List,
I have tried this before. It does work. It sounds like a crazy thing
to do at first, but once the pros and cons are weighed, it makes sense.
It is cheap and easy to do.
I used to work in the natural gas business, so I had access to a flame
ionization unit (fancy flammable gas detector) Wow! more sensitive
than a freon sniffer! I could put in all I want until i found the
leak.....a barbecue grill tank full of refrigerant cost me all of
$9.00. How many air conditioning systems will that fill? Dunno. I
filled mine a few times then grilled for six months.
Only a small amount of propane would be present in an A/C system, and
would be mixed with oil. If it leaks, chances of an explosion of VERY
minimal--there is a narrow range of propane/air percentages that will
even ignite (I believe the range is 7-17% propane in air). Not likely
to happen with and A/C system leak. It would leak out very quickly upon
impact and dissipate almost immediately, or leak out slowly and do the
same. If it were to leak from, say, the evaporator into a closed car,
you would be able to smell the mercaptan odorant before it reached a
critical level of concentration. I know, I have been there. I rolled
down the electric windows and let the smell out, then later let the
pressure out of the system till I could look at it.
I would much rather be burned by a quick flare-up of propane than by a
gasoline fire. I would imagine that the survivability of the former
would be much higher as well.
Did you know that burning freon creates phosgene? A nasty little
warfare gas.
Propane, as was mentioned previously, has some greenhouse properties,
but it is not as bad as something that leaks into the air everyday,
methane (natural gas).
So, don't knock it if you haven't tried it, and don't try it if you
don't think it is safe, and remember it is illegal for some strange
reason that is obviously beyond the understanding of normal citizens.
One more thing EPA nazis are restricting with no evidence of harm. They
should concentrate on things such as motor oil than gets dumped down
drains and ends up in drinking water, and antifreeze that kills animals.
How about those infamous JC Whitney engine overhaul pellets? Where do
those end up? On the peaches I picked the other day? In the city water
reservoir? I wonder if they treat water for those....Anyway, I digress.
I feel propane is perfectly safe.
One thing I would tell anyone though, is to be SURE not to take a
system with propane in it to a shop that recycles refrigerant. It would
"ruin" their whole stash, and it wouldn't be fair for someone else to
have it introduced into their A/C system without even knowing it.
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