AirCon Regas

[Iamzod]

Not that I personally know a lot about these things but I always remember a guy on the radio (a car A/C specialist) talking about re-gassing being the biggest con job in the industry, because as Spartacus is saying why would you need a re-gas if you don't have a leak? And if they are just re-gassing without fixing the leak it's just a waste of time and money.

The A/C system is a closed system, there's no-where for the gas to go without there being a leak and ask yourself, how many times do you need to re-gas your fridge?

Not sure I fully believe that. I've had cars regassed in the past with working aircon and a regas has made it noticably cooler, all had less than the manufacturers gas level in them and all were still working 36 months later.

Lubricant is also put in the system, replacing that every 2-3 years can't be a bad thing.

 

[mushtafa]

A/C systems do require routine maintenance to work to their best.

Think of a balloon or a tyre for example. It's sealed, but will deflate other time.

 

[Spartacus]

A/C systems do require routine maintenance to work to their best.

Think of a balloon or a tyre for example. It's sealed, but will deflate other time.

Agree.. but .. if there are no leaks at all the system should only lose a very small amount per year and an a/c service every 4 years should be enough to keep it running well.
If it stops cooling completely after just 3 or 4 years it's clearly losing more gas than it should be from somewhere.
Likewise, a tyre might lose a couple of psi every few months but if it loses 10 psi every couple of months that is not normal and a sign you have a very slow leak.

 

[cuke2u]

For £35 a year it is dumb to ignore the servicing of such components. If you wish so that's up to you but forums are full of threads of air con issues due to lack of maintenance...

 

[Howard]

For £35 a year it is dumb to ignore the servicing of such components. If you wish so that's up to you but forums are full of threads of air con issues due to lack of maintenance...

Lack of use, in most cases. Not lack of maintenance.

I see plenty of forum posts about people “turning the AC on now it’s getting warm and found it isn’t blowing cold”.

Leave it switched on all year round and it will require infrequent maintenance.

I had mine regassed last year (was having some work done on my gf’s car and thought I might as well have mine given a clean bill of health at the same time), and it was only a few grams down. It’s probably the first time it was done since it was built (2010), too.

 

[Orionaut]

Not that I personally know a lot about these things but I always remember a guy on the radio (a car A/C specialist) talking about re-gassing being the biggest con job in the industry, because as Spartacus is saying why would you need a re-gas if you don't have a leak? And if they are just re-gassing without fixing the leak it's just a waste of time and money.

The A/C system is a closed system, there's no-where for the gas to go without there being a leak and ask yourself, how many times do you need to re-gas your fridge?

One very big difference between fridges and vehicle Ac systems.

Vehicles have the compressor driven by an external belt drive. This means that there is a shaft, with a seal on it, that separates the inside from the outside and has to contain the gas.

Fridge compressors, being electrically driven, are completely sealed units (Apart from where the wire goes in. Something that is rather easier to seal than a rotating shaft.)

 

[Freakbro]

One very big difference between fridges and vehicle Ac systems.

Vehicles have the compressor driven by an external belt drive. This means that there is a shaft, with a seal on it, that separates the inside from the outside and has to contain the gas.

Fridge compressors, being electrically driven, are completely sealed units (Apart from where the wire goes in. Something that is rather easier to seal than a rotating shaft.)

That's a good point and as I said I don't know a lot about this area at all, was just passing on something I heard that sounded plausible

 

[-westy-]

Lack of use, in most cases. Not lack of maintenance.

I see plenty of forum posts about people “turning the AC on now it’s getting warm and found it isn’t blowing cold”.

Leave it switched on all year round and it will require infrequent maintenance.

I had mine regassed last year (was having some work done on my gf’s car and thought I might as well have mine given a clean bill of health at the same time), and it was only a few grams down. It’s probably the first time it was done since it was built (2010), too.

Exactly this - my parents have a habit of not using their AC during the winter "because it's only for blowing cold air", then come summer they moan that it's not cold enough. I managed to find a deal on Groupon for £35, full drain of the system and re-gas - I think I was around 100g down on the manufacturers specified values - in a 16 year old car. Once I had it regassed, my vents were blowing 6 degree air - lovely in the summer.

 

[Orionaut]

lovely in the summer.

Lovely in the winter too.

Demists foggy windscreens in an instant, no need to wait for the engine to warm up.

 

[ron3003]

Lovely in the winter too.

Demists foggy windscreens in an instant, no need to wait for the engine to warm up.

Not much use clearing ice though Heated windscreen FTW.

 

[Howard]

Not much use clearing ice though Heated windscreen FTW.

True dat. Why aren't heated side windows a thing yet?

 

[Gaygle]

ATS Euromaster have got a deal on Groupon for £37 for pressure test and air con regas. Used it a couple of weeks ago and all went well!

 

[pepp77]

They ran the test and found no leaks - I didn't find out how much was left in there, but they filled it and then I was freezing cold on the way home.

 

[ADT]

ATS Euromaster have got a deal on Groupon for £37 for pressure test and air con regas. Used it a couple of weeks ago and all went well!

This. Just had the mother’s car done.

Apparently it had no gas in the system at all. Blows 5c cold air now. Fingers crossed it’s fixed and there are no leaks otherwise I’m going to have to look for a new car for her.

For those with climate control do you run your ac all year round? Doesn’t that put extra wear on the AC components?

Wouldn’t it be better to run the AC system every two weeks during the winter months to keep things lubricated etc?

 

[pepp77]

Mine is always on, it is an Air Conditioner/Climate Control device,not a cold air blower, they are designed to be used all the time to Condition the air, or control the climate (whether that is cooling or heating).

 

[Howard]

Mine is always on, it is an Air Conditioner/Climate Control device,not a cold air blower, they are designed to be used all the time to Condition the air, or control the climate (whether that is cooling or heating).

Correct. It's better to leave it running all year round than only use it occasionally. Leave it activated 24/7, climate control or no climate control.

 

[Mr Krugga]

if you have a car with a half-decent power output and climate control sytem, there's no reason to not run it all year round.

 

[Entai]

Not that I personally know a lot about these things but I always remember a guy on the radio (a car A/C specialist) talking about re-gassing being the biggest con job in the industry, because as Spartacus is saying why would you need a re-gas if you don't have a leak? And if they are just re-gassing without fixing the leak it's just a waste of time and money.

The A/C system is a closed system, there's no-where for the gas to go without there being a leak and ask yourself, how many times do you need to re-gas your fridge?

One very big difference between fridges and vehicle Ac systems.

Vehicles have the compressor driven by an external belt drive. This means that there is a shaft, with a seal on it, that separates the inside from the outside and has to contain the gas.

Fridge compressors, being electrically driven, are completely sealed units (Apart from where the wire goes in. Something that is rather easier to seal than a rotating shaft.)

Another massive difference which is far more important to consider than seals, is that your fridge does not move around over potholes and kerbs and, and get shaken around violently (in comparison) almost every time it is used.

It is the vibration on pipes joints etc that causes minuscule leaks almost constantly on mobile air conditioning systems.

Any kind of fixed installment of air conditioning or refrigeration systems, such as fridges, freezers, office A/C, shop chiller units etc are not allowed to loose any refrigerant gas at all over time, I have seen systems in place for 20+ years and they still have exactly the same amount of gas, to the gram, as when first installed.

However (and I cannot of the top of my head remember the exact figures but I think it's in the region of 10 to 15%) mobile A/C systems such as on vehicles are allowed, by regulations, to loose x percent of their gas each year without it being a concern, because the powers that be, know such mobile systems are subject to huge amounts of vibration fixed systems are not exposed to.

So yes you might be lucky and have a car that looses nothing over a few years, or you may have one that needs topping up every couple of years or so, but unless a major leak is found that looses it all in a matter of weeks, having your system topped up every couple of years or so is normal and not a need for concern.

 

[Orionaut]

Not much use clearing ice though Heated windscreen FTW.

It does however stop ones breath from freezing on the inside of the windscreen however.

What does suck these days is that one can no longer get decent windscreen di-icer.

The modern green and environmentally friendly versions just dont work. The screen freezes over again as soon as one tries to drive off

 

[cuke2u]

if you have a car with a half-decent power output and climate control sytem, there's no reason to not run it all year round.

It is, after all, what it is designed to do even if you've not 'half decent power output', whatever that might be...