Did I miss something or is R134 incredibly expensive now???

Maybe I'm just really unobservant, but I noticed my ac wasn't as cold as it used to be so I went to advance auto to get a recharge can, and holy gold bars batman, the shiz is expensive!! I feel like this time last summer I bought a kit with 2 cans and a pressure gauge for about $20, but a single little can of r134 is $22, and the same recharge kit I bought last year is now $49!! What happened??

On a separate but related topic, do those little cans of stop-leak actually work for ac systems? The stuff I bought claims to include oil and leak stop but I wonder how well, if at all, it actually works.

 

It's being phased out so yeah...it's going to get way expensive. We were paying about $2.50/lb for a 30lb keg last summer through our supplier and now we're a little above $7/lb for the same keg.

 

Damn! That's high!

 

So is there a next gen ac system being brought out? I didn't know 134 was being phased out, I wonder if I should buy a couple cans now, before it goes up any more?

 

R410A (sometimes known as Puron)...is the new stuff.....134 will only get higher until it is phased out.

 

Before R 134 I used to go to K Mart and buy 1 lb cans for $0.99. R 410 Q has been around for years at least 11. I had Heat pump installed 9 yrs ago and thats what it required.

 

On a related topic, do the sealants work for ac systems? I was looking at buying Cliplight's superseal pro, but looking at the instructions it says it needs to be professionally installed? Can I just hook the can up to the ac system and empty it, or do you really need to hook up the vacuum and gauges and everything?

 

There is a lot that goes into a/c maintenance. You really should have it professionally done. I live in arizona and I'm waiting until I have the time (and money) to have someone recharge my a/c.

But, if you have the means to do everything that's required and know what to do, I'd say go for it.