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Old 08-17-2020, 03:30 PM
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Default PAG vs mineral oil

Bought a new A6 compressor and it was shipped to me filled with PAG oil for a 134 system.

I plan on using R12.

Can I just drain out the PAG oil, fill it with the proper amount of mineral oil and call it good or will there be some kind of cross contamination issue?

edit: the place I got the compressor from tells me the oil that's in it is compatible with both R12 and R134......the label on the compressor clearly says PAG??

Can someone help with this? Everything I have read says PAG and mineral oil are not to be mixed.
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Last edited by abefromen; 08-17-2020 at 04:04 PM.
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Old 08-17-2020, 04:20 PM
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Funny, I bought a compressor from the same manufacturer, but i had to go the opposite, mine came with mineral and needed PAG. I called them - they told me just to drain and replace. That being said, I let mine sit and drain for 2 days before i refilled. It requires 10-11 ounces for refill.

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Old 08-17-2020, 04:37 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cardo View Post
Funny, I bought a compressor from the same manufacturer, but i had to go the opposite, mine came with mineral and needed PAG. I called them - they told me just to drain and replace. That being said, I let mine sit and drain for 2 days before i refilled. It requires 10-11 ounces for refill.
Yep, the instructions that came with this compressor say it will be filled with either mineral or PAG....says nothing about the oil in it will be compatible with both so I dunnno what the place i got it from is talking about. The only oil that is compatible with both is ester oil?

If draining out this PAG and replacing it with mineral (or ester?) is acceptable I can do that but aren't the internal parts of the compressor contaminated with PAG? Or will any small residual amount of leftover PAG not hurt anything?

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Old 08-17-2020, 09:52 PM
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I honestly don't think it will hurt anything. I talked to the engineer at Alma mfg, and he was the one who told me to do what i did the way i did it. Seemed to be an older fellow, so i will defer to his knowledge and experience. He was the one who specd out my compressor to match my original, and set up for them to build it to match what i had. I did just charge my system this week with 134, and it's ice cold for what it's worth. I did a POA elimination system and charged it at 80% and seems to work great.

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Old 08-21-2020, 02:06 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cardo View Post
Funny, I bought a compressor from the same manufacturer, but i had to go the opposite, mine came with mineral and needed PAG. I called them - they told me just to drain and replace. That being said, I let mine sit and drain for 2 days before i refilled. It requires 10-11 ounces for refill.
Were you able to get all 10-11 ounces of oil out of it by letting it drain for a couple days?

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Old 08-21-2020, 08:05 PM
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Yes. I got just over 10 ounces... I did measure it because i was curious as to how much i actually got out.

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Old 08-21-2020, 09:37 PM
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Good thing I went ahead and drained this new compressor because it had more than double of who knows what kind of oil in it...........24 ounces.

Got it from ackits.com which came recommended by several people.

I know they got it from some supplier because it was shipped from Nevada and they are in Arizona, but come on................24ozs??
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Old 08-21-2020, 10:30 PM
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Oh wow! Double filled. That probably would have grenaded for sure!

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Old 08-22-2020, 02:00 AM
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Wonder whether it would be worth it to fill with mineral oil and twist the compressor around getting the oil up in all the nooks and crannies, and then let it drain? Seems like a rinse couldn't hurt anything.

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Old 08-22-2020, 07:11 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by abefromen View Post
Good thing I went ahead and drained this new compressor because it had more than double of who knows what kind of oil in it...........24 ounces.

Got it from ackits.com which came recommended by several people.

I know they got it from some supplier because it was shipped from Nevada and they are in Arizona, but come on................24ozs??
Checking the Oil is standard procedure. I always check.
I have had many ,if not most compressors come ,underfilled, overfilled, empty. Contradicting what the label says.
Its just a good practice. Glad you are sorting this thing out.

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Old 08-23-2020, 08:56 AM
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A related question:

In a new system and/or everything flushed and empty, is 10oz of oil added to the new compressor all that needs to be done or does the oil need to be distributed?

I have read things online regarding the A6 having a sump and all that you need to do is add oil to the compressor and nothing else?

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Old 08-23-2020, 01:07 PM
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The oil distributes itself.

The total amount of oil the system is supposed to have in it is 10.5 oz. So if you're retrofitting this compressor into a used system with residual oil in it, you're supposed remove the oil from the old compressor and measure the quantity and then remove the oil from the new compressor and replace just the same amount of new oil as the old compressor had in it. This procedure is spelled out in GM service manuals.

The only time this does not apply is if you're retrofitting R134a; then put the whole 10.5 oz (of PAG) into the compressor since the residual mineral oil will drop out of the refrigerant and stay in the lowest points of the system.

Since oil circulates with the refrigerant, if there's too much oil in the system, you'll lose cooling performance.

Edit: attached GM service instructions:
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Last edited by hgerhardt; 08-23-2020 at 01:29 PM.
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