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After having the shop that repaired my R12 AC system last year mildly to moderately under-fill it (before it was ice-cold; now it cuts the humidity ok but only gets cool only after 10-20 minutes of highway driving) I got the necessary certification and am planning to top the system off to get it up to the level it should have been filled to. In order to avoid doing something stupid and releasing a bunch into the atmosphere (and wasting money), I want to make sure I'm prepared with the right tools before I start.

It looks like all the small R12 cans you can get are sealed and require a tap (as opposed to DIY R134a cans with valves on them). I've seen top- and side-tap devices advertised for this; some examples:

How do they work? Do you latch the device onto the can first then twist the tap to puncture the can, and loosen it again to allow it to flow? How do you seal it to prevent leftover coolant from slowly escaping? Do you need a secondary shutoff valve of some sort attached?

Aside from this, are there other tools I need or should have on hand? I do have a set of hoses/gauges already, but in the past (R134a systems) I've just gone by feel of the air blowing out to judge when it's suitably full.

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I ended up using one of the can taps that attaches on the top, with a metal cap containing an O-ring so that the can could be sealed at the threaded connection, beyond the minimal level of seal provided by the tap. I was surprised at the lack of actual locking in the "clamp" that attaches around the neck of the can, though. It feels like you could knock it loose and send the whole thing flying off just by touching it wrong. Overall the process was uneventful and went fine, though.

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