wall & laid in a supply of R-12 when it was still under $2 a can. With the scarcity of R-12 some propane substitutes started showing up at auto swap meets as a substitute for the costly & hard to get R-12. I wouldn't use it due to the safety factor! R-134a was developed as a substitute for R-12 as it is supposed to be ozone friendly & I think all cars since around 1995 or a bit earlier have been equipped with R-134a which some claim is not as good as R-12. However the A/C on my 2001 Ford Focus still works well. Our 1995 Olds has R-134a which has different fittings to prevent mixing R-12 with R134a which I guess would destroy the A/C system. There would be no significant cost benefit in using propane as a substitute for R134a. I guess there are a lot of younger people who don't know this history, just as some don't know what a carburetor is since they have grown up in the fuel injection era.
Bill Toensing, Nevada City, CA