WARNING !!! Don't use Duracool in your TDI

rotarykid

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 27, 2003
Location
Piedmont of N.C. & the plains of Colorado
TDI
1997 Passat TDI White,99.5 Blue Jetta TDI
Mach1 said:
Rotary, if you dont think propane is used as a propellant, how do you explain all the fires, explosions, warnings..even the OP explained he smelled pane..

Its been done, its dangerous and I have seen it myself, and experienced it..

I no longer use any of these additives, as NO one knowns exactly whats in them...

It gets R12 or R134 only..

Just because you say it isn't happening, doesn't mean its not done..Its being done and its happening right now, all over, bootleg refrigerant is a huge dollar market.
I never said one say or the other whether propane was being used as refrigerant , in fact I know it can be .

What I DID SAY WAS .......... HC Blends are not propane !!!!

And HC Blends are used in much lower quantities than what they replace as stated in the above post .

HC Blends burn @ ~1,300 * F while misced with refrigerant oil and pressurized HFCs burn @ ~600 * F . CFCs are not the safest refrigerant to use by the way .

For those that don't know when CFCs burn(react to an open flame) which they will you end up with Phosgene gas XXX!!! Deadly poison . Phosgene gas was used in WW I to kill troops with gas attacks .

This entire fire danger of HC Blends is just made up crap to scare people from using a more efficient and safer refrigerant . You want a fire danger , look in the rear of a gasoline powered car , 15-20 gals of gasoline now there is a REAL fire danger .

Considering the above a 48 oz system of HFCs would be filled only with 18 oz of HC Blend R-12a .

Which is safer ,

48 oz of pressurized and misced with oil HFCs a substance that burns under pressure @~600 * F
or
18 oz of HC Blend a substance that burns under pressure @~1,300 * F

In a CFC system of 48 oz of CFCs ~ 16 oz of HC Blend .
 

Zero10

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2004
Location
Calgary, AB
TDI
05 Golf TDI PD, Tiptronic
HC blends are safer than traditional refrigerants, sorry but they are. There is no good reason anybody should smell propane when using duracool since propane is odorless (first of all) and duracool uses a different scenting agent (second of all). It would be a trick of the senses if you smelled the same scent as propane.

I prefer RedTek since it has a pine scent that is much more noticeable than the horse sh*t (or rotten potatoes if you prefer) smell of duracool, and my sniffer picks up Red Tek while it does not detect duracool.

I have converted many systems from both R12 and R134a to Red Tek and on every single system it has functioned better with Red Tek than with the original refrigerant. Of course, you would normally never muck about with a properly functioning A/C system so my comparisons are not always fair, but rotarykid is right on this point, if you don't have a freeze-up (or low temp cut-off) switch you will get ice on the evaporator, and for this reason I would normally caution against switching R134a systems over unless you KNOW they have this switch. Almost all R12 systems have this switch.

/marketing talk
 

Ol'Rattler

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 3, 2007
Location
PNA
TDI
2006 BRM Jetta
rotarykid said:
All it would take is a ride in identical cars one filled with HC blends and the other that HFC crap and your mind will be changed . The difference is unbelievable , as in you wouldn't believe how much colder the HC blend filled system is . A good comparison is night & day .

On our systems , VWs you have to add a cold temp cut off switch to prevent freeze up when you switch to an HC Blend . If you don't do this you end up with air coming out of the vents in the mid 10s * F range . In fact 15-18 * F in 90-95 * F ambient is not outside of the normal range without a cutoff switch .

Same car with HFCs can hardly break 40 * F @ 90-95 * F ambient . VW leaves off a cold temp cutoff switch because it isn't possible to reach freezing with an HFC charge .

So with the HC blend charge and a cutoff switch the ac system only has to operate about 30-50 % of the time once the car is cooled off .

The volume of refrigerant required in a system charge of the stuff I use is much lower with HC blends than with the HFC charge .

6 oz can of Red Tek 12a HC blend = 16 oz of HFC -134a

6 oz can of Red Tek 12a HC blend = 18 oz of CFC -12
I wasn't comenting on which was a better refrigerant, just that as a HVAC novice I wouldn't atempt to change a system over. There are to many things that might go wrong, as the OP found out.

Some thing are best left to a trained and knowledgable professional, such as yourself in this instance.
 
Last edited:

Racer007

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2005
Location
NC
TDI
NA
http://www.duracool.com/Duracool/faqs.html
[SIZE=-1]Why does DURACOOL® have the scent of propane?
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]The additive "ethyl mercaptin" is actually a stenching agent that is added for safety reasons. Mercaptan, as it is commonly known, is added to natural gas, propane, butane and virtually all gases as an agent that will alert the user to any leakage. The addition of mercapan should be viewed as a safety feature (see below). Mercaptan is also condensable in the AC system and can not limit performance in any way and will not negatively impact components. The mercaptan smell is not detectable under regular working conditions or under normal install conditions. [/SIZE]

If you would READ the original post you will see that an experienced AC did all the install and repair work strictly per the manufacturers directions and specs and we only used 10 oz. of Duracool 12a also per their recommendation 40% of the 134a. refrigerant.
 

Spottymaldoon

New member
Joined
Sep 17, 2008
Location
Toronto Canada
TDI
bravo
Duracool

Duracool, to my best understanding, is pure propane with a pinch of odorant added plus a mystical additive to give the manufacturer the right to say it has special ingredients. When all is said and done PROPANE works in systems designed for use with 1,1,1,2tetrachloroethane (R134a). Duracool claims it works with greater energy efficiency, which is misleading becase although that may be true, it doesm't make the air as COLD as the R134a! BUT it works quite well and would be fine in Canada, for example, most of the time. I have just recharged my aircon with Duracool and I expect it to carry on working because propane is pretty harmless and will not corrode components. Nice cool air is coming out! Can you use ordinary bottled propane? I didn't try but I'd give it a go in an older car, ready to change if it didn't give satisfaction. The only impurities there are methane and ethane in low % levels and not enough to affect performance. Because the chemicals and technology are a little complicated, there is a temptation by some to take advantage of non-technical people and scare them with horror stories.
 

Spottymaldoon

New member
Joined
Sep 17, 2008
Location
Toronto Canada
TDI
bravo
DURACOOL correction

That should be 1,1,1,2tetraFLUOROethane not CHLORO - R134a has no impact on the ozone layer because it contains no chlorine. However it is a powerful greenhouse gas and so quite nasty!
 
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