Hey all,

I kno that theres probally post on this but i tried to look but i couldnt find 1. anyways i have a question. Can you insulate youre A/C hose to make the air more cold? if so how?

Dave

 

Can anyone help?

 

I guess all you have to do is put some of that foam tube around the pipes. I really don't know...but I'd like to find out :D

 

Yes and no.

Yes you can insulate the A/C ducting.

No, it won't really make the air colder unfortunately and you've got to be careful what you go layering in insulation wrap under your hood...

The xB has the A/C system from the Echo, long before i got my xB I remember reading tons of people on the Echofans site griping about their weak A/C. I haven't even used my A/C yet, but since I knew was probably about to move to Arizona when I bought my car, I went with Polar White. I was considering white anyway for a while. Living in the desert with a car with questionable A/C and a huge interior to cool clinched it.

Only way I was driving an xB in Arizona was WHITE with the darkest legal tint on all 3 sides. My xB is on it's way to AZ now and I'm right behind it on a plane Easter Sunday. My windows will be tinted the day i register the car. I'm even having them make the back windows DARKER.

Sorry I couldn't help more than that. If you haven't tinted your windows, I strongly suggest doing it and go as dark as you're allowed in your state. Tinting your windows is the #1 best thing you can do to keep the temperature down inside the car. It also keeps the A/C from having to work as hard on cooler days and it just looks smooth, which is a nice perk.

If you get a tint, ask for Llumar. It's a type of film they use, best stuff around. Costs a tiny bit more but it will NEVER bubble, turn purple or peel and it's so smooth it looks like it came from the factory with the tint.

If you still want to try insulating the ducts, go to Home Depot and ask them for insulating wrap for small pipes/hoses that can be used under the hood. They sell the same stuff there you will find on a "import tuning" site, only you'll pay about 20% the price at Home Depot. Just remember--- know what you are wrapping before you do it and don't go crazy with it.

 

i recall this topic was discussed way, way, way back in early scionlife postings when we learned of scion's weak a/c performance . i did a quick search but no luck. too bad i don't recall the specifics. but i think this can be done with some success as well.

 

ok i live in az and this was one of the first mods (if you want to call it that) that i did... the best insulator looks like tape with a foil backing it is usually used as a exaust insulator i think.. anyway you wrap the ac hose with this stuff. basically the only benefit is that it helps to make the ac get cooler faster, not colder, maybe just a bit cooler but not as though youll notice it... any ?? pm me

 

On an xA, run the car with the AC on. then open the hood and on the left side there are two aluminum pipes commong up from the lower front left engine area. they are the lines to and from the AC compressor to the coil under the dashboard. the top pipe will be cold, the bottom smaller diameter pipe will be netural to warm temp. When the AC is running and the engine compartment is warm/hot, the upper ACline will absorb heat from the engine compartment and the refridgerant will be a bit warmer when it gets to the coil under the dash. The top line starts as aluminum, then switches to flexible black tubing as it passes the alternator pulley, then back to aluminum as it goes thru the firewall. This is the one to insulate, so that it won't absorb the heat from the engine compartment. Most commercial AC instalations have this line insulated. "Armorflex" tubing or something similar - 1/2 inch inside diameter - would work well. Don't go too close to the alternator pulley. Find a foil faced duct tape to wrap it wiith after you cover the pipes. You can probably find the insulating tubing in 3' legenths. On a hot day you might lower the discharge aie temperature by 5 degrees. This worked well on my daughters Echo. good luck Mark S.

 

hey thanks ill try it!

 

the gas used in our cars for coolinmg is fereon 22 or 21
replace it with fereon 12 ( the freeeezszszszzzing gas)
it should help you alot!

but don't turn the AC with engine is still cold wait until the blue signal goes off
drvie the car with opening windows in the beggining to let the hot air to move out the car
don't start the ac in full first put it into 1 for a while then switch to 2,3 of Hi as you like

 

the gas used in our cars for cooling is fereon 22 or 21
replace it with fereon 12 ( the freeeezszszszzzing gas)
it should help you alot!

but don't turn the AC with engine is still cold wait until the blue signal goes off
drvie the car with opening windows in the beggining to let the hot air to move out the car
don't start the ac in full hi first put it into 1 for a while then switch to 2,3 or Hi as you like

 

I allways wait to turn on my a/c How much colder r we talkin?

 

Converting an R134a (new type) system to an R12 (old type) system will end up costing thousands in repair bills.

The manufacturers have made no interim provision as in the case of converting r12 to r134. Its all in the oil used. The old systems used a mineral based lubricant in the system. The new systems use a purely synthetic lubricant. When converting up, a different type of oil is added to allow the 134's required use of synthetic base oil to work together with residual oil from the r12 system. This is not the case when switching down.

Simply put, the compressors in modern, ozone-friendly ac units will not function for long (if at all) with mineral oil type refrigerants. Compressor sieze possibly even explosion of the unit is possible. I asked the AC mechanic in our dealership about this before posting. He actually got mad at me for asking the question. He said that the unit would at a minimum throw metal particles throughout the system, requiring replacement of everything.

Call any local refrigerant shop and ask the same question. The service guy I talked to said that no licensed shop would back convert it for you, as it is illegal from epa regs. Regardless it obviously wouldn't be something that you would likely find any dealer to warranty for the repair, which from the sound of it would be needed soon.

Mike

 

mike thanks for your words. i am not gunna do it