My biggest A/C job yet.

[Mopar1973Man]

 

Yeap... That's a Trailway Bus. A local gent bought the bus and slowly converting the bus over to a RV. He has a trip to do tomorrow so he really wanted to get the A/C recharged. It only took about 25 to 26 pounds of R134a to recharge it. The sad part was it was slow to take in the freon only about 2.5 hours to charge it up. Seems I get all the good one to do right? 

[Killer223]

25 lb that seams like a lot. did you find the leak?

[Mopar1973Man]

No. Leaks searched for... The owner wanted the A/C to be charged and he understood the possible failures too. 

[dripley]

How easy is it to buy the large bottle of 134a? Not that I need it, just thought that size might be more difficult to buy considering the EPA regs on using it.

[Mopar1973Man]

Really easy... The owner walked into Autozone and bought 30# R134a... No questions asked, I might go this route in the future if I can find a digital scale that is battery pound that is fairly accurate. 

 

http://www.autozone.com/a-c-charging-and-refrigerant-freon/r134a-refrigerant/r134a-refrigerant-r-134a-refrigerant-30-lbs-cylinder-not-for-hybrid-vehicles-with-electrical-driven-compressors/72022_0_0

 

Basically that is 6.66 a pound for that 30#... Pretty cheap compared to the 12 ozs can I buy locally for 10.99.

 

 

[Killer223]

Here in Flag you can get the bigger cans at cal ranch. did you pull a vacuum on it first?

[Mopar1973Man]

No... Still had 15 PSI standing pressure.

[IBMobile]

Don't those buses come with a backup A/C system?

sent from Banff, AB, Canada

[Mopar1973Man]

Too old... This is an old 3 piston compressor with twin drive belts.

[Mopar1973Man]

Mor or less this was one of those rush jobs. Owner needed the bus to head to Boise by the next day. There was still pressure in the system so instead of pull the last bit of freon out to place a vacuum on it. Just run with it. I'm pretty sure will re-visit this issue again being there is most likely a leak in the system. There isn't any backup system. 

 

The owner bought the bus from down in LA California. His plan is to convert it into a RV. At the current time its half way there. He has the on board restroom now that is functional. Pulled a few rows a seats and installed a propane stove. Then turned  2 sets of seats around and installed an RV style tables. Another area pulled a few rows out again and put a hide-a-bed couch. Kind of rough but its do-able for now. 

 

So since he had to be in Boise by the next it was understood that it was unknown how long the freon would last being there is no current history of the A/C system. The other problem is there is no way to get any ventilation while driving if the A/C fails. None of the windows open, the driver has a very small slider window but that's it. Felt sorry for him when he drove from Riggins to my place 15 miles and was dripping sweat and it was over 90*F inside and no way to get a cool breeze from outside.  

[dripley]

No windows that sucks. I had to make trip in Jefferson City Missouri for a day trip. About a 13 or 14 hour drive. My project manager asked me if my AC worked and I told no. He could not understand how I could the trip without it. I told no big I would just roll the windows as I usually do. It rained on me almost all the way there and back and I could only open the windows about an 1.5" each. That was with the temps in the low 90's. Most miserable trip I ever made. The good part, I got it working again right after that. 

 I feel his pain, if I would have made the trip windows up and the sun shining.not sure I would have made it. 

[Mopar1973Man]

Now you understand the push and rush on it...

[dripley]

Oh yes. Hence the end of procrastination on fixing mine.

[Mopar1973Man]

Still to this day I can get @MoparMom complaining rather quickly with the A/C. Turn it on MAX A/C high fan and get rolling by the time I reach Payette, ID from Ontario, OR I've got to turn it down. Typically it will frost up the compressor and lines just a bit. Even time I stop to eat and park near a window I can see water dripping in the front of the truck not the HVAC drain.

 

I should put a gauge on mine and check the pressures. Been a long while since I did that...