W123 Sanden, Dual Parallel flow condenser, and r134a results

i ran this exact setup only without the 2nd condenser and i was seeing about 52F from vents at idle and much higher head pressures. even at 2k rpm with that much air flow, the condenser was simply too small. when on the highway vent temps would drop to about 42F at best. with dual condensers, the V8 clutch fan alone is more than enough to keep head pressures way down. i am using a pressure switch instead of temp switch on the drier to trigger the aux fan. every time you see the aux fan kick on, the head pressure is around 215psi and the cut- out is 160psi. so you can see that by just revving the engine so the clutch fan can pull some air through the pressures drop enough to shut the aux fan off. the etr is set to cycle the clutch at 38F vent temp to prevent evap freeze up and oil slugging. it is very rare to have evap temps in this heat low enough to cycle the clutch right above idle when sitting still. these numbers look more like an extremely well running r12 setup in a car or truck with a huge condenser, not 134a in a w123! also note the "enhanced" sd7 compressor. look it up, you may laugh when you see sanden's description! i am also using a fan and fan clutch from a 560sel and smaller water pump pulley for the most airflow possibe here in Texas 180a GM alternator keeps voltage perfect in high load idle situations!

[@mlez7197]

wow tremendous results...that's awesome 👌 phx ax gets 🔥 genius 👏😀👍

[@paulthompson8480]

hi For those who think a retrofitt with r134a is suppose to have bubbles your way wrong . A few when clutch is engaged is ok but clears after 2 seconds . Bubbles constantly in sight glass is either a system that is not 100% full or has bad condensing abilities . Feeding the evaporator needs to have 100% liquid supply at low high side pressure temp .

[@CyFi6]

There are some theories on retrofits, such as leftover mineral oil showing up as foam in the glass. But R134a with PAG should clear the sight glass assuming no other oils or contaminants are in the system.

[@airhornwaggon]

bad ETR was causing the clutch to kick on and off to quickly. it did maintain a 38 degree vent temp but was putting a lot of unneeded wear on the clutch. it has been replaced and adjusted correctly!

[@Dragonkingzx]

Boss... After 8 Years, What Is The Result? It Is Efficient?

[@paulthompson8480]

hi fitting a 2nd condensor just WORKS. Fitted many to pickups trucks and only a few cars . Running high pressure of 150psi -160psi is common . Results are 40f vent temps in 115f weather .

[@bryllecelsius]

Did you do it on parallel set up like his? What might happen if this was done on series?

[@CyFi6]

@@bryllecelsius I'm not sure this one is parallel. Series is definitely the way to go. If you run them in parallel most likely your rear condenser will be outputting gas and front one liquid. The rear condenser would be getting hot air from the first one and wouldnt be able to fully condenser the refrigerant. You'd have the benefit of increased flow rate but in this case you don't need flow you need more dwell. Stacking condensers is way less efficient than having two side by side but obviously with space being an issue in a car stacking them will give you a small but tangible increase in heat transfer.

[@averyalexander2303]

And where would you mount a second condenser where it still has a good supply of fresh air? I don't see stacking a second condenser in front of the original one working out well if that's what you are thinking. On a truck, putting a second condenser with its own fan and shroud somewhere underneath or in the bed could work in some applications aside from the risk of damage, but I don't see how someone would reasonably install a second condenser on a car.

[@paulthompson1654]

Series works well in my experience . You want low temp liquid to come out of condenser . Parallel would work in a science laboratory only .

[@averyalexander2303]

@@paulthompson1654 Yup. For parallel to work well, both condensers would have to be identical with the same airflow and refrigerant flow rates. But on a car, where would you put a second condenser anyways? I haven't tested it, but I don't see putting a second condenser in front of the first one working very well since the condenser in the back and the engine radiator would be getting less and warmer airflow. The pressure drop might be an issue too. However, if someone did choose to stack condensers, routing the refrigerant through the stock condenser first and then through the extra one in front would be the way to go so the liquid is exposed to the coolest airflow possible instead of being heated by the hot air from the first condenser.

[@farooqishaq6974]

Perfect...I really need this in Saudi to beat the heat.

[@RDL_Jamaican]

Beautiful. Nice job man, I love to see a compressor chips out 😀 job well done man

[@randyalmand6507]

Brilliantly clean !! Any chance you can share more about the products, where you upgraded your radiator, dual parallel flow condensers?? Is that an auxiliary fan . would love to learn how to do this. I too am in Texas and in need of a new a/c system. Many thanks

[@benzyeapmengyee4956]

nice job. I am really headache about my 124 traffic jam my ac not cool. when driving my ac cool

[@EdwardM104]

I'm interested in hearing more on how you did this, I have 2 cars that need this.

[@ericharron1]

What size condenser is that? Klima offers a standard 16x20 or a custom 16x24. I'm debating on which one to go with. I live in Texas as well and drive a 300D and I'm trying to copy you!

[@averyalexander2303]

You can't go wrong with getting the biggest and thickest parallel flow condenser you can fit and still get good airflow through.

[@compu85]

Wow, looks like it's working great!

[@airhornwaggon]

I'm very happy so far! i need to wait for a typical 100F+ humid Texas day for a proper test though. your trans pressure test was very interesting to see as well! i was very surprised to see that the modulator is able to bring the pressure down to almost nothing under full vac conditions...

[@saccook]

VAUGHN, I have an 83 300SD and live in 115 degree, Tempe, AZ. I installed a parallel flow condenser ( 1) with my r134a conversion. I see you installed 2 in Parallel? I was thinking of doing it in series, as my liquid line temps are way out there in 165-175 degrees this time of year. Can you tell me where you got the condensers/hoses? thanks, Steve in Tempe, az.Also,, how much more freon did your system take to fully charge it?

[@natejgreene9871]

Can you please confirm if you piped these in parallel or in series? I have watched you video several times and can’t tell.

[@CyFi6]

I just did a similar setup in my vehicle and plumbed them in series with the first pass being closer to the radiator and the second pass being closer to the grill (in front). If you did the opposite you would potentially reheat the refrigerant whenever you had subcooling in the condenser which you would rather not do. Remember that the temperature of the condenser will be basically constant across the entire thing unless you are subcooling and filling it up with liquid. The purpose of the condenser is to change the phase of the refrigerant from gas to liquid, not reduce the temperature. Also if you put them in parallel you will end up with one condenser outputting gas and one liquid and you will end up with bubbles in your sight glass which you do not want.

[@ELCHACA]

Coachella summer temperature 124° I need that

[@hishamjallabi9767]

Same in Dammam 110°F plus

[@ricaneva3896]

The line to cross from mexicali is crazy need 2 of these jejejje

[@nedernassim9844]

Waw nice job. Pliz can I know which compressor you are using and did you change the support if it changed can you help me to know how I can get it. Buying or make one if it easy

[@alannamccarthy]

Any updates on this? I live in Las Vegas. Temps can get up to 105 F during the summer. My AC works good while driving but the temps rise when in traffic. I have an AUX fan to install the next few weeks. That should help a bit... Did you have to purchase special fittings/ hoses to hook up the 2 condensers?

[@roadhazardguy]

I just had this idea pop in my head for running dual parallel-flow condensers so I decided to look it up and found this. I was thinking of running them in series, not in parallel like you have yours set up. Any idea if this might be a good or bad idea? I'm also in Texas so I know exactly what 100+° and 100% humidity feels like.

[@jamesflores9456]

more flow parallel like electricity batteries in parallel more amps cooler flow series like electricity batteries in series more volts also live in texas contemplating about getting one on craigslist w/o ac for cheap and just retrofitting it by putting the evaporator where the heater core is

[@RicardoMartinez-kr5qk]

Impressive

[@dirksenlaw]

Dude, what is the 180amp alternator that you are using? Can you post a video on this and also post the specs like part number and pulleys and brackets needed to fit this on w123?

[@airhornwaggon]

Dirksen Law it's a "DR44G" GM truck alternator from the mid 2000's. Didn't fit perfectly, needed some shims and modified tensioner bracket but is the only alternator that I've tried that managed to keep up at idle with high load. The late model Bosch alts that came on serpentine belt Mercedes engines won't work because the threaded shaft doesn't stick out far enough for the 617's double v belt pulley.

[@dirksenlaw]

Thanks. Are your dual condensers running in series or in parallel? If in parallel then did you use Y fittings?

[@kermitefrog64]

Do you have an example of the modified tensioner bracket? I have the 240d Mercedes 1981.

[@generaldiy2771]

What temp does evap freeze?

[@averyalexander2303]

It'll freeze if the evaporating temperature is significantly below 32 degrees F. You could most likely get away with the high 20 degree range though since the temperature of the outside of the evap will always be a little warmer than the refrigerant inside.

[@Duphondaree]

What kind of oil cooler lines are those?

[@airhornwaggon]

I believe it was Hydraulic or A/C hose double hose clamped temporarily. It worked but i would not recommend for a long term repair.

[@bsdguy]

Check out Klima @ www.klimakit.com/product/parallel-flow-condenser-upgrade-kit-w123/

[@MikeUrbinato]

WOW I'm interested! I have two of these cars I'll be renovating AC systems on this year. get in touch with me please.

[@beauhatman4395]

Looks like the sight glass on the accumulator is showing the refrigerant loaded with bubbles......no bueno! At least, as far as I can tell, with the horrible filming technique. Gotta be some of the worst camera work in the history of youtube....lol Made me nauseated tryin to watch. SLOW DOWN. Dont jump around, from shot to shot, so much. Focus on your subject, take a moment or two before moving on to the next shot. Give your audience time to digest the shot. Looks like you did a really nice job on this project. Very neat and clean installation. Too bad it wasn't shown off better in your video.

[@superduty4556]

R134a will always have bubbles in the sight glass. It's worthless on anything but R12.

[@WTFChuk]

@@superduty4556 That is a false generalization. Whether a sight glass shows bubbles with a full charge depends on the particular system and operating conditions. This is true for R-134a, R-12, and any other refrigerant.

[@superduty4556]

@@WTFChuk if you put R134a in an R12 system and use the sight glass, a proper charge on the retrofit will always show bubbles in the R12 sight glass.

[@paulthompson8480]

@@superduty4556 Evaporator needs a liquid line 100%full NO GAS . The reason why u see bubbles in a r134a sight glass is most R12 converted systems cannot take a full load of r134a . High pressures would be to high . Twin condensers will drop high pressure to 150psi / 110 F which is great to feed the evap with . R12 @110 F = 130psi R134a @110F =150psi Common refrigeration R12 high pressure = 130psi Cars are PATHETIC running upto 275 psi high pressure

[@coldfinger459sub0]

Vary good you must be in a vary hot climate

[@charlesleake930]

Hey man ...found you over here too ! : ) Jay aka CarsRcool channel

[@josegarza184]

Message me bro I see it’s in Texas message me please

[@Blu0tuth0ninja]

What size are those condensers?

[@airhornwaggon]

16 x 20