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I'm probably going to get shot down for saying this, but propane is a wonderful refrigerant, is cheap, and is environmentally friendly. It's a direct drop-in replacement for R12, since it is readily miscible with the R12 (mineral) oil that is still in your system even after all the original R12 is gone. And it's way more environmentally friendly than R12 or R134a.
Some people say that if you use propane in your A/C system, you will blow yourself up. But propane requires a very precise ratio of air to fuel in order to combust. In fact, you can blow out a match with the stuff. Gas torches and stoves use orifices and jets to meter the gas out just so, because otherwise it wouldn't have a chance of igniting. If people are interested, I can point you to a few studies done by the University of New South Wales (a reputable engineering school in Australia, which coincidentally is right near the ozone hole) that indicate that the flammability hazard is limited, because of the small amount used, the precise air-fuel ratio required for combustion, and the lack of proper ignition sources nearby (you need more than a tiny electrical spark inside a relay). In fact, the only way they were able to blow a car up was by venting 3lbs of propane directly into the passenger compartment all at once and then lighting a cigarette with the windows shut. A highly improbable occurrence. Even then, it just singed the driver's eyebrows (yeah, they tested it with a real person).
That's just my 2 cents worth on the subject of A/C. Your mileage may vary, proceed with caution, and use your best judgement. But I've gotten miles and miles of reliable service out of a propane-based system, so I confidently recommend it.
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