Date:         Mon, 28 Nov 94 08:39:21 CST
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: Air Conditioning Changeover?

On Sun, 27 Nov 94 23:13:42 CST Jack Agnew said:
>It uses CFC as a refrigerant gas that I am told will be nearly impossible
>(read VERY expensive) soon and that there appears to be no safe
>alternative available.
>So now what? Does anyone know of a pending replacement for the Freon now
>being used that is a direct replacement, or will it use whatever the
>newer airconditioners use that I am told destroys all the seals on older
>units not made for it. NOT interchangable with the Freon units. Will I
>enventually have to replace the entire airconditioning system - if so
>does anyone know which one is recommended and how much that will cost?

the story, as i understand it, is that DuPont was trying to shut down
production of the auto freon ... and they were going to be able to do it
early (before the federal deadline). but then some fed agency decided that
there wasn't enough freon to last until a substitute had been developed.

so now, DuPont is NOT shutting down production, but the price of the stuff
has gone sky high ... and all the federal rules about a/c shops having to
buy expensive equipment to recycle the stuff still apply. so if you go to
get your CFC a/c worked on, it'll cost like $200 minimum instead of $50.

now, as far as i can tell from what i see and read, there is NO replacement
... yet. there was a lot of talk about some stuff made with propane and
butane, but it's never been given any sort of official blessing.

if you wanted to convert to the new non-CFC a/c, you'd have to (according to
the stories) replace just about everything on the entire system except the
electrical switches and the air ducts. ALL of the system that comes in contact
with the freon would have to be replaced with newer equipment that is made
for the new non-CFC refrigerant.

VW is supposedly 'looking into' the idea of making available repair kits to
do just that: replace all the old CFC equipment with new stuff. at a very
nice price, you can bet. whether they will include the buses, and especially
the campers, is questionable (due to the 'low' numbers sold over here).

so, for now, and for the near future, it looks (to me) like all us a/c folks
will just have to sit it out and wait. or pay the price to get the system
repaired and keep using the old CFC freon.

now ... having said that, i have found that if you run the system at least
15 minutes every week or two, it really really does make a difference. i had
been adding two little bottles of freon every June since i bought the car
... and somebody convinced me that weekly running would keep the seals and
things all nicely lubricated so the system didn't leak. so i tried it. and it
worked. :)  it's been a couple of years since i added ANY freon to the system
at all.

joel