FI Interchiller Install w/Aftermarket front bumper

[FULLTHROTTLERICK]

I think you should be good and see how it does when it starts to warm up.

What should I be looking for when it starts up?

 

[916Ghost]

What should I be looking for when it starts up?

Not sure what you are asking. But if the low side nice and cold and sweating, high side is luke warm. Should be good

 

[FULLTHROTTLERICK]

So now Kirk is telling me i cant use YF refrigerant in this system (even though his instructions say it’s perfectly fine - just not optimal). He’s saying im gunna blow my system up. Two local AC shops told me that by mixing the two refrigerants the oils are not compatible and so I may have damaged my compressor by using the one recommended by Kirk. Kirk is telling me I may be damaging my compressor by using the one the factory recommends. WTF This is turning out to be a total disaster.

 

[916Ghost]

So now Kirk is telling me i cant use YF refrigerant in this system (even though his instructions say it’s perfectly fine - just not optimal). He’s saying im gunna blow my system up. Two local AC shops told me that by mixing the two refrigerants the oils are not compatible and so I may have damaged my compressor by using the one recommended by Kirk. Kirk is telling me I may be damaging my compressor by using the one the factory recommends. WTF This is turning out to be a total disaster.

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So you compressor should be fine. You can change your system to r134. You just need to replace the explansion valve to a r134 one so that it is metered properly. Also it is a better refrigerant as like anything that’s older

 

[FULLTHROTTLERICK]

So you compressor should be fine. You can change your system to r134. You just need to replace the explansion valve to a r134 one so that it is metered properly. Also it is a better refrigerant as like anything that’s older

Did you replace the expansion valve?

TBH Ghost, Id rather just leave the 1234-ABCD shit in there even if it’s slightly inferior. I just want my truck to be safe at this point so i can be done with this GD project.

 

[AZDinoPwr]

So now Kirk is telling me i cant use YF refrigerant in this system (even though his instructions say it’s perfectly fine - just not optimal). He’s saying im gunna blow my system up. Two local AC shops told me that by mixing the two refrigerants the oils are not compatible and so I may have damaged my compressor by using the one recommended by Kirk. Kirk is telling me I may be damaging my compressor by using the one the factory recommends. WTF This is turning out to be a total disaster.

View attachment 117866

I have always used 134a before. Did Kirk actually say “blow up” the system?

 

[217TRX]

I’ve had 134 in mine for almost a year with no issues

 

[AZDinoPwr]

I’ve had 134 in mine for almost a year with no issues

R134a is compatible in a R1234yf system and much cheaper.

 

[FULLTHROTTLERICK]

I have always used 134a before. Did Kirk actually say “blow up” the system?

No. He said R-1234 is not compatible with his system and that I'm going to damage the compressor. When i pointed out to him that his instructions say his system is compatible with R-1234, he said that was incorrect and that he "wrote the instructions." Then when i sent him a copy of his instructions showing exactly this:
"Our system does work totally fine with R-1234yf in it. However does work even better with R134A"

He then changed his tune and said it will work but the charge weight is unknown. He said the same car that uses 900+ grams of R134A, only used 300 grams of R1234 (same day, same conditions, only 15 minutes later). While I dont dispute that unicorns exist, i do dispute that my truck w/the chiller system uses 200 grams less than the OEM charge weight as he intimated. I also dispute that the oils in 1234 and 134 are as compatible as he makes them seem. My local AC shop, an AC pro/friend of the family, and 19 google searches yields the same result: do not put 134 in a 1234 system or vice versa as mixing the oil(s) can damage the system... The local shops told me that I may have damaged my compressor by putting 134 in the system (per Kirk's recommendation).

I have now put R-134A in my system 3x at home and vacuumed it out (b/c of issues charging with rattle cans). Then I took to local shop and waited 90 minutes for them to tell me they arent comfortable putting anything in the system other than the OEM refrigerant (1234). When i told them go ahead, they still werent comfortable given the entire chiller system/liability/etc.

I then took to another shop and put R-1234 in because they didnt have the 134 to 1234 adapters for their zamboni-sized machines. The 1234 machine refused to evacuate my system b/c it detected the 134 refrigerant. After venting to air, we still had to use 1234 machine to vacuum my system which led to cross-contamination issues and the machine had to purge/clean/etc the lines just from the residual 134-A. After we vacuumed everything out, we charged the system with 1234 (charge weight unknown due to input meter not working properly). We spent about 4.5-5 hours dialing in the amount of refrigerant based on AC vent temps and IC coolant temps and drier bubbles/etc. I'm sure we could get it a bit better but not spending 10 more hours at the shop.

R-1234 is going to stay in the truck until further notice. Luckily the local shop didnt charge me (YET) for the 1234 because we didnt get the high side comp pressures dialed in properly b4 they closed. When I have to pay that bill it's probably going to be north of $500+. I'm not interested in switching back to 134 and paying another $$XX for a marginal benefit in cooling. If the system blows up b/c I put 1234 in it then I'll be giving Kirk a ring about his instructions. Until then, I'll add another piece of foam to my coolant lines and call it an F'in day.

 

[AZDinoPwr]

No. He said R-1234 is not compatible with his system and that I'm going to damage the compressor. When i pointed out to him that his instructions say his system is compatible with R-1234, he said that was incorrect and that he "wrote the instructions." Then when i sent him a copy of his instructions showing exactly this:
"Our system does work totally fine with R-1234yf in it. However does work even better with R134A"

He then changed his tune and said it will work but the charge weight is unknown. He said the same car that uses 900+ grams of R134A, only used 300 grams of R1234 (same day, same conditions, only 15 minutes later). While I dont dispute that unicorns exist, i do dispute that my truck w/the chiller system uses 200 grams less than the OEM charge weight as he intimated. I also dispute that the oils in 1234 and 134 are as compatible as he makes them seem. My local AC shop, an AC pro/friend of the family, and 19 google searches yields the same result: do not put 134 in a 1234 system or vice versa as mixing the oil(s) can damage the system... The local shops told me that I may have damaged my compressor by putting 134 in the system (per Kirk's recommendation).

I have now put R-134A in my system 3x at home and vacuumed it out (b/c of issues charging with rattle cans). Then I took to local shop and waited 90 minutes for them to tell me they arent comfortable putting anything in the system other than the OEM refrigerant (1234). When i told them go ahead, they still werent comfortable given the entire chiller system/liability/etc.

I then took to another shop and put R-1234 in because they didnt have the 134 to 1234 adapters for their zamboni-sized machines. The 1234 machine refused to evacuate my system b/c it detected the 134 refrigerant. After venting to air, we still had to use 1234 machine to vacuum my system which led to cross-contamination issues and the machine had to purge/clean/etc the lines just from the residual 134-A. After we vacuumed everything out, we charged the system with 1234 (charge weight unknown due to input meter not working properly). We spent about 4.5-5 hours dialing in the amount of refrigerant based on AC vent temps and IC coolant temps and drier bubbles/etc. I'm sure we could get it a bit better but not spending 10 more hours at the shop.

R-1234 is going to stay in the truck until further notice. Luckily the local shop didnt charge me (YET) for the 1234 because we didnt get the high side comp pressures dialed in properly b4 they closed. When I have to pay that bill it's probably going to be north of $500+. I'm not interested in switching back to 134 and paying another $$XX for a marginal benefit in cooling. If the system blows up b/c I put 1234 in it then I'll be giving Kirk a ring about his instructions. Until then, I'll add another piece of foam to my coolant lines and call it an F'in day.

I took a look at the lubricants myself and every data sheet I find shows R134a oils compatible with R1234yf. Just another example on the forums showing folks have been down this road for years…

Changing from 1234yf to 134a refrigerant?

Has anyone tried or does anyone know if you could change from 1234yf to 134a? After evacuating and pulling vacuum would you have any issues with recharging at that point? The dealer around here is quoting $450 to recharge the system on 1234yf so a bottle of 134a for $20 seems like a lot better...

www.chargerforums.com

I don’t believe the AC shop is either being honest or knows what they are talking about. That aside, it is two different charge weights and if you try to overfill with one versus the other then you can damage the system. They literally had to make R1234yf backward compatible to meet EPA standards. The only difference between the systems running on two types of refrigerant is full volume / operating pressure and a slight tweak in the expansion valve (but it’s close enough to work well).

Sorry you are going through this pain and that it wasn’t a smooth install for you.

 

[916Ghost]

Did you replace the expansion valve?

TBH Ghost, Id rather just leave the 1234-ABCD shit in there even if it’s slightly inferior. I just want my truck to be safe at this point so i can be done with this GD project.

I haven’t done anything to my factory ac system. But you should be fine with either refrigerant. I just don’t think it will get as cold as it would with r134 though. As long as they got it close you should be good. Also there are safety’s in the system to protect if from to much pressure and not enough. The oils won’t make an issue. I would try it out where you sit and see how it does.

 

[FULLTHROTTLERICK]

I took a look at the lubricants myself and every data sheet I find shows R134a oils compatible with R1234yf. Just another example on the forums showing folks have been down this road for years…

Changing from 1234yf to 134a refrigerant?

Has anyone tried or does anyone know if you could change from 1234yf to 134a? After evacuating and pulling vacuum would you have any issues with recharging at that point? The dealer around here is quoting $450 to recharge the system on 1234yf so a bottle of 134a for $20 seems like a lot better...

www.chargerforums.com

I don’t believe the AC shop is either being honest or knows what they are talking about. That aside, it is two different charge weights and if you try to overfill with one versus the other then you can damage the system. They literally had to make R1234yf backward compatible to meet EPA standards. The only difference between the systems running on two types of refrigerant is full volume / operating pressure and a slight tweak in the expansion valve (but it’s close enough to work well).

Sorry you are going through this pain and that it wasn’t a smooth install for you.

Thanks AZ. Hoping to have good success with this kit moving forward. Side note: I've only driven about 10-12 miles so far but from what I can see, giving it a few seconds of WOT definitely increases temps pretty noticeably. If I recall correctly, i was cruising around 40mph with cabin & chiller on, IC was around 42'ish and after about a 3-second pull, it had climbed to around 65 degrees. it quickly went back down but just wanted to drop you that note since you and I were talking recently about whether we needed the rezzy tank or not. I think that may be something worth looking into down the road (good Xmas or bday present from the wife next year perhaps). Cant be too difficult to add the tank now that the entire system is in place I would imagine.

 

[FULLTHROTTLERICK]

I haven’t done anything to my factory ac system. But you should be fine with either refrigerant. I just don’t think it will get as cold as it would with r134 though. As long as they got it close you should be good. Also there are safety’s in the system to protect if from to much pressure and not enough. The oils won’t make an issue. I would try it out where you sit and see how it does.

Roger that ghost. Thanks!

 

[FULLTHROTTLERICK]

Anyone here insulate their Tx valve? I’m no scientist but the thing gets pretty cold and I don’t see any insulation or instructions from Kirks video.

 

[916Ghost]

Anyone here insulate their Tx valve? I’m no scientist but the thing gets pretty cold and I don’t see any insulation or instructions from Kirks video.

You wouldn’t see any difference if you do it tbh.

 

[FULLTHROTTLERICK]

You wouldn’t see any difference if you do it tbh.

Haha have u seen my shit lately?! It’s like a reflective insulation fun house. Other than spraying great stuff in the corrugated tubing or blowing pink insulation, I’ve got everything but the Tx valve covered lol.

 

[FULLTHROTTLERICK]

So finally got to open her up a bit this evening. Did about three 0-70 pulls and then a few little 10-40mph pulls and she only climbed to about 50 degrees on the IC coolant temps which was super awesome. Definitely a noticeable difference as I lit up all 4 tires on dry pavement (used to only chirp a couple tires).

Happy so far with the results. Cant beat the feeling of an ice cold coolant line after romping on her.

 

[HVACog]

Don’t worry about mixing the oils. It’s not as bad as people make it see .

So finally got to open her up a bit this evening. Did about three 0-70 pulls and then a few little 10-40mph pulls and she only climbed to about 50 degrees on the IC coolant temps which was super awesome. Definitely a noticeable difference as I lit up all 4 tires on dry pavement (used to only chirp a couple tires).

Happy so far with the results. Cant beat the feeling of an ice cold coolant line after romping on her.

glad you’re happy with it !

 

[FULLTHROTTLERICK]

Hey guys, please help

Can someone please tell me what my pressures are on this gauge (Vevor) and this other gauge (Gauge #2). Please see pics. I don’t know which reading I should be looking at considering my refrigerant type is not listed on the gauge.

 

[HVACog]

Looks like standing pressure. Is the compressor on ?