Adding Freon to Class A RV

[Dom]

Originally Posted by NeilV

r410 and some other replacements for R22 are are basically a type of Propane or Iso-Butane Gas and have recently been in the news because of residential refrigerators and air conditioners exploding during system malfunctions due to their nature. These explosions have caused fires, blown out windows, injured people even causing dismemberment's and have also killed a few.

The damage to a house in Palm Beach Florida from a new Whirlpool refrigerator with r410 that was only a few months old was very unnerving since just about everything inside the refrigerator disintegrated, the doors were folded in half, counter tops and appliances near to it were crushed, walls broken and windows even in other rooms were blown out. If a person had been in the kitchen its doubtful that they would have survived the blast that occurred sometime around December 2018. This blast was just from the refrigerant and not from natural gas or propane from other sources inside the home.

Oh my god! where are you getting your information from. Totally false. I work with R22 and R410 daily, Neither has propane or butane

[Dom]

Originally Posted by NeilV

r410 and some other replacements for R22 are are basically a type of Propane or Iso-Butane Gas and have recently been in the news because of residential refrigerators and air conditioners exploding during system malfunctions due to their nature. These explosions have caused fires, blown out windows, injured people even causing dismemberment's and have also killed a few.

The damage to a house in Palm Beach Florida from a new Whirlpool refrigerator with r410 that was only a few months old was very unnerving since just about everything inside the refrigerator disintegrated, the doors were folded in half, counter tops and appliances near to it were crushed, walls broken and windows even in other rooms were blown out. If a person had been in the kitchen its doubtful that they would have survived the blast that occurred sometime around December 2018. This blast was just from the refrigerant and not from natural gas or propane from other sources inside the home.

R410 has never ever been used in a residential fridge you are thinking of r600

[Dom]

We are not allowed to use a torch around r600 as it is explosive. R 410 R22 are NOT

[Dom]

It is disappointing that some people have no knowledge of refrigerants spread unnecessary fear

[Busskipper]

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....1+WiLrVMpL.pdf

FYI

[rv1993]

Originally Posted by Dom

The likely cause of a leak is that, being a motor home, it sits for long periods at a time. This dries out the seals on compressor shaft. You might want to first add a leak seal can first. It comes with a small amount of refrigerant to push it into system. Thats ok because you will likely need a little more that a can anyway. If compressor keeps cycling at medium throttle, you likely don't have enough refrigerant.

Please look into adding leak sealer, as it can cause more harm than you might know. I know that there are many products on the market. First if the system is almost empty then the oil for lube is gone, the system should be checked by a pro. If you have an expansion valve, many times it will clog it up. On the front of the compressor there is a cap on the forward pulley, using a 10mm wrench (most common) remove the cap if there is moisture it is wet, then have it done by a pro. I remove and check all my vehicle a/c's every 3 months as it warns me of an impending problem. Changing a compressor and recharging on a machine is a whole lot cheaper. If A/c comp. goes, all tubes, expansion valve, evaporator, condenser, and receiver dryer. On most vehicles the condenser is behind the dash, on some vehicles labor to remove dash etc. can be as high as $1,500 or more, add all of that together and could be as high as $3500 or even more. Recently my jeep a/c was wet under cap, replaced compressor and recharged system for around $400-450. More then a can of leak sealer but not the worst.........sorry for long wind just wanted to warn all the RV'ers.

[Janjim]

Originally Posted by twojayhawks

My 2014 dash air just started blowing warm air this season. I checked fuses/all good & also acknowledged compressor wasn't running. That's the extent of my capabilities so I was planning to take it to FL. A nice forum member suggested skipping Freightliner & using someone that specializes in AC. I actually have a friend/contact that services AC units on busses, industrial equipment, & refer trailers, etc. Nice thing was he came to me & all I needed was adding refrigerant. You likely have a company in your area that does this also if you choose to not tackle it yourself.

Bingo!!

[ronboatplane]

Some dash ac units begin to leak and its difficult to find that leak. I fought my 2005 until I overruled my a/c tech and replaced the compressor. I used leak detection equipment and discovered the compressor seals of the original compressor had been stressed when MH was new because a high pressure limit switch was the wrong too high value. Newmar received a recall to replace the limit switch but the damage to the seal had all ready been done. Seals were leaking in compressor even though the tech could not detect because of location. New Chinese replacement compressor on EBay finally along with proper limit switch and a proper charge answered my prayers. Yes the refrigerant is 134a but charge requires oil and leak fixed if it is to last. It is interesting to note that compressor seals are the most common cause of losing Freon in automotive systems. But being behind the drive pulley makes seal leaks a bear. A good truck or MH ac tech may not find it but there are some out there that can. It is sure nice to have that cool A/C operating as new as I enter my second year after a successful repair.

[badturks5]

R134A is easy to find. Walmart is the cheapest

$4.88 PER 1LB CANS

[badturks5]

Originally Posted by Dom

Oh my god! where are you getting your information from. Totally false. I work with R22 and R410 daily, Neither has propane or butane

So of the R22 and R410 coming from a few foreign countries are in fact propane in disguise. That has been going on for decades.

[Mainecoons]

I used to add to my old Country Coach no problem. Most important to find the sight glass on the compression line. If you don't have to add much, lubricant will be OK. Clean the sight glass completely and then watch it as you add 134A. When the bubbles disappear you stop adding immediately.

Under most conditions needing AC we have found the dash air really not sufficient. If it is that hot we run the generator and the front AC unit. Works like a champ. We try to get going early when hot to limit the need to do this to just a few hours towards the end of the driving. Leave early and stop early has worked well for us.

[NeilV]

Originally Posted by Dom

Oh my god! where are you getting your information from. Totally false. I work with R22 and R410 daily, Neither has propane or butane

The 600 is ISO-butane and the 290 is propane both in highly flammable formulas while the 400s are less flammable they are still proving unsafe and have been in the news lately due to explosions.

I have provided multiple links to the actual events involving these units in the past listing the names, dates, locations and other specifics of these events.

The Whirlpool WRS325SDHZ00 that exploded recently in West Palm Beach Florida and is still being sold uses r410.

Here is one brief news article on the recent incident involving an r410 explosion.

https://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-p...est-palm-beach


There are a number of explosions also caught by security cameras however most I consider too graphic in nature to post here as some show people getting dismembered and others killed in the events captured. I did a casual search of owners manuals and found one of the popular LG refrigerators being put into RV's to be more safe pretty clearly warn about the dangers from the refrigerants ability to cause fires.

You do not have to make things up with so many of these incidents happening globally and many of the owners manuals that no-body appears to read containing warnings about the dangers of these refrigerants being used.

[MrT1964]

A lot of good information was passed along here. Mostly air conditioning is a SEALED system. It should never need to be recharged unless it was taken apart for work to be performed, or its leaking. Just adding more 134a from a can is not going to fix it.
First the system needs to be vacuumed down below pressure. Keep the system that way and watch the gauges. If the gauges start rising there is a leak allowing air in. If a leak is detected you can add a brilliant green oil that will find its way to the leak and be seen using a black light. After the leak is repaired, the system needs to be vacuumed down again and held at negative pressure for at least an hour.
If no leak new oil must be added to the system...a leak not only loses refrigerant it loses oil as well which can burn out the compressor. Oil isn't included in the fix it with a can stuff at stores. Also that little tiny bit of refrigerant in a can is not going to satisfy the appetite of a system that might require several pound of refrigerant.
Air conditioning is not rocket science but is technical and one should be trained before making repairs or recharging a system. If you want to toss good money away than buy the little cans...or get it fixed correctly and enjoy years of trouble free service...by the way I am a licensed MACS (mobile air conditioning service tech).Just a few hints here on what it takes to stay cool.

[DRM901]

Many of the freon cans you get from the auto store have a sealer as well. If a slow leak, that may get you a free more years.