Ever recharged your car's AC?

[Deleted member 26715]

why do you need to do that?

Because by doing that the machine then sucks the remaining air from the system, which then creates a vacuum within the system, the system then monitors the negative system pressure for a period of time, if the negative pressure remains constant then the system knows there is no leak & can recharge the system. If there is a leak it cannot recharge as that is environmentally unfriendly

 

[KneesUp]

It is the right equipment though. All I want to do is top up my AC. A professional has a different agenda and, quite rightly, different rules apply.

I don't positively like the idea of leaking environmentally-damaging gases into the atmosphere; on the other hand, I do propose to drive the car. My guess is that a bit of defrigerant will make negligible difference to the overall environmental impact of driving 5000 miles. So, I don't need tools to test for a leak, find a leak or vacuum off any remaining coolant (which I confess I find baffling - why do you need to do that? Remove coolant, to replace it with exactly the same coolant? How does that make sense?) All I need is the tool to top up my AC. Which is that.

The Global Warming Potential of the refrigerant is 3710, comapred to Co2, which is the baseline, and has a GWP of 1, so it's 3,710 times worse than Co2. The can *seems* to hold 168 grams so it's the equivalent of c. 625kg of Co2 emissions - which is indeed roughly equivalent to driving 5000 miles in a normal-ish car. But if you got the leak repaired first, there would be much less leakage.

 

[fossyant]

@swee'pea99 's driveway spotted...

https://news.sky.com/video/square-video-russia-ammo-depot-bang-001-mp4-11778242

 

[swee'pea99]

Because by doing that the machine then sucks the remaining air from the system, which then creates a vacuum within the system, the system then monitors the negative system pressure for a period of time, if the negative pressure remains constant then the system knows there is no leak & can recharge the system. If there is a leak it cannot recharge as that is environmentally unfriendly

So, basically to test for leaks. So, not something I need to do. I know it leaks. Seems to me my best bet is to keep whatever gas is in there and add more.

The Global Warming Potential of the refrigerant is 3710, comapred to Co2, which is the baseline, and has a GWP of 1, so it's 3,710 times worse than Co2. The can *seems* to hold 168 grams so it's the equivalent of c. 625kg of Co2 emissions - which is indeed roughly equivalent to driving 5000 miles in a normal-ish car. But if you got the leak repaired first, there would be much less leakage.

Wow! TBH I hadn't a clue it was that bad. If a can is genuinely the equivalent to driving 5000 miles then I may need to rethink. That's awful.

One query: When they vacuum out the system, what happens to the gas they vacuum out? How if at all is this stuff dealt with and rendered harmless?

 

[TheDoctor]

I think the stuff they vacuum out is then put back, with enough new stuff that you end up with the correct amount.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Now i thought, told tbat these cans of AC repair fix the leak... Its Usually the seals gone dry from not using the air con.

So although a leak is bad news it should repair the leak.

Using a vac machine is great but the bill to replace the AC system will be huge.

Garages dont like to repair, they replace.

 

[swee'pea99]

I think the stuff they vacuum out is then put back, with enough new stuff that you end up with the correct amount.

Right. Good!

 

[KneesUp]

Now i thought, told tbat these cans of AC repair fix the leak... Its Usually the seals gone dry from not using the air con.

So although a leak is bad news it should repair the leak.

Using a vac machine is great but the bill to replace the AC system will be huge.

Garages dont like to repair, they replace.

It depends on what is wrong - I've paid to have the condenser radiator thing replaced twice (two cars) because they had been holed by debris, and it was about £300 each time. I would imagine you're right though, if the gas has gone because the ac has never been used and all the seals are dried out, you're going to have to strip and rebuild the whole system and probably take the dash out to do it, which I don't even want to think about in terms of cost!

 

[KneesUp]

So, basically to test for leaks. So, not something I need to do. I know it leaks. Seems to me my best bet is to keep whatever gas is in there and add more.


Wow! TBH I hadn't a clue it was that bad. If a can is genuinely the equivalent to driving 5000 miles then I may need to rethink. That's awful.

One query: When they vacuum out the system, what happens to the gas they vacuum out? How if at all is this stuff dealt with and rendered harmless?

I was basing it on:

Co2 - GWP of 1 @ 125g per mile - 5,000 miles = 625kg
R134a - GWP 3710. 0.168kg x 3710 = 623.28kg

The GWP changes over time - I'm using the 20 year figure, although I admit I don't fully understand it - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming_potential

I would imagine that the vacuumed off gas is cleaned before being re-used. It has oil added to lubruicate the seals and the system, and I guess in use it picks up bits of seal too. It is certainly stored in a gas cylinder, and it is illegal to vent it off.

 

[netman]

Turn off the aircon and open the windows instead maybe?

 

[classic33]

Turn off the aircon and open the windows instead maybe?

Increases drag, thereby increasing fuel consumption.

 

[netman]

Increases drag, thereby increasing fuel consumption.

Not for me! My car reports around 2mpg better with the aircon off and using windows for ventilation!

 

[Levo-Lon]

Not for me! My car reports around 2mpg better with the aircon off and using windows for ventilation!

The air con in my fiat van IS the windows

 

[Garry A]

Just had mine done at ATS Euromaster for £38. Groupon deal. Car nice and chilly inside now

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Not for me! My car reports around 2mpg better with the aircon off and using windows for ventilation!

Interesting as there was a study stating that open windows created more drag & cost more fuel