gmrulz4u Posted June 9, 2004 Report Posted June 9, 2004 I was just wondering if those R-12 to R-134a kits are sold in Canadian retailers such as Wal-Mart and Canadian Tire etc.? I was looking at one like this: http://www.id-usa.com/product.asp?CID=28&PID=24 I just didn't know if it was illegal in Canada for do-it-yourself people to perform this conversion? Anyone know? THANKS! Quote
supreme_style21 Posted June 9, 2004 Report Posted June 9, 2004 It is illegal to buy R134a in Canada, or so I am led to believe. We have a LOT of Canadians come into my place of work to buy R134a... I live close to the Canadian border. They tell us they are unable to buy the R134, but supposedly they are able to take it across the border. Perhaps they have to sneak it in.. I'm not sure. Quote
runt Posted June 9, 2004 Report Posted June 9, 2004 But isn't R134a better for the environment than R12? Quote
supreme_style21 Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 Yeah by far.. but most of the Canadians I've talked to at work say that they're supposed to convert to some.. R44.. or E34..Freeze12.. system.. something like that. Quote
GPdriver1986 Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 When I went to the states I bought an R-12 to R-134a conversion kit and I just brought it over here, it was 39$ US but it was worth it, here at crappy tire they want 39$ CAN just to tell you whats wrong with the AC. Quote
93CutlassSupreme Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 But isn't R134a better for the environment than R12? it is but it's still illegal to release it into the atmosphere Quote
runt Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 But isn't R134a better for the environment than R12? it is but it's still illegal to release it into the atmosphere Well...lol...I realize that, but I guess what I ment is that the U.S. made it mandatory or whatever to use it....and we are always right.............. HAHAHAHAHAHA Quote
DaveFromColorado Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 ... the US didn't make it manditory to use R-134a, they just made it very inconvient to get ahold of R12, so the price on it went WAY up, making it totally non-cost effective to produce cars with R12 systems. I've still got 2 30# tanks of R-12 tho, very nice to have for all my older cars. --Dave. Quote
93CutlassSupreme Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 ... the US didn't make it manditory to use R-134a, they just made it very inconvient to get ahold of R12, so the price on it went WAY up, making it totally non-cost effective to produce cars with R12 systems. I've still got 2 30# tanks of R-12 tho, very nice to have for all my older cars. --Dave. r-12 isn't made anymore that's why its hard to get Quote
supreme_style21 Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 A 30# keg of it at work goes for a little over $600. Quote
CPSMonteZ34 Posted June 11, 2004 Report Posted June 11, 2004 When I asked for an installation kit for R-134a, they showed me the kit over the counter. They're usually only supposed to sell it to licenced technicians (I forget which ticket they referred to)...mostly because they tend to have the appropriate equipment and training to properly install it. The kit didn't have the necessary hardware to just do a screw-on dump. It required purging the old contents and replacing it with the new contents. That's why us Canadians don't see these kinds of kits on the shelves...someone figures we're not supposed to do it ourselves I guess. Quote
93CutlassSupreme Posted June 11, 2004 Report Posted June 11, 2004 it is a pain in the ass to recover refrigant Quote
supreme_style21 Posted June 11, 2004 Report Posted June 11, 2004 When I asked for an installation kit for R-134a, they showed me the kit over the counter. They're usually only supposed to sell it to licenced technicians (I forget which ticket they referred to)...mostly because they tend to have the appropriate equipment and training to properly install it. The kit didn't have the necessary hardware to just do a screw-on dump. It required purging the old contents and replacing it with the new contents. That's why us Canadians don't see these kinds of kits on the shelves...someone figures we're not supposed to do it ourselves I guess. They have the R134 retrofit kits in Canada then? Quote
gmrulz4u Posted June 11, 2004 Author Report Posted June 11, 2004 After doing a HUGE amount of research...I've decided to go with either "DURACOOL" or "RED TEK" instead of converting to 134a. Quote
gmrulz4u Posted June 11, 2004 Author Report Posted June 11, 2004 Never heard of those two. Really!!?? Strange...they've been mentioned a few times on here at least... Just do a Google search for "duracool" and you'll get a few hundred thousand matches! Quote
CPSMonteZ34 Posted June 11, 2004 Report Posted June 11, 2004 They have the R134 retrofit kits in Canada then? Not the kind any consumer can purchase, but the bottles are available to refrigeration techs. I'm basically talking about appliance repair, plumbing & heating, and air conditioning businesses, as well as automotive repair shops where someone experienced with a/c units can do the job. One needs the appropriate equipment - things most consumers just don't need/have. "Kits" they are not. I should have rephrased on my original post. Quote
GPdriver1986 Posted June 11, 2004 Report Posted June 11, 2004 I bought this at Walmart and it worked good for the whole summer and a bit of fall, but I have a leak in my compressor so it just stopped working. Its not even worth replacing the compressor because I can just buy more refrigerant. And by the way with this kit, it uses special oil that doesn't combine with the old oil. And your R-12 system has to be empty. http://www.id-usa.com/product.asp?CID=28&PID=72 Quote
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