# Air conditioner 101

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/air-conditioner-101/49249>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** cherokee, jeep\
**Created:** [May 23, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/air-conditioner-101/49249 "2010-05-23T14:41:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![bedrock](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bedrock/32/868_2.png) [@bedrock](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bedrock)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/air-conditioner-101/49249/1 "2010-05-23T14:41:29Z")

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why charging a unit do you have the R-134 can straight up or upside down.

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**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/air-conditioner-101/49249/2 "2010-05-23T14:48:13Z")

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If you don’t know the basics of recharging an A/C system, you shouldn’t be messin’ with it.

Tester

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**Author:** ![cigroller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@cigroller](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cigroller)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/air-conditioner-101/49249/3 "2010-05-23T14:56:18Z")

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What Tester said. But the short answer is that the refrigerant basically has to go into the system in vapor form (right side up). If it goes in as a liquid (upside down) you stand a good chance of killing your compressor.

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**Author:** ![Rod-Knox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Rod-Knox](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rod-Knox)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/air-conditioner-101/49249/4 "2010-05-23T17:12:20Z")

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Different systems, different conditions, different equipment. There’s more than one answer. And an understanding of the principle of air conditioning and a working knowledge of the specific system you are working on is necessary to safely work on it. There are several people here who are very knowledgeable on the subject but sometimes a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing and therefore they are somewhat guarded in their answers on several issues, this among them.