Air Con - Cage related

[kciN]

Totally car related.

Having a few(ish) problems with AirCon and bought a kit from Halfrauds at lunch.
£40. (Made by interdynamics)
R-134a recharge with a gauge, to top-up system. Just wondered if any of you car drivers have tried/used/opinions etc..

I would try my car forum that I also frequent, but they've started charging members to join the technical zone! :cry:

So free advice here - if you have it!! :wink: :wink:

[Viney]

Totally car related.

Having a few(ish) problems with AirCon and bought a kit from Halfrauds at lunch.
£40. (Made by interdynamics)
R-134a recharge with a gauge, to top-up system. Just wondered if any of you car drivers have tried/used/opinions etc..

I would try my car forum that I also frequent, but they've started charging members to join the technical zone! :cry:

So free advice here - if you have it!! :wink: :wink:
I only paid £55 for it to be done in a garage, so £40 is a tad steep for a do it yourself system. Shouldnt be to hard, but id imagine the quality of the gas is not going to be top dollar.

Kwik Sh*t have just started to do Air con. And con it probably is.

[5v5 rider]

not sure if Im barkin up the wrong tree ere but when I had my car 'done in' the impact 'damaged the aircon system - honest mr ins man'. So long and short of it I paid £55 in a garage for a specialist to replace the gas(well the ins company did). BUT I was lead to believe that the gas had to be exposed of properly (environmental stuff), I'll probably get corrected by someone in the know but just my tupence!! :wink: until someone comes along.

[Flamin_Squirrel]

but id imagine the quality of the gas is not going to be top dollar.

Mmmm. Well R-134a is the type of refrigerant. If it's the wrong gas it'll bugger the system up, and if it's the right gas it should do the job? Wouldn't have thought there would be different grades of the same type of gas.

[timwilky]

My previous car had continual AC problems. Whenever it went in for a service, I got the garage to have a look and top it up. In the end I used another dealer and got them to have a look. One compressor and several hundred on the bill later the AC worked as designed.

The guy responsible for managing our cars at the time said that the AC gas also contains a lubricant and we should turn on the AC at least weekly for 30 mins. Most people would only use the AC in exreame hot weather as it is like throwing an anchor out the back window.

Still better than sweating in leather

[kciN]

From what I've read, disposing of the gas into atmosphere is illegal and should be done by a A/C pro.
But I'm only topping up and the kit is (hopefully) leak proof!

Viney, I agree with your Kwik T*t method of £45 and seriously considered it.

Reason I went for a DIY kit was
Gauge you can re-use, to check in the future.
If it doesn't need to much gas, then you can keep for later use, or use on a friends or the missus' car!
Satisfaction that you've done it yourself! Well, kind of. The satisfaction you get when you do your own servicing and save some dosh!!

And I don't like dippin' my hand into my pocket, readily, tight g*t that I am :lol:

[Peter Henry]

Tim Wilky wrote:

Still better than sweating in leather


Doesn't usually bother you sweety! :wink:

[kciN]

My previous car had continual AC problems. Whenever it went in for a service, I got the garage to have a look and top it up. In the end I used another dealer and got them to have a look. One compressor and several hundred on the bill later the AC worked as designed.

The guy responsible for managing our cars at the time said that the AC gas also contains a lubricant and we should turn on the AC at least weekly for 30 mins. Most people would only use the AC in exreame hot weather as it is like throwing an anchor out the back window.

Still better than sweating in leather

From what I've read on the 'net, you're correct on the 'use of' policy.
I've read you should have it on most of the time if not all. Modern cars don't really lag under acceleration when running, but probably use a bit more fuel.

At least run 30 mins a month if not week. And full cold in winter once a month, if you can bear it!! :shock:

[Viney]

but id imagine the quality of the gas is not going to be top dollar.

Mmmm. Well R-134a is the type of refrigerant. If it's the wrong gas it'll bugger the system up, and if it's the right gas it should do the job? Wouldn't have thought there would be different grades of the same type of gas.
Well apprently there is. You can get 'super cold' gas nowadays. Its probably all gumph as usualy, but just pointing out that this could possibly be the case. As i said, i had a garage do mine, and it works fine.

[Captain Nemo]

i have a citreon picasso, with a fuel computer and i hardly notice any difference in MPG when the aircons on, ive run my cars for the last 7 yrs with aircon running all the time, and nver really noticed a drop in mpg in any of them,

but i do have a noticably cooler set of jewels

message ends

[rpwoodman]

I read the title to this thread ant thought it was going to be about a John Malkovich film...

[Speedy]

You aint allowed to vent it to atmosphere(R134a) However it is less damaging to the environment than the old R12 gas,which is a 'Greenhouse gas'.

Not heard of a 'Supercold' refridgerant,sounds like BS to me.

The Refridgerant itself is NOT a lubricant,when you re-charge a system on a car/office or whatever you MAY need to have Oil added,called PAG Oil,this is added to keep various rubber seals lubricated and swollen so as to not allow 'gas' seepage past pipe joins etc. It is also used to lubricate the compressor.

The oil is held suspended with the 'gas',it also mixes when the gas becomes liquid again.

If you had to top-up your system,there is going to be a leak somewhere,we suggest to customers to have the A.C. serviced every 2-3 years,to keep the system clean,as like with any mechanical system,things wear,and so metal can contaminate and block some components causing failure.

Have it checked by a garage you trust,as A.C. is a common 'Rip-Off' type area.

Good Luck.