Any taboo on using a standard compression fitting on AC lines? I’ve got myself in a pickle and it looks like the easy fix.
Well, some of the AC guys get their panties in a bunch if you suggest using anything but "official" AC fittings, but properly fitted comp fittings seal perfectly and work fine. DON'T use them on brake lines.
I would use DOT fittings with higher pressure, they a little thing that slips into the tube that when the ferrule is crushed, the little tube thing takes the pressure, not the line. But, can they be found for your size of line and wall thickness? I dunno.
You have to use brass fittings on aluminum lines because steel ones will make the line corrode. It’s that whole dissimilar metals thing.
Not quite the same thing, but we use a compression type fitting made for compressed natural gas on our school bus fleet. The lines and fittings are stainless steel and will hold over 8100 psi safety rating. They are rated for 2.5 times the working pressure of 3600 psi. You should have no problem holding the pressure of an a/c system.
I have bought kits before to replace orifice tubes that were in the middle of the line instead of replacing the entire line. They came with compression fittings. Never had a problem with them leaking.
Use the Parker Brand fitting with the two piece compression cone and you are home free . Myself I would use a stainless steel fitting .
If you want to go first class find a SwageLok fitting , air craft quality fittings . We used thousands of them in my working days , never one issue when tightened as directed . Them are stronger than the tube you are sealing .
A/C parts companies used to sell repair fittings for twisted off lines. They were compression fittings but they had o-rings in them.
If you have a local place that does hydraulic lines, they will have a special type of compression fitting. Usually available in plated steel or stainless. Kind of a knock off of the Swagelok mentioned earlier but generic. Good for way more pressure than an AC will make and won't loosen like some compression types when the 'olive' is compressed.