Help! 1974 a/c needs recharge

[Jcashcollect]

Need to recharge the a/c unit in a 1974 international. Guessing it's probably R12. Can I just add R13A to the unit. It says R12 replacement on the can. Or are there other problems I should be looking for. Blows great, just doesn't get cold.

TIA

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Jcashcollect

Need to recharge the a/c unit in a 1974 international. Guessing it's probably R12. Can I just add R13A to the unit. It says R12 replacement on the can. Or are there other problems I should be looking for. Blows great, just doesn't get cold.

TIA

If it needs a recharge, that means you have a leak in the system somewhere. The freon lines are supposed to be sealed, so you never need to recharge unless there's a leak.

Find the leak, fix the leak. By the time you've done that, all of the R-12 will be gone (if it isn't already), and you can start fresh with R-13A.

[Belegedhel]

Has it ever blown cold? It could be that your compressor is not working, in which case, replacing the entire unit might be the most expedient way to go.

[DKB_SATX]

According to Andy at Inland RV, the old Armstrongs use R22, not R12. R22 is still available and can continue to be produced until 2020, after which time only recycled R22 can be used, according to the EPA. There are some refrigerants that claim to be direct replacements that turned up in a Google search.

[Jim in Pima]

Researching what it would take to recharge my Armstrong I found many of
the R22 replacements are made of flammable gas and not legal for "on the road"
use.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

If it needs a recharge, that means you have a leak in the system somewhere. The freon lines are supposed to be sealed, so you never need to recharge unless there's a leak.

Find the leak, fix the leak. By the time you've done that, all of the R-12 will be gone (if it isn't already), and you can start fresh with R-13A.

Airstream air conditioners "all" use R-22 Freon.

R-12 was used in car and truck AC's.

Andy