Best R-134 brand?

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Fridges also use 134a so I buy a lot.

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When they redid the housing at Ft Polk my old A/C man bid to capture the 134a out of all of the old fridges so they could be scrapped. He won the bid and spent a week out there doing it. He made a ton off of doing the initial work plus had a lifetime supply of 134a to use.

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Does a fridge ever need 134A added? I never had to do it.

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Fridges can leak.

I am supposed to say you should never add r-134a. You sholuld only pull a vaccuum find the leak, fix it then refill the 134a after changing out the dryer.
BUT.... Yes, sometimes you may get a small leak and you can add 134a to the suction line to you get up to positive 5psi on the suction line when the compressor is on.

The downside of this is, you add a tap valve and it will eventually leak out again.

Though the cheapest price I have ever charged to fix a leak was $350, and the average price to tap a system and top it off is around $75-80.

So there is that.

Technically you should never have to add refrigerant as most fridges not made by Subzero are sealed. Sub zero is one of the only companies that has fittings on the line from the factory and with those you can charge up without a tap valve.

Adding 134a will get you a few more months or years from a fridge, but unless the leak is fixed, the repair won't be permanent.

(though now they make some damn good leak sealers, just still I'm wary to use them on something I have to personally warranty)

I generally change a compressor a week and that takes about 5oz of r134a.

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Commercial units and walk in coolers all need it a lot more often than a regular fridge

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Yes, commercial units have inline valves and can leak and can also need to be topped off.

Household systems you actually have to add in a piercing valve to add refrigerant.