Follow up to thread on aircon in 93RRC

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Originally Posted by Davo

Do you need a licence for Hychill? Someone else on here was saying how good it was as well.

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It IS good, and from my reading is more efficient in an automotive enviroment in the real world.
Yes, no doubt the demand you have a licence to buy a bottle of Hy CHILL, air-conditioning gas.(propane/butane/etc/odourant + 'brand' additives).. but you can buy a bottle of barbeque gas (propane/butane/etc/odourant)at your hardware store or wherever...


I'm sure there are and Rules and terrible penalties regarding the spillage into the atmosphere of "air-con gasses..." - but not aware of any regarding BBQ leaks or bad management. Or can be enforced.:angel:

Cynical James

I set up an account with a local a/c wholesaler to purchase Hychill and wasn't required to have a licence.

http://www.hychill.com.au/pdf/hychil...arbons-faq.pdf

They certainly put up a good argument there.

I've only started looking into it as once I've replaced the engine and gearbox in this thing I'll be onto the aircon. There's a connection corroded by battery acid - before my time - and held together with a jubilee clip, so there will be new hoses and a compressor, as well as probably the condensor.

The plan was to order everything in from Broome and assemble it before driving over there and getting it charged, though it would be great to DIY instead.

Head to your local bursons store for hychill. They sell small disposable bottles really cheaply. I've had great success using hychill in my old cars .... It's bloody brilliant. It retains the same efficiency as R12 (which is just what we need for european cars ..... as there air-con was generally crap to start with, and doesn't get any better when you loose ..... is it 30% efficiency from R134a).

Be warned the small bottle fitting used for the disposable bottles is quite expensive.... About $65bucks years ago when I bought mine. I only used it a few times then went and got a 4.5kg bottle of hychill (you own the bottle once you have purchased your first then just swap it for a full one for the price of the gas). You however NEED a vacuum pump, a proper refrigeration one if your going to mess with A/C (I got one cheap on ebay years ago ...).

I think it's been removed from there website now. but in the past hychill stated it was safe to use there refrigerant over any oil or gas. I have done this successfully many times with friends cars. If there is no obvious leaks, you just 'vac 'em down, then using a digital scales (there bloody cheap on fleabay these days too) weigh the correct chargeweight in.

the RR Classic I've just put a deposit has the A/C removed, possibly not a bad thing if it's as pathetic as suggested on the pommy Land rover sites ( if it's hopeless in a UK summer, it's not going to be much good in Australia). I did manage to A/C my early 70's designed french car well.... But it took fitting front and rear evaporators, the biggest most efficient condenser money could buy and insulating the ***** out of the entire car with this:

EZ Cool Automotive Insulation heat barrier and noise reduction for cars, trucks, classic cars, street rods and much more

Yes that's the car I fitted A/C too linked from his website.

I'm always confused about the poeple that cry "It's flammable" .... damn right it is .... very, very flammable, it's just a butane/propane mix if you read the safety sheets. When I first started using it years ago I googled and searched world wide for any details of a car fire due to the A/C. I found several, and the only thing they had in common was the refrigerant ........... R134a .... Though it's not flammable at ambient pressures/temperatures, what about when it's compressed to many hundreds of PSI in your A/C system and mixed with oil :eek: Either way, most poeple driving big 4wds can have 100litres of petrol in plastic fuel tank, 100litres of LPG in a tank inside the vehicle.................... Yet the 300grams of the same stuff in the A/C is too scarey and dangerous :confused:

seeya,
Shane L.

Hmmm . . . it would seem that my nearest Bursons is in Darwin. But I'll ask about it in Broome.

I see there's quite a bit of equipment on eBay.

I've got a heap of Dynamat Xtreme and DBKill to use on the Rangie but that EZ Cool stuff looks good as well. Another good product is Formshield from Clark Rubber. You definitely need all of that stuff if your aircon is going to have a chance.

I liked the EZ Cool flame test video. A few years ago, I bought some silver-backed stuff from a big supplier that advertised in one of the car magazines. I did my own flame test with a match, and the stuff started burning steadily. It was supposed to be okay for an engine bay - I don't think so!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Davo

Hmmm . . . it would seem that my nearest Bursons is in Darwin. But I'll ask about it in Broome.

I see there's quite a bit of equipment on eBay.

I've got a heap of Dynamat Xtreme and DBKill to use on the Rangie but that EZ Cool stuff looks good as well. Another good product is Formshield from Clark Rubber. You definitely need all of that stuff if your aircon is going to have a chance.

I liked the EZ Cool flame test video. A few years ago, I bought some silver-backed stuff from a big supplier that advertised in one of the car magazines. I did my own flame test with a match, and the stuff started burning steadily. It was supposed to be okay for an engine bay - I don't think so!

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That insulation ... feels like nothing... weighs bugger all. I did try burning some with a butane blow torch. I burned/melted it by holding the torch to a cut edge where the closed cell blue "stuff" is. That is a pretty brutal test though. I couldn't get it to burn through the alluminium though. I first had to burn my way through the aluminium (not as easy as it sounds). If you tape any exposed edges with aluminium tape as you go I imagine setting it on fire would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible.

It is incredibly easy to use ... just cut it with scissors, it'll bend anywhere. This is the car i'm tidying up at the moment:

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...013/02/729.jpg

behind the dash (careful to wrap your wiring harnesses in something so they don't sit on the aluminium.... it would make a damn good short with 50year old wiring).

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...013/02/730.jpg


I went a bit crazy, the insulation is so cheap and easily fitted.... I must have put 5layers of it over that big hump in the firewall (this is the engine recessed back into the cabin, so as you can imagine heat transfer and sound transmission from it is usually huge). I'm hoping this will be much better.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...013/02/731.jpg

while i had the lump out on the floor I stuck some in the engine bay as well.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...013/02/732.jpg

I managed to stick most of the 50year old upholstory back in ... rubber floor mats and all over the top. So it's worked quite well here too.

My friends range rover classic I had here got quite warm around the transmission tunnel, especially when I was towing with it. This insulation would stop that heat transfer easily (it's nowhere near as bad as the car pictured above).

seeya,
Shane L.

Insulation that feels like nothing is great for heat and high frequency sound. You need the heavy stuff for low frequency noise.

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Originally Posted by Dougal

Insulation that feels like nothing is great for heat and high frequency sound. You need the heavy stuff for low frequency noise.

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Yeah that's right. I was surprised how much quieter my car is with it ( think it's as much due to you sealing up any holes, gaps and making the firewall etc air tight). I was using as I was so desperate to stop the heat transfer so my car could be used in summer. It wouldn't be as good as a heavy body deadener (that will stop panels drumming too). It is however a fraction of the price and won't make your car heavier!

seeya,
Shane L.

The best results I have had are heavy sticky matt (I used roof flashing tape) as a deadener, doesn't need to be full cover. Insulation layer and then the original carpets or vinyl.

If noise is your primary goal, the insulation layer is better closed cell foam. If heat is the goal, then add more layers.
I've found my noise insulation to have pretty good heat results. But if heat was the goal I'd be doing it a bit differently.