AC drier position location

[48prerunner]

Would it be ok to mount the drier to the backside of the radiator support under the fender. It would end up between the steel inner fender and the plastic fender liner, or does it need more airflow. This is my first time running ac .

[JJ 109]

it does not need airflow. There is internal desiccant.

[parsonsj]

What JJ said. The only requirement is that the drier be located (plumbing-wise) between the condenser and the evaporator.

[sjaroslo]

Don't mean to hijack this thread but does anyone know how long a drier can be exposed to atmosphere before it is ruined? Or does exposure actually ruin it? My system has been piped up for months now but there's no refrigerant in the system, etc., still working on getting the project running.... Is there a way that an A/C tech will be able to tell if it still has life left in it? Thanks.

[dontlifttoshift]

As long as the system is closed, you're good. Leaving a drier or the system open is no bueno but I am not smart enough to put a time frame on it. I am not aware of any method to tell if a drier is all done drying.

There is a reason many driers are mounted up front in the air flow, it adds capacity to the system to reject heat. Nine times out of ten, I mount the drier inside the car.

[48prerunner]

Thanks for the info Finally was able to get the condenser mounted the way I wanted. This will let me mount the drier up out of site instead behind the grill. I'm learning that rolling the windows down is much easier.

[sjaroslo]

Thanks for the info Finally was able to get the condenser mounted the way I wanted. This will let me mount the drier up out of site instead behind the grill. I'm learning that rolling the windows down is much easier.

Ha, ha, ha.... Living in a temperate climate, I am beginning to lean this way, too!

[sccacuda]

Don't mean to hijack this thread but does anyone know how long a drier can be exposed to atmosphere before it is ruined? Or does exposure actually ruin it? My system has been piped up for months now but there's no refrigerant in the system, etc., still working on getting the project running.... Is there a way that an A/C tech will be able to tell if it still has life left in it? Thanks.

Just have to extend the vacuum time. Most people think that vacuuming the system sucks out stuff, it doesn't. By pulling the system into a vacuum, you can boil the moisture out of the system at very low temps, i.e. lower than ambient. So the longer you pull the vacuum, the longer you have to boil the moisture out of the system.

[sccacuda]

Would it be ok to mount the drier to the backside of the radiator support under the fender. It would end up between the steel inner fender and the plastic fender liner, or does it need more airflow. This is my first time running ac .

You said you have a drier, so you have a variable orifice or "H" valve on the evaporator, right? That can be mounted anywhere between the condenser and evaporator. If you have an orifice tube, you have an accumulator, and it has to be mounted at the evaporator.

[48prerunner]

You said you have a drier, so you have a variable orifice or "H" valve on the evaporator, right? That can be mounted anywhere between the condenser and evaporator. If you have an orifice tube, you have an accumulator, and it has to be mounted at the evaporator.

I have the vintage air gen IV evaporator it was for a 69 Camaro but I got a good price on it from somebody's project, was new in the box,. I converted all the controls over to work with my 69 f-100 controls. The one thing that I know now is the computer for this evaporator uses three pots so even though I had the circuit to convert my ford interior heater defrost fan switch I had to buy a rotary pot switch to control fan speed the bonus was now I have infinite fan speeds. Only a couple gen IV sytems have three pots a 67-68 camaro doesnt. I also have a bunch of 69 Camaro vents and such that I couldnt make look right in the Ford. So as far as I know it takes a drier but like I said this is my first ac build.
The thing I'm trying to figure out now is if I should wire the ac into the ford racing coyote control box, or just wire the trinary switch into the fan control circuit on the ford box or just simply run a separate relay to the fan form the trinary switch.

[TD509EFI]

"If you have an orifice tube, you have an accumulator, and it has to be mounted at the evaporator. "

Craig, I'm curious as to why you have to mount the accumulator at the evaporator. I've asked this question a while back on different forums and there wasn't a consensus. I wanted to mount my accumulator at the front fender just behind the radiator support to free up some room around my BBC. Not a good idea?

John

[matty12]

Different system design and not many aftermarket systems will run orifice tube/ accumulator setups, well afaik. A accumulator o/tube setup runs a flooded evap and has no load sensing which is adjustable ie tx valve which opens/shuts depending on demand. Any excess liquid thats not evapourated(so under low loads) will fill the accumulator and therfore not go back to the compressor and liquid lock it up.

[Eurostang]

AC systems 101
If you open it for longer than a few minutes, consider a new drier. Otherwise find a Commercial HVAC tech that has a 6 cfm or larger Vacuum pump and a micron guage. pull until the microns are below 300! This could be overnite! If the ambient temp is below 75, than put a heater on the drier to allow any moisture to boil off. The new oils used with 134a do not like moisture. The old mineral oil for R12 was tolerant. Without a Micron test, you are only guessing that you pulled a good vacuum. It also is a leak check. The drier can be anywhere in the liquid line.

If the system has an accumulator, than same vacuum rules, but it goes in the Suction line between the Evap and the Compressor. It prevents liquid from slugging the compressor. You could move it away from the firewall, but the fittings are a problem.

All evaps are flooded to a point. About 1/3 of the evap is liquid and the remainder a combination of liquid and vapor. Refrigerant boils at a very low temp. As it boils it removes Heat(makes cold). To Much in the Evap and you loose performance and the boil off happens to late in the cycle. To little and there is not enough to do the work. Matty12 is correct on the Accumulator acting as a storage device when low load needs to drop the capacity.

Hope this helps.

If you open a system, also consider replacing the orifice tube if it has one. TXV's are more resilient, but need to be replaced if any trash gets into the system or if a compressor is replaced.

[chpr1972]

The dryer for Vintage air is $30 from them. for $30 plus probably $10 shipping is it worth the risk to you? If you put together a system and you are going to let it set, get a can of green die and have someone put the die in the system.It will not take the whole can but if it looses psi when you go to have it vacuumed down then they can look for the leak. Auto Zone rents a vacuum pump. A set of gauges sell for about 50 bucks at harbor freight.

[matty12]

I give a drier 15 mins open then its replace time. We have laws over is Aust that requires us to change if its over 5 years old or if the system is opened. Although we we taught you could never recover a used drier regardless of how long you vacced it, once the desicant absorbed moisture it could never be pulled out.

Also needs a decent vac some people believe as long as its in vac it would work but that kinda like saying if you tried to boil water at 50 deg c(dont know the temp in F sorry) it will boil away.

I always change o/tubes when doing a service, they are cheap generally easy to get to and if they block which they do you have to degas/regas all over again and that will cost more in time that the part costs.

[48prerunner]

I've been following all this and I'm glad I did sounds like if you hook up the dryer before your charge the system it is junk? Would it be ok to pull a vacuum in the system and leave it like that or should you just go ahead and charge it after vacuum?

[cpd004]

Came across this thread looking for drier mount ideas. I'm in the same boat. It's been together for a while but haven't charged the system as it's an on going (basically forever it seems) project car. Seems like I should change the drier before finally adding freon.