Is it safe to crimp and braze a broken A/C line? ❄️🚗 When the rear air conditioning lines on an SUV or minivan rust out, replacing the entire length of the tubing can cost thousands of dollars in labor and parts. A common, yet highly controversial "hack" is to perform a rear A/C delete. A mechanic will cut the lines leading to the back of the vehicle, crimp the copper or aluminum tubing shut with heavy pliers, and use a blowtorch and brazing rod to melt a permanent seal over the tip. While this seals the leak and allows the front A/C to work again, many professionals argue that the extreme pressure of the refrigerant system will eventually blow out a crimped weld! #mechanic #carrepair #airconditioning #hvac #welding #brazing #automotive #diyautorepair #carmaintenance #educational #cartok
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The first thing you learn when you start working with anything mechanical is they all will fail so even the "correct" way to do it can still fail and now you are in the same situation just explain the % of possible failure and the price of everyway to do it and the customer will decide what risk they want to take on. If they don't have the money for your time and parts to do it the more accepted way buy the community then yeah this is good and will last people have been brazing stuff for centuries and it still holds.
As an hvac tech I do this all the time no problems at all
i’ve seen old appliances with factory crimped and soldered high side lines from a.c coils to refrigerators …. if done correctly , they’re as sound as any brazed cap ..
this is exactly how you’re supposed to do it for self contain R290 compressors. These machines don’t have service ports so you add gas through a piercing valve.
Refrigerant
Clip from Instagram used for educational purposes only
Don’t they make caps for those lines?
If you crimp it right, it holds back the pressure, the weld just locks it all in place.
No flux?
yes caps are a thing but this works also
I feel like starting an argument so here we go....silver soldering is better than brazing....fight me 😂
Controversy doesn't make it wrong. It just means you have enough idiots to overthink its instability. 50 year old compressors still have crimps like that, still operating still holding a charge. Its just inexpensive and works, so young people gotta come up with a reason that its bad.
Especially nowadays that they're assuming free on is made out of space juice
No, you won’t why would you lose all your Freon? Oh wait, I know why because you didn’t take the correct steps you must not be certified.🫢 because you’re supposed to pressure test it and use a vacuum and both of those fail to pull under the specs you do not proceed dumbass and if you do that, that’s on you
Factories do this…
Say what ? This is exactly how-to terminate an R290 service tube. 😂😂😂😂😂
Crimp 3 inches down. Brazzing the inside. Then crimp the tip. And finish off by brazzing the tip.
Why, brazes are all over the system what's one more
😊 can't you fold it and put a clamp on it then braise it shut?
Definitely wouldn't crimp it, I would put an access board on it with a Schrader valve