Adding R134a to Prius AC question

This is the best way top charge your A/C system.
R12 R22 R134a R502 Manifold Gauge Set HVAC A/C Refrigeration Charging Kit 5FT | eBay

 

In no way shap or form were the presence of bubbles or no bubbles tell anyone that the system if full. If it is not completely heavy all the time bubbles at least it’s not empty that att and a indicator when you hear the compressor is running it is actually pumping that’s all. The conditions or temperature and humidity play such a big factor not to mention sun load of the vehicle or in the shade. Too many times I’m called into shops that do air conditioning this way and they do have problems with cars then they call me in. In front of them I recover the cars refrigerant and it comes out over charge or under charged. Often I will show the shop owner or TECHs no bubbles when system is half charged.duct temps at 38f to 43f.

Here is what I get called into shops daily to fix. This is the exactly why most of the AC specialty Shop have gone out of Business. Old lazy hardheaded cheap and ignorant. That was the old-school the way with R12 large 35 pound iron compressors using fixed pistons with no automatic controls no sensors. The days of the large V-8 engines and low RPM operation and fuel economy or weight of a vehicle did not matter. Look at the size of the condensers between the 1960s and 1970s car in today 30 to 38 inches across 24 to 30 inches high and inch and a half thick. I spent decades re-doing the work after air conditioning specialty shops with multiple attempts to fix and visiting the dealership and still not getting it right. Just because of this type of thinking.
The only problem is it’s so easy to get cold to come out of the dash with the can and no gauges and just a single hose. This is why so many compressors need to get replaced eventually. And the technicians are clueless and don’t even know they are the cause of why the compressors eventually fail. The most dangerous ones are the one who don’t even know what they don’t know. But maybe they can read a book or watch a YouTube professor or seen Billy Bob Buttcrack banjo player from deliverance. But he would gladly have you click on his affiliated Amazon links below to buy all the products you just watched him fill his cars air conditioning with. LOL
I am vary thankful for the people the last 30+ years who re-charge a/c by this method, I make my living off it it pays good and more billing hours every day then I could possibly do in a lifetime.

 

I did a short video on the teckstream on a Prius about six years ago it was on my YouTube which uses pressure and temperature to give you your superheat and sub cooling this will tell you if your system is properly charged. It’s something every rookie HVAC technician learns in his first semester of his 2 1/2 year HVAC and commercial refrigeration classes.
Most automotive technicians are lucky to get 2 1/2 days of training in air-conditioning in there entire 20 to 40 year career. Suck blow and go collect money if anything breaks just charge to customer double that’s the automotive mentality .
Your gauges go to a good drugstore and see if you can find some 99% isopropyl alcohol to flush out your gauges and your hoses. I guess I should make a video on that procedure and post it . I also have a video taking apart the valves the shafts and pistons out of a set of gauges applying dielectric grease like spark plug boot grease silicone grease inside the grooves where the O-rings fit in on the shafts the pistons so they can hold a deep vacuum.
Just because it was a cheap small vacuum pump as long as you change the oil you may be able to obtain the desired deep vacuum but it might take many hours. Just leave it on overnight you can never suck too much.
The advantages of having four ports for hoses on a refrigerant gauge set you never have to remove any gauges you don’t have to and thread anything risking contamination of air or a vacuum leak. I do remember mentioning this and showing it that in one of the videos I put on my YouTube channel.
Until I actually take out the time to learn how to use editing software for the videos and sound editing software so I can remove some of the background noise so vocals sound better I just shoot quick short videos from my phone often without thinking of what I’m saying just a few tidbits of information in each different video.
Toyota engineers did not come up with the method for figuring out whether the system was charged or not charged correctly this is a very old school method. Toyota doesn’t make air conditioning they purchase it from DENSO is the world leader in automotive air conditioning systems.
After you clean your gauges and hoses changed oh rings on the Pistons or seals whichever configuration the type of gauges you have add some silicone grease . Test your gauges dry vacuum on them for for five hours to dry out the hoses. Then close off the hose ends and leave a rest overnight with everything closed up your gauges should not move at all after resting overnight. If you do not know anybody who make welder to weld’s dad has either argon gas or nitrogen gas to pressurize your gauges to 150 psi and then close off all the hose ends fittings and let it sit overnight it should hold. Do not use CO2 gas it’s considered a dirty wet gas and it expands and contracts with just the temperature of the air so your needle on your gauges would fluctuate with ambient temperature.
Then you should be able to use your gauges and your vacuum pump.

 

I actually purchased those gauges just so I can test them to see if there any good.
1: I will put them under a deep micron vacuum test and measure their performance and ability to hold a vacuum as if you were going to perform a vacuum test on a vehicle
2: then I will perform a high-pressure dry nitrogen pressure Decay test to see if they’re capable of performing a leak test on a vehicle under pressure.
3: then I will take them up to the highest pressure on a vehicle pressure cut out switch at 440 psi is where the high-pressure safety switch cuts out the clutch to save the compressor from damage.

I can tell you one thing is for sure you better not drop them they will break they are made out of that cheap brittle plastic I have not seen since the 70s or early 80s the type of plastic that if you leave it in the sun it cracks if you drop it it shatters. The smell of the VOC solvents emanating from the plastic bag from the hoses clearly EPA approved probably have the highest carcinogenic levels in the brass manufactured with a high lead content should probably test them for mercury to. Lol
4: I have also purchased a brand new set of yellow jacket refrigerant charge and hoses and one package of JB refrigerant charge and hoses .
I will make a video of the test and show the results do you let people know if these gauges and hoses are qualified for a reliable and quality job to prevent air contamination from leaking under vacuum and not to be dangerous if the high side pressure was ever to get over 400 psi and have a hose burst in your face.
5: The JB refrigerant hoses and the Yellow Jacket refrigerant hoses I do not need to perform a high-pressure burst test on because these are the hoses that are currently on all my refrigerant manifold gauges and I use them for high-pressure dry nitrogen decay test when I’m commissioning new commercial HVAC units at 600 psi to 650 psi or 24 hours. Because this is what I do for a living on a daily basis for an excess of the past 30+ years.

 

Good report. Spot on accurate!