It may not seem like it to the individual, But the old R12 IS BAD for us all. I am not a tree huger, but I do try to look out for our environment.

There IS an "environmental" safe replacement for R12. It is often sold as R12! It works almost the same as R12. That's the up side.
The down side, it's propane or butane (can't remember exactly which). Soooo if you ever have a leak or in the case of a car, a crash, you have your very own nuclear explosion, or so it would look to the user.

I agree that it's best to keep your old system going as long as you can. BUT, at what cost? If you are going cruising to the tropics, like I think Gene is moving toward, having equal insulation, the difference between using a system that draws 6 Ah and one that uses 2.8 Ah is HUGE!!!!!! Trust me, when you are trying to live solar power, the reefer IS the biggest power expense you have!

Greg