Diy hvac tools

[metaldad]

R13 is not a common refrigerant, low temp refrigerant usually used for flash freezing.

Back in the day (late 70's early 80's)I recall people using R13 (or a product called that) as a pre flush. This was well before refrigerants were considered hazardous to the environment.

Most low temp refrigerant systems that used R12 turned to R134a

i believe you must be thinking of r11.
yes, r12 systems have been converted to 134. r12 was a medium temp gas.
r502 was the standard for low temp before the montreal protocol money grab

 

[eddieK]

i believe you must be thinking of r11.
yes, r12 systems have been converted to 134. r12 was a medium temp gas.
r502 was the standard for low temp before the montreal protocol money grab

Yeah...R11.

My memory is certainly not as sharp as it used to be

 

[eddieK]

yes. why wouldn't i?

The only place I would advise against 6% silver solder is at the compressor, the main reason the manufacturers are against silver solder is the acid required to use it...at least that is what both Lennox and Rheem have said.

 

[eddieK]

i believe you must be thinking of r11.
yes, r12 systems have been converted to 134. r12 was a medium temp gas.
r502 was the standard for low temp before the montreal protocol money grab

It seems we are both on the same page...

 

[bonneyman]

Eddie is throwing knowledge around, but I’m just going to tell you what I have as far as both auto and residential ac tools goes.
A good gauge set (you can purge the hoses with nitrogen, there isn’t enough oil to worry about cross contamination).
Adapters for auto AC to 1/4” hoses
A good scale
A good vacuum pump
A reclaim/recovery machine
A recovery tank for each refrigerant
A good micron gauge
A sniffer
A valve core removal tool
A tank of nitrogen
A regulator for said nitrogen
A flow meter for said nitrogen
Injector for dye, you can get a kit that has everything needed
A good meter with temp probe
Oxy-Acetylene set
Leak testing bubbles
I’m sure I’m forgetting something. These and the required hand tools can get a lot of AC jobs done. Study up on the refrigeration cycle and how it can be affected. If you only want to do on type (auto or residential) the tool list can shrink somewhat. Hope this helps and I’ll let Eddie get back to teaching/preaching

Good list!

 

[4 Ever-Fish N]

So what vacuum pump would you recommend?

 

[mrobins297aaa]

yes. why wouldn't i?

The reason I ask that question, being retired for almost 10 years I have yet to do any 410a installs and I hear some say that you can't use stay brite on these systems because of the increased pressure. which I don't believe is a problem. Anyway I have a couple of installs for family coming up and I plan on using it. I love my stay brite I've used it for almost 20 years on r-22 systems without any problems.
As far as the acid, well we used it with acid flux on r-22 systems, we always installed a high side filter dryer and never had any problems.

 

[Ohmthis]

The reason I ask that question, being retired for almost 10 years I have yet to do any 410a installs and I hear some say that you can't use stay brite on these systems because of the increased pressure. which I don't believe is a problem. Anyway I have a couple of installs for family coming up and I plan on using it. I love my stay brite I've used it for almost 20 years on r-22 systems without any problems.
As far as the acid, well we used it with acid flux on r-22 systems, we always installed a high side filter dryer and never had any problems.

Stay Brite works well on 410 systems, but I only use it when I’m having to make a connection next to a heat sensitive piece. Otherwise I use sil fos for all of my connections. Here the inspector will fail any job where “solder” is used instead of a “braze”. Also these 410 systems are very sensitive to moisture. R410a is hydroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture. This moisture sludges the POE oil and causes all kids of bad. There is a much different protocol than R22. You need to flow nitrogen when brazing, and pull a vacuum with a micron gauge to ensure the system is free of moisture. The days of brazing and pulling a vacuum for a half hour or so is over.

 

[Ohmthis]

So what vacuum pump would you recommend?

Brand isn’t as important as using a good vacuum pump oil and changing it after every job. I have a 7 cfm JB and an eBay cheapie for a backup. The cheapie works surprisingly well with a good name brand oil. Make sure the pump is capable of pulling a vacuum to at least 500 microns.