Where Can I Get Refrigerant For My Car?

When most people ask for refrigerant, they actually are looking for a different type of refrigerant. Refrigerant is actually a registered product of the DuPont Corporation and a specific brand of refrigerant. Refrigerant is the general name for any product used as the working fluid in a refrigeration or cooling system, like the air conditioning system in your car. Over the years, many different products have been used as refrigerants in vehicles:

• Ammonia
• R-12
• HCFC-22
• R-152a
• R-134a
• HFO-1234yf

Most commonly cars made before 1993 originally used R-12, or refrigerant produced by DuPont.  R-12 was discovered to likely be an ozone depleting compound that is not safe for the environment, so all vehicles made after 1993 were required to use R-134a as the A/C working liquid. As vehicles that use R-12 as a refrigerant became less and less common, it became more and more difficult and expensive to purchase replacement refrigerant for your vehicle.  As such, many older vehicles have been retrofitted with air condition systems that now use the new R-134a.

Can I add any type of car refrigerant to my A/C?

Before you attempt to add more refrigerant to your vehicle, you need to be certain what type it needs.  Different refrigerants work at different temperatures and pressures and need different equipment to function properly, so they cannot be mixed and matched.  Also, the lubricants included in a R-12 system are significantly different that of an R-134a system and can cause problems if mixed or used with the wrong systems.

Currently R-134a is by far the most popular refrigerant used in motor vehicles today and is available from a wide variety of manufacturers.  You can verify your vehicle uses R-134a by looking for a label near the radiator, on the compressor or dryer, or by finding the distinctly shaped low pressure side fitting.

Low Pressure Fitting

R134a Retrofit Label

How do I add car refrigerant to my A/C?

Once you have identified you’re A/C system is using R-134a as the refrigerant, the best way to refill your system is to use BlueDevil Red Angel One Shot. Red Angel is quick and easy to instill by anyone with simple operation and instructions. There is 2.5 ounces of R-134a included in the can, as well as 2 ounces of leak stopping agent.  You need to refill your system because some refrigerant is leaking out, and adding Red Angel Air Conditioning Stop Leak will quickly seal the leak in the condenser, evaporator, hoses or O-rings restoring your air conditioning system.  The sealant in Red Angel is only activated at leak points and will not damage or clog your system.