Air con pipes...sorted??

[Deleted account DD]

Fixed the air con...for now!! Instead of nissans £65 + vat for a pipe I cut it and inserted a flexible hose. The only worry I have is the hose which is a domestic one will not take the top end pressure. However well worth the trial for £4.45 worth of parts from our local plumber and the assistance of a local garage who is intrigued as he descibes tackling work like this as the glass half empty to start!!!!

For anyone with a similar problem, even if the hose I'm using doesnt hack it, I now know that even on the alloy pipe, you can with a bit of care, get an olive and union to take. A 12mm hose with suitable end fittings from a hydraulic supplier shouldnt be more than £20 and that will work

 

[lacroupade]

When is the outside tap going on then? :lol:lol:lol:lol:lol

 

[Deleted account DD]

I felt good about it until you cruelly knocked back my workmanship


​

LOL :lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol It does look a bit that way doesnt it


In all seriousness for anyone else with the same pipe knackered, before you go to the expense of a new or s/h replacement consider an in situ repair. A couple of air con people I spoke with also told me the unions at either end of this pipe are prone to seizing. I certainly couldnt shift mine right up to 4 white knuckles so I didnt bother trying the scaffy bar :augie Plan B :thumb2

 

[Timbo_1975]

This is interesting to read...

My leak is in the small 6-8mm alloy pipe that runs across the top of the condensor to the drier. (visable in your pics)

What is the rating of your flexi-water pipe you have used? The high side of the a.c will be running upto ~180psi (12bar) on a hot day, so would be interested to hear how you get on..

I have a new condensor and drier ready to fit along with a fixed / replaced pipe when I can sort something on mine!

Tim.

 

[Deleted account DD]

This may sound barking but my train of thought was:

The plumbing pipe is rated to 100psi min . Most pipes are fail tested to around double the working pressure (to account for surges) Believe it or not, domestic water pressure (research from plumbers and the web) can actually hit in some areas an input of 10bar!!!! so these hoses should account for that. I've had it running full tilt today (warm here) no problems so far.

However I wont be upset if it fails....because:

I wasn't sure if the olives would take sufficiently on the alloy pipe to seal nicely so i didnt want to got the £20 ish to get a hydraulic hose made up that I wasnt sure would work. These bits cost me £4 and the fill up £40. Thats still less than an experimental replacment s/h pipe @ £37 + shipping + vat !!!!!! which would probably haver or develop the same fault (caused by stress on the mounting point)

The further problem with a replacement pipe is removing without damage the old one. Apparently in Air con circles an infamous terrano (along with other makes) problem.Therefore cock up would lead you one way towards the rad , other way a very expensive looking hose with a pipe swaged in. Potentialy a hell of a job and pricey

The unions on mine were well seized.........bollocks was the phrase

So I had nothing to lose.

If the hose fails its the hydraulic one which will cost me but will easily take 200psi every thing else in place and a discounted recharge as the guy at the garage is very interested in what I'm up to plus I know it'll work. It is fixable. I also reckon its possibly better than the original because any movement or stress at the mounting point will be onto a flexible rubber hose.

I now know with hindsight (best tool in the world for armchair philosophers ) I could have got away with a hydraulic hose + compression fitting but hey...........dont try out dont learn

Hope that helps.

Hopefully it'll be warm air con weather in June when I'm away and it'll be make or break over the approx 1000 miles we'll be doing :thumb2 update to follow.

 

[sprokit]

Hi Daved
any update on your AC pipe work? can you give us a full list of parts?

 

[Deleted account DD]

sorry I've been basking in the cold air :thumb2

Used the air con loads over the past couple of weeks no problems at all.

It had not knackered anything due to emptying as is the common myth. All components seem to be working fine. It blows very cold air into the cab and dumps the water its separated onto the floor when it stops

As above, flexible hose with suitable olive and compression fitting onto the alloy pipe :thumb2

Total cost for bits believe it or not £4 from a "proper plumber" even B&Q were only around a tenner :clap

 

[sprokit]

Great. a good cheap fix.

 

[Timbo_1975]

I'm really glad yours is holding up with the flexie plumbing fitting! It probably is leaking, as the nitile pipe obviously doesnt have a barrier layer as would normal a/c hose, but as it's a short length, loss is surely 'not much at all' !!

Mine is also now fixed and lovely. In the end it had the full works as per my post and photo's abit ago. Icy cold; 7deg c (which is the thermostat temp) and lots of water dripping on the floor in the last few muggy days :>

 

[Deleted account DD]

It probably is leaking, as the nitile pipe obviously doesnt have a barrier layer as would normal a/c hose, but as it's a short length, loss is surely 'not much at all' !!

I'm confident its not , at the mo anyway :clap

Havent measured by product volume , but theres no discernible drop in pressure and no sign of the dye or any other evidence that its permeated over 6 weeks or so of heavy use.
I've no idea of the composition of this hose but I have seen them with ptfe linings

I was more concerned about the olives and fittings onto the alloy pipe. A quick trip to somewhere like Pirtek would sort a hose in minutes cheaper than a nissan pipe if you have the fitting points for it

 

[Timbo_1975]

The oil won't leak through the pipe, only the gas. R134a molecules are *very very* small, and will happily pass though alloy and copper tube- which is why all r134a a/c systems leak slightly over time- hence why we have to re-charge every 4-5yrs even on a healthy system.

R12 has comparitively large molecules, which is why an R12 system will often go 10yrs+ before it needs gas.

I have discovered a firm by gloucester ( http://www.ama-airconditioning.co.uk/ ) who are *exceptionally* helpful, and will custom make any pipe, with any fitting on it while you wait.

They also carry all parts you are ever likely to need.

 

[lacroupade]

The oil won't leak through the pipe, only the gas. R134a molecules are *very very* small, and will happily pass though alloy and copper tube- which is why all r134a a/c systems leak slightly over time- hence why we have to re-charge every 4-5yrs even on a healthy system.

R12 has comparitively large molecules, which is why an R12 system will often go 10yrs+ before it needs gas.

I have discovered a firm by gloucester ( http://www.ama-airconditioning.co.uk/ ) who are *exceptionally* helpful, and will custom make any pipe, with any fitting on it while you wait.

They also carry all parts you are ever likely to need.

and on my way home to boot! thanks tIM.:thumbs

 

[zippy656]

how do yo uknow what gas you got then?

 

[lacroupade]

how do yo uknow what gas you got then?

I think its just subjective Zips, aircon not as cold as it should be....but I assume the specialists can test and advise? Probably worth a re-gas in a lot of cases anyway....

 

[Timbo_1975]

how do yo uknow what gas you got then?

Service valves are different between gases...