Ah, it all seems to be junk anymore. At least its still legal to work
on your own sets (even if its not practical to do it).
Try to work on your own car A/C or home HVAC. The government
seems to think Armageddon will happen if you work on your own.


As far as I know it is still legal, it's just illegal to release R-12 into
the air, and for a good reason. I did my own automotive AC, a pipe had
cracked and the R-12 long since leaked out, I replaced the pipe, all the
seals, expansion valve, reciever/dryer, changed the oil, flushed it out,
pumped it down then charged it with R-134a and it's worked fine ever since.

If you're unsure as to whether there's any remaining R-12, just take it to
an AC shop and have it evacuated, if there's any usable R-12 left they'll
even pay you for it.