This might be of only peripheral interest, but we have just returned from our annual vacation in Mexico, and while there my daughter took her car to a local AC shop to have her AC checked. She said it had been getting less and less effective for years, and finally about 4 years ago stopped working completely, but since they live in Lake Tahoe (where 75 degrees in the middle of August is a HOT DAY!) she never bothered about it. But in Mexico, they were roasting in the car (it is a big van with glass all around). So she had it recharged (4 cans) after checking for leaks (too slow to find) and a complete vacuum pump down etc. Total cost? - - - - - 315 Pesos. (About $34 this week). The Freon is on the shelf at the parts stores down there, the going price is 50 Pesos a can ($6 to $7 this week). Dick Benjamin ----- Original Message ----- From: Bob Schmitt <bsbrbank@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, April 09, 2002 11:27 PM Subject: Re: IML: Freon and A/C hoses > Mike - > > I've got some facts on A/C conversions collected at: > > http://teamchicago.com/imperial/imp-ac.htm > > the top link on this page is to an EPA site that has much technical & > legal discussions of automotive cooling: > > http://www.epa.gov/docs/ozone/title6/609/609.html#factsheets > > > > Mmmmm...not quite. They still _reclaim_ and _recycle_ > > R12, and you can buy R12 provided it is of this "used" > > variety. I just took a course on the EPA's rules on > > refrigerants. CFC's (like R12, R11, etc) are illegal > > to produce. Period. HCFC's like R22 are legal for > > sale and manufacture to licensed individuals, but only > > for the next 20 years or so. Most commercial apps now > > use HCFC's. R134a belongs to a third class, which are > > completely ozone safe. > >