Taking A/C off

The legislation banning R-12 refrigerant was enacted; not so coincidentally; right after the very politically connected DuPont family's patent on Freon expired.

R-12 was much safer than 134a, and it's supposed negative effects on the environment have never been scientifically proven.

134a; on the other hand; has a flash point much lower than R-12 and is not only very hazardous in gas form, but is pretty close to the traditional "mustard gas" when it burns.... and it burns hot enough to melt aluminum.

The banning of Freon has forced NASA to change the insulation on the outside of all of the shuttle fuel tanks, which has resulted in damage to the heat shield tiles on take-off due to the insulation coming loose. Remember how the early missions never had a problem with that? The banning of Feon resulted in the deaths of one shuttle crew on reentry, and the mission this month was made more hazardous by damaged tiles.

Stupid.

I would not advise intentionally dumping the Freon because it is now against the law. However, if it would accidentally discharge I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. The birds, bees, squirrels and trees will be just fine.

Personally, I've had great results using a product called Duracool. It contains butane, but has a higher flash point (less flammable) than 134a. It cools with lower compressor temperature and pressure, and is relatively inexpensive.

Stay cool!