General air con regas

[matty23]

Hi guys,

I've been reading up on air con re-gassing and although mine is fine - blows out cold air when required, the information stated that air con should be re-gassed every 2 years. Is that right? Since my air con hasn't been re-gassed since it was new in 2009. I assume the lady who had it before me used it regularly, but it has never been re-charged.

So, is a re-gas necessary even though it works perfectly well? Every 2 years seems a bit excessive, particularly as my air con still works fine.

By the way, our system is climate control, not manual air conditioning.

Matt.

 

[daveofkent]

Hi guys,

I've been reading up on air con re-gassing and although mine is fine - blows out cold air when required, the information stated that air con should be re-gassed every 2 years. Is that right? Since my air con hasn't been re-gassed since it was new in 2009. I assume the lady who had it before me used it regularly, but it has never been re-charged.

So, is a re-gas necessary even though it works perfectly well? Every 2 years seems a bit excessive, particularly as my air con still works fine.

By the way, our system is climate control, not manual air conditioning.

Matt.

Hi there.

It needs regassing when it needs regassing. It's just a waste of money otherwise. Have you ever changed the gas in your fridge. This is my opinion after owning quite a few cars that have had AC. Hopefully you'll get to give it a workout soon if it finally warms up

 

[matty23]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. I'll certainly leave it well alone as the compressor activates just fine and operation is perfect.

It'll certainly get a work out if it does warm up, however I won't hold my breath. Haha

Matt.

 

[Sweetsixteen]

Run the air con regularly. This helps the seals to stay lubricated and keeps the system working as it should.

Having lived in very hot climates for years, I've found that it's UK cars that have air con problems because they often stay unused for months. In hot climates the car's air con runs daily and rarely gives trouble.

 

[PandaEleganza]

One thing to note is that running the air con in winter can be very effective at demisting the insides of the windows, as it regulates the humidity of the air in the car.

 

[jrkitching]

So, is a re-gas necessary even though it works perfectly well? Every 2 years seems a bit excessive, particularly as my air con still works fine.

Yes. The system typically loses about 10% of its charge every year. At a pinch, you might stretch it to three years; most A/C service centres recommend two, but they do have a vested interest in doing so.

You should have the system properly vacuumed out and the proper amount of refrigerant and lubricant added. A quick topup risks having both the wrong amount of refrigerant and the wrong proportion of lubricant. Running the system with an insufficient or incorrectly blended charge could cause expensive damage.

Have you ever changed the gas in your fridge.

Car airconditioning systems and domestic refrigerators are not comparable and that analogy is flawed.

Domestic refrigerators have an electrically driven compressor built inside the hermetically sealed system which holds the charge; there are no seals and nothing to leak out; the system is designed to last the life of the appliance without servicing.

Car airconditioning systems have a mechanically driven compressor external to the sealed system; of necessity there have to be seals around the driveshaft to the compressor. Some of the charge inevitably leaks past these seals over time and they have to be regassed on a periodic basis. They are not designed to last the lifetime of the car without servicing.

 

[daveofkent]

Car airconditioning systems and domestic refrigerators are not comparable and that analogy is flawed.

Domestic refrigerators have an electrically driven compressor built inside the hermetically sealed system which holds the charge; there are no seals and nothing to leak out; the system is designed to last the life of the appliance.

Car airconditioning systems have a mechanically driven compressor external to the sealed system; of necessity there have to be seals around the drive

I agree with what you're saying the point I was trying to make though is, as far as I know that the gas doesn't have a service life it's not like oil and there's no reason not to keep it until you're unhappy with the performance, rather than 'it's working fine I'll change it to schedule'.

 

[jrkitching]

I agree with what you're saying the point I was trying to make though is, as far as I know that the gas doesn't have a service life it's not like oil and there's no reason not to keep it until you're unhappy with the performance, rather than 'it's working fine I'll change it to schedule'.

The lubricating oil is blended with the refrigerant, and the compressor does have moving parts, so it will, over time, become degraded (mechanical friction chops up the polymer chains in the oil) and contaminated (tiny metal particles wear off the moving parts and end up in the oil). Whilst this isn't, in itself, a reason for changing it (there are no combustion products and, as you say, the same combination can run in a domestic 'fridge for twenty years and more), it's part of the reason why it's better to change rather than just top up.

For the same reason, it's prudent to change your gearbox oil periodically (about every 6yrs/72k); for most folks, perhaps once about halfway through the life of the car.

The real reason for regular servicing even when it appears to be working correctly is that running with a low charge will both degrade A/C performance and cause premature compressor wear. Unless it's very low on charge, you'd need to measure inflow and outflow temperatures to notice this, but compressor damage can occur well before the point at which the system stops working completely. This may not happen in most cases, but it's very expensive if it does.

Measuring vent temperatures before and after a regas is quite revealing - at least one of the service chains offers you your money back if system performance isn't increased by some specified amount.

 

[Gavv8]

Funnily enough I was pondering this on the way home today with the air-con on, it seemed nice and cold to me and I haven't touched it since I bought it neither is there anything in all the paperwork to say its ever been re charged.

 

[SPORTPACK50]

This seems like a reasonable deal for anyone whose aircon needs a regas:

https://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/ats...tm_campaign=206616&mediaId=531&utm_source=GPN