Better A/C Performance

[tac0meat]

i live in houston, nuff said. its hot as hell down here and just wonderin if there is a way to make the a/c colder while idling in traffic. i was thinkin if i insulate the a/c pipes that are underneath the hood if taht would help, i have noticed that there are a few pipes under the hood that form frost on them when the a/c is on. when im idling after gettin in my ex after being parked out in this 95 degree and 95% humidity weather, the a/c just aint cold enough till i get movin.

 

[aldive]

Before worryung about making it better, I would recommend finding out if its functioning properly.

What are the system pressures?

What is the air temperature at a vent (1) while driving and (2) while ideling?

Good luck.....

 

[addkev]

I agree, are you still running R-12? If so, R-12 is much more effective than R-134. But keep in mind, sitting in traffic in humid Texas weather, those are the WORST possible condition for an A/C. Without airflow you aren't going to get any heat transfer.

 

[ProPhotog]

Your AC

I've heard horror stories about the factory explorer A/C condensors. My 94 is the prime example. After a few years, crud get's built up in the bottom rows, thus, cutting down on the cooling effect. I live in OKC where it's as bad or worse than Houston in humidity and heat. If it all checks out to where it's in spec, then I suspect replacing the condensor with an aftermarket one. You might be surprised! Also, add a cooling fan to the front of the condensor and connect it through a relay to a binary switch in the A/C system. The binary switch will kick the fan on and bring the head pressure down to a more normal reading and make the A/C perform a lot better, especially in traffic situations. My 2-cents. Oh, Contact Vintage Air in San Antonio, they're the ones who could hook you up on those parts if you need them.:redexp:

 

[tac0meat]

next time i get my oil changed ill my mechanic take a look at it and make sure everything is where it needs to be, i was thinkin about the fan idea as well, more airflow should help. i had my condensor and compressor replaced last summer so they should be good. but do yall think maybe insulating the a/c pipes under the hood might help? if i can keep the cold blowing on me instead of under the hood might help some too. thanx guys

 

[aldive]

Why do you think it is sub par? What temp is the output air?

 

[tac0meat]

not sure what the temp is, i will measure it tommorrow while im sittin in hot traffic, but i know it is not blowing cold when sitting in traffic, it blows cool, but not cold like it does when im moving at 35+ mph. like i said before i live in houston, so its hot, its humid, traffic sux, and the sun shines bright.

i just hate having to wait till i can get moving before my truck cools off, i know im prolly complainin about somethin trivial, but isnt that where all mods and improvements we do start from? i jsut want to make my truck as cool as possible (within reason, dont want to bolt on a refridgeration unit off of one of those big ice cream trucks )

 

[ProPhotog]

Optimum A/C

You can try insulating the pipes and see what it does. Measure the intake air on the passenger side floorboard for a few minutes, this means, full a/c...then, put the thermometer in the middle air vent and measure the output air. It should register NO less than 20 degrees cooler than the intake air. If not, there's something awash in your a/c system. Also, another check is to see if you're getting some condensation buildup on the lines off the compressor. If you are, then you might be getting as much cold air as your system will allow. Have ya replaced teh expanstion valve recently? You should have if you replaced the compressor and condensor last year. Let us know!

 

[wpurple]

Has anyone converted their new system R134A to the old R12? If a working R134A system is changed it should kick butt as the R134A system was designed to accomadate the less efficient R134A thus if it were retrofitted with R12 it would be even that much more efficient. (Might even be worth the high cost of the R12, although I still have a few 1# cans I bought at a dept. store for 99 cents many years ago to keep my older car going)

Kurt
97 Sport

 

[ProPhotog]

I wouldn't even attempt changing out the R134a for R12. That would be ten times more expensive than converting from R12 to R134 and honestly, I really don't think it's worth the headache. I know there is some sort of "booster" that can help out r134a's performance, and I'd try that to increase cooling. One thing that I would do if I wanted better cooling is I would replace the original compressor with a larger one. I think the one on my wife's explorer is marginal at best, but her a/c still seems to keep the interior cold, albeit on MAX A/C.:mattmoon:

 

[ProPhotog]

HEY TACO,

Hey this is a stupid question, but are your windows tinted on every window? If not, you might try getting them tinted to help keep the interior cool.

 

[tac0meat]

ProPhotog, im gonna check the temps today, and yes all my windows are tinted, plus i got those vent shades and those help keep thesome from shinin in so much as well.

Gimp, i like that idea of the auxillary fan, that makes alot of sense, did it help you at all, were the gains noticable?

 

[tac0meat]

ok i measured the temps and they range from about 30 to 45 degrees difference between the passengerside floorboard and the vents on max a/c, but that was after i insulated some of the pipes under the hood, i am gonna look around for a enexpensive fan to put over the condensor, thanx for all the help guys

 

[aldive]

What were the actual outlet temps as well as the ambient?

 

[Garyboy]

More air flow!

Hello ... I own a 94 Explorer XLT and the cold air didn't seem as cold or efficent as it used to be, especially at idle in a parking lot. I had put aluminum window screen material (attached w/safety wire) in front of the condensor/oil cooler/radiator when the SUV was new, so the fins are always clean. I recently removed the air cleaner then air cond. fan and looked inside at the fins on the evaporator and they had a light covering of black insulation fuzz or something. I blew with compressed air then vacuumed the crud and reassembled the assembly. Boy, the air flowed better/faster on a lower fan setting and the air temp. was colder at idle. I live in Florida and in 95+ temp. at idle the air thru the middle vent is at 40* as it is on the highway. Cleaning the evaporator had a DEFINATE drastic improvement overall and was worth the effort. So before doing things more drastic, consider checking/cleaning the evaporator. I think the inside of the air conditioning system duct material has a % of crud that falls/blows off to partially reduce the effectiveness of the evaporator with time and usage. So a simple cleaning can restore system efficiency!!! Good Luck Ggaryboy@aol.com

 

[ProPhotog]

correction

You're talking about the condensor, not the evaporator. The evaporator if the big black box mounted on the firewall. At least, that's where it's located, and yeah the condensor can collect a lot of debris and should be cleaned too. My 2-cents

 

[Garyboy]

Wait ... I MEAN the evaporator not the condensor. Everyone with common sense can quickly check the cleanlyness of their condensor. I doubt many people actually pull their air system fan motor and visually check their evaporator in that black box. They get extremely dirty and can be easily cleaned for a drastic boost in cooling. Gary

 

[Garyboy]

More Cold with less air flow!

Hey Photog ... Your air flow on maximum is exactly what I'm talking about!!! When you clean your evaporator and believe me if its never been cleaned it'll have a build up of crud because there isn't a cabin filter assembly! After cleaning the EVAPORATOR the air flow thru the vents will be noticably faster!!! Gary

 

[ProPhotog]

MY MISTAKE

I digress. My mistake and I apologize. I mis-read your post about cleaning the evaporator. Yes, one can do this too and also if it were me I'd coat it with Lysol to kill any bacteria that has made it's home inside there. Anyway...dude, I apologize.

 

[Savage Wolf]

Re: More air flow!

Originally posted by Garyboy
Cleaning the evaporator had a DEFINATE drastic improvement overall and was worth the effort. So before doing things more drastic, consider checking/cleaning the evaporator. Ggaryboy@aol.com

Thanks for that tip, seeing that I have my motor pulled at the moment, I'll take mine out and clean it, I'll try to snap some pics for everyone also
my truck has seen alot of dust and I also smoke so should be intresting to see how much crud is built up in there