R-12 worth

Status
Not open for further replies.

81cutlass

Comic Book Super Hero
Feb 16, 2009
4,639
13,542
113
Western MN
Dad bought a dozen pounder cans from an auction sale a few years ago. He put the up for $20 a can and was OK taking $10 just to get rid of them. He had 1 taker (Fargo area).

It's a tough market. 134 conversions are straight forward enough and not many R12 cars on the road anymore.
 

84cutlasssupreme

Apprentice
Nov 2, 2019
85
55
18
Shipping anywhere outside of your local area WILL be a problem. A tank of freon is considered a hazardous material in the trucking/shipping industry, requiring an endorsement on the truck driver's license to carry hazardous materials, shipping paperwork (properly filled out bill-of-lading, an MSDS [material safety data sheet], and an emergency response phone contact). It's just not worth it for an average Joe Citizen to try shipping out of town. Find someone near you that is willing to drive their car or pickup to your place (or maybe meet them halfway).
Thanks for your help. With environmental & shipping regulations the way they are not surprised by all this. Tons of paperwork & bs to get something done, but that's the modern world. You're right not worth it unless you know someone going that way.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

CrammerGram69

Master Mechanic
Nov 15, 2019
430
140
43
SW, Michigan
R12 The best. 134 JUNK. Doesn't stay near cold enough or last as long.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Nov 4, 2012
5,998
12,671
113
You wanna get rich on refrigerant? Hijack a truck full of R1234yf. Market price locally is $125 a pound. Last time we bought, it was down to about 70 a pound in a 10# cylinder at the wholesale level

We were calling it R-1234YourF#cked when we first started hearing about it. I swear they make it that expensive to discourage people from illegally venting it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

69hurstolds

Geezer
Supporting Member
Jan 2, 2006
8,090
17,309
113
1234YF is

$52.50 per pound this way in a 10 pound can with free shipping (and it's on sale!!):


Be that as it may, it still has been a topic of discussion among the greenies and the people that are concerned with safety as well as the environment. 1234yf IS MILDLY FLAMMABLE. It just is. And it has been found to release carbonyl flouride, a highly poisonous gas, when burned. Of course, they say it's safe to use in automobiles... :confused:

Honeywell's response to that using 134a as a red herring (EPA classifies 134a as "fairly benign" and it isn't flammable if released to atmosphere, only in high pressure situations), which makes me feel SO much better about all of it:

“Carbonyl fluoride (COF2) is in fact a well-known breakdown product of HFO-1234yf that has been publicly studied by leading experts in the automotive industry. It was studied in the 2007-2009 Cooperative Research Program (CRP) conducted by SAE International, the world’s leading automotive engineering organization. The SAE CRP reviewed the COF2 data, included it in its risk assessment, and concluded that HFO-1234yf is safe for use in automotive air conditioning. In March, the EU’s Joint Research Centre also reviewed this data and again concluded that HFO-1234yf is safe for use in automobile air conditioning.

COF2 is also formed during the burning of the current automotive refrigerant HFC-134a, used in hundreds of millions of vehicles worldwide today. When COF2 does form in such conditions, it only lasts for a fraction of a second, which is not long enough to put bystanders, passengers, or first responders in any danger, contrary to what the LMU study may suggest.”

-- Honeywell

Judge for yourself:

 

Bonnewagon

Rocket Powered Basset Hound
Supporting Member
Sep 18, 2009
10,540
14,217
113
Queens, NY
It is easy to weigh the can. You stand on a bathroom scale by yourself and take a weight reading. Then do the same holding the can. The difference is the R-12. Don't forget to subtract the tare weight (weight of the empty can). Or do as I do and get a digital postal scale. Weigh the can and again subtract the tare weight. By the way, using a digital scale is the ONLY way to get the exact amount of freon into your system. My scale cost $18 on Fleabay and goes to two decimal points.
1628516506268.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

g0thiac

G-Body Guru
Sep 6, 2020
939
582
93
My Bonneville still has R12 in it, although not much left. If you were in Ontario I would buy it for sure.
 

84cutlasssupreme

Apprentice
Nov 2, 2019
85
55
18
Hi everyone,
Appreciate the feedback. I called a place here in Mpls.-St. Paul that does a/c work & retrofits to 134, etc. They said an empty 30 lb. tank of R-12 weighs 5lbs. & 4 oz.
I just weighed mine on the non-digital bathroom scale. Says 12lbs. Take away the 5lbs. 4oz. & I guess I have 6.6lbs. of freon left.
I'm going to take it to this place mentioned above & see what they say.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

84cutlasssupreme

Apprentice
Nov 2, 2019
85
55
18
Well, I took my tank over to a digital scale & found I had 9 lbs. so I would've cheated myself by 3 lbs. Sold it today for $400.
 
  • Winner
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Status
Not open for further replies.

GBodyForum is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply, and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Please support GBodyForum Sponsors

Classic Truck Consoles Dixie Restoration Depot UMI Performance

Contact [email protected] for info on becoming a sponsor