A/C question again

I bet I'm almost as tired of thinking about this as you all are of hearing about it.

When I bought my IH 886 the guy told me the air conditioning didn't work. He said if it were him he would put a new style compressor in it, but he hadn't really used the tractor in a few years.

When I started using it the cab relay worked intermittently. I put a new one it. The heater valve was hard to turn so I ran the line directly to the core.

I'm getting ready to buy a new a/c kit. I was doing chores yesterday and happened to think of the nightmare I would have if the wiring was messed up. I kicked on the air to check it and sure enough the clutch kicked in. It ran for a few seconds and I'll be danged if the line didn't get ice cold. The return was warm. I couldn't tell whether there was cool air in the cab as the heater core always has coolant running through it. Now I'm wondering if it was the cab relay going bad that made him think that it didn't work. There's clearly some freon in there and the York pump sounded just fine.

What are my odds of finding someone with R12 to charge it? If I could save the money replacing it and just charge it this year I would be happy.

Put a manual shut off in your heater hose.

open the system to let remaining R-12 out. add 134 oil. then charge with 134. been doing it now for 20+years and have never had a problem. if receiver dryer plugs, just replace it. if something breaks, fix it and don't forget to add some 134 oil. put it back together. biggest problem that i see is over charging to R-12 numbers with 134. bring the number up to where the cab cools and stop there. i'd say 90-95% of the numbers of r-12.

I also like the york compressors. much easier for clutch replacement.

If it still has any freon after all that time it's likly still full. Although not as effecient and can't be mixed,there is a replacement for R12,check with an appliance serviceman for r12 and replacement. Probably never worked on one so you might have to tell him when to stop charging. If you don't know,let us know.

There are two - one at each end of the block. I'm going to go out and look at the valve again and see what was binding it. There is not that much to them so I should be able to hook it back in.

Yes ajcoc ,, that should be done on "all" tractors the chintzy cab valve will let hot water by and over come what good the AC is trying to do...I work on Deere's only and I get a water valve from Kimbball Midwest part #54910,it has 3/8" male pipe on one end and a 5/8" hose barb on the other, they screw in nicely at the water pump on a Deere,,and probably on other brands too...

I like the old 'York' compressors, but every one I've ever had lost a little bit of the charge over the winter months. I only have one left now, it's on a 1086 IH and it's the only one I ever had to replace. The new one does the same thing, the first time in the spring it will run and cool down, but after a few minutes run time the low pressure light comes on. Top the charge off and it's usually a 'go' for the season. I hope that's all yours needs.

There's still a lot of R12 out there. Ebay has a lot of listings, they may or may not sell it without a refrigerant license, seems to run around $25-30 a can.

Or, (by law) recover the R12 that's in it and dispose of it. Then dump what oil you can out of the compressor, vacuum it down, install the 134 charge fittings, add some 134 oil and charge it with R134. That will be a permanent fix. The system must be in reasonably good shape for it to have "some" charge left. Be sure not to over charge it, R134 is very sensitive to charge, ease it in until the return line gets cool, and stop.

A ball valve with barb fittings will be a good heater shut off. Better than what the auto supply sells.

Venting R-12 to the atmosphere is a federal offense that carries fines of up to $20,000.
I disagree with the law as well as the reasons for the law, however, I would not advertise that you are dumping R-12 into the atmosphere. Might draw some unwanted attention.

Legally, R-12 can only be sold to a licensed A/C technician. But then, who follows the law these days? I'm sure that there is still plenty of it in use in 3rd world countries as well as still being manufactured there.