I was "helping" a friend fill his r134a air conditioner yesterday. No,
the neighbor kids didn't steal the refrigerant so there must be a leak,
but very slow over several years.

I never have understood how to tell when you have the system near the
perfect level of refrigerant. It is very hard to measure temperature
accurately and the pressure ranges given in the service manual are so
broad it's impossible to use those.

So I decided that with 90 F air entering the condenser and high plus low
side pressure total about 260 psi (225+35) at high idle, and 45 F air
coming out the vent is OK. But it is probably still a little low on
refrigerant.

But other than evacuating and refilling with a measured amount, does
anyone know a better way with just thermometers and a gauge set?

And with very slow leaks(several years) does the oil also leak out?

I have found useful resources on the web but nothing that tells me how
to know when it's "full".

Thanks,

Bob

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