Plot thickenings...

My vendor has confirmed that the open port (well, not connected to anything)
on the top of the compressor is suitable to use for low-side connection...

After 2 days on the phone and the internet, I was able to obtain an R12 hose
and an adapter to put it on 134a taps locally (the adapter was the
challenge - widely available on line, but hen's teeth locally).

Imagine my surprise when I went to connect the 6CFM vacuum that I'd borrowed
to my gauges set that it was an R12 fitting! So, I have no means of having
a gauge on it, but I am reasonably sure it is doing the job with the
directly connected vac hose. I turned on the vac before making the
connection to the stub on the top of the compressor to assure no possible
intake contamination.

As I write, it's finishing the 12-hour evacuation. I'll leave the vac
running as I unhook the line from the compressor to insure no contamination
from there.

Then I'll put on my adapter and purge the line with a second or so of blast,
shut it down and then open a trickle to insure nothing but 134a in the hose
while I connect it.

The manual suggests a 5-second charge initially. My intent is to leave the
hose and can connected, but shut, after that initial blast, and run the
compressor. If the plate isn't fully frosted, I'll turn off the compressor,
wait for equalization, and then introduce a second or so a time, rinse,
repeat, until the exit line is slightly frosted outside the box. Once that
happens, I'll let it run for a while to make sure that's as far as it gets.
Then I'll shut it down, let it equalize, and vent from the high side (as the
vendor instructed me during our initial use, when the line was frozen for a
few inches) a spritz at a time until the frost recedes to the bulkhead, and,
again, let it run for a while. If all is stable, I'll unhook.

My vendor sez to look for 5psi on the suction side while it's running. I'm
assuming I'd connect my 134a hose through the feed on the gauge set, thence
to the adapted R12 line to the stub, with the high side gauge closed, and
the suction line feed dead-ended (connected to the 134-style snap-on so no
contamination from a closed line), then open the closed-loop suction gauge
which would (?) see the pressure from the feed line series.

I'll acquire a much smaller pump for my own and should we ever have to face
this again, I'll have a proper suction reading as the new pumps will have
the 134a nipple.

So, I'm about to commence recharging. I'll post the results here, but
expect something similar to Vic's experience, in the end.

L8R

Skip

--
Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery !
Follow us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog
and/or http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail
away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore.
Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain