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It is expensive!



So expensive that if your R12 system is broke but not leaking, here's a way you can reclaim the old R12 for reuse:

1. Get an empty 20lb or so refrigerant tank from an A/C shop and pull a vacuum on it. Close the tank valve. An R134A tank will work fine for this with an R12 male/R134A female conversion fitting.
2. Connect a gauge manifold to your R12 filled A/C system, and purge the hoses of air just before connecting the supply hose to the closed tank valve. Put the tank sideways in an ice chest.
3. Put a block of dry ice on top of the tank, open the tank valve, and close the lid of the ice chest. The hose won't allow the lid to completely close, so seal the crack with masking tape and drape a blanket or towels on the ice chest for good measure.
4. Open up the A/C system to the cold tank, and the R12 will slowly migrate to the lower temperature.

Takes about 48 hours and two blocks of dry ice to get a below atmospheric pressure reading on the manifold, which means virtually all the R12 went to the tank. Here that's about $40 worth of dry ice.

But before starting, examine the conversion fitting. If it has a very small opening, drill it larger. Restrictions in this or in your hoses will slow things down a lot.

I've used this method several times on seized compressors and saved the R12 for another day.

Of course, if the compressor seized, your accumulator/drier will almost always be contaminated too. But if it is actually clean on the inside, you can bake it in an oven at a low temperature for a couple of hours to remove the moisture and reuse it.

One other thing. Install only highest quality OEM compressors. Parts store aftermarket units tend to self destruct and create deja vu all over again. DAMHIK.

If you don't see two dolphins, you need a vacation.