Diy Air Con Maintenance

[rickjhns]

Hi,

Has anyone had any DIY experience of regassing the A/C system? I have seen DIY kits in Halfords that are about £10-£15.

I have also seen antibacterial kits to clean the A/C system. These are priced at a fraction of the price charged by most garages.

[Q.S.]

Hi,

Has anyone had any DIY experience of regassing the A/C system? I have seen DIY kits in Halfords that are about £10-£15.

I have also seen antibacterial kits to clean the A/C system. These are priced at a fraction of the price charged by most garages.

My advice, forget the DIY kit. Get it done properly.

[revband]

As the man says forget DIY. The old gas has to be removed, "By law into a container for disposal".

OK who's going to know you just let it out?.

The hard part, all cars are different and the correct amount of gas has to be put in by weight, to little gas and it wont get cold, to much gas and the system bogs down and overloads the compressor. Knackered compressor expensive. :o

[Q.S.]

As the man says forget DIY. The old gas has to be removed, "By law into a container for disposal".

OK who's going to know you just let it out?.

The hard part, all cars are different and the correct amount of gas has to be put in by weight, to little gas and it wont get cold, to much gas and the system bogs down and overloads the compressor. Knackered compressor expensive. :o

As far as i know, the DIY kits are just for topping up. Like revband said, to do it properly it needs to be drained off by machine, vacuum tested (to see if the system has any leaks), refilled with the correct amount of refrigerant for the vehicle and very importantly, the correct amount of lubricant. Also as a precautionary measure, dye can be added for the detection of future leaks.